37th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC 2020)

Design and Construction of Shell-shaped Bench

using a 3D Printer for Construction
Hajime Sakagami a, Haruna Okawa a, Masaya Nakamura a,

Takuya Anabuki a, Yoshikazu Ishizeki a, and Tomoya Kaneko a

a
Technical Research Institute, OBAYASHI Corporation
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract – freedom in design and laborsaving ways of construction

One of the problems in the practical use of 3D could be realized.
printers using cement-based materials is how to One of the problems in the practical use of 3D printers
withstand the tensile force. In general, cement-based is how to withstand the tensile force generated in the
materials can withstand compressive forces. structure. In general, cement-based materials can
Therefore, reinforced concrete structures are applied withstand compressive forces. Therefore, reinforced
as composite structures with steel materials such as concrete structures are applied as composite structures
reinforcing bars that can withstand tensile force. with steel materials such as reinforcing bars that can
In this study, we developed a composite structure, withstand tensile force. To solve this problem, the
in which the outer part was laminated with mortar following methods have been devised: a) inserting a steel
exclusively for 3D printers, and the inner part was material such as a reinforcing bar during the 3D printing
filled with ultra-high strength fiber-reinforced process [1], b) manufacturing a piece with a hollow using
concrete as a substitute of reinforcing bars. When the a 3D printer, and inserting a PC steel bar into the hollow
test piece was manufactured and its mechanical to introduce a prestressed force [2], and c) using a
properties were tested by experiments, it was cement-based material capable of withstanding the
concluded that the desired strength had been tensile force such as ultra-high strength fiber-reinforced
obtained. Then, a large shell-shaped bench, whose concrete (hereinafter called "UFC") [3].
outer dimensions comprised a width of 7 m, depth of Therefore, we developed a composite structure in
5 m, and height of 2.5 m, was manufactured. The which the outer part was laminated with 3D mortar and
design used topology optimization that derived a the inner part was filled with UFC as a substitute to
shape with high structural rationality; the total reinforcing bars. In this study, basic structural
weight was reduced by approximately 60%. The experiments were conducted to confirm that an actual
shape derived by topology optimization would have structure could be constructed using this composite
been difficult to construct with a formwork, and we structure. And, we designed and constructed a large shell-
were able to exploit the advantages of using a 3D shaped bench with outer dimensions comprised a width
printer. of 7 m, depth of 5 m, and height of 2.5 m; this experiment
demonstrated the use of the composite structure.
Keywords –
3D Printer; Automation; Laborsaving
2 Development of Composite Structure
1 Introduction 2.1 Composition of Composite Structure
A 3D printer using cement-based materials We developed a composite structure by using 3D
(hereinafter called "3D printer") ejects special mortar mortar and UFC. In order to construct the composite
(hereinafter called "3D mortar") from a nozzle attached structure, first, the outer portion of the structure was
to a mobile mechanism, such as a robot arm, and laminated with 3D mortar so that the portion that was to
laminates the mortar to construct a structure. We have be reinforced by a reinforcing bar became hollow. Then,
developing a 3D printer, which we refer to as a 3D printer the UFC was placed into the hollow. The filled UFC
for construction. Since the structures could be could withstand the tensile force generated in the
constructed automatically without using a formwork, structure.

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2.2 3D Mortar and UFC UFC 3D mortar

For the 3D mortar, mortar premixed with a hardening

70 25
accelerator was used, and the hardening speed was

120
adjusted by setting up a retarder. In addition, polyvinyl
alcohol (PVA) fiber was mixed to increase the bending

25
strength. It had a compressive strength of 60 N/mm2 and
a bending strength of 3.5 N/mm2. 25 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 25
UFC [4] is a room-temperature-hardening-type 500
mortar, developed by the Obayashi Corporation that can
achieve a compressive strength of 180 N/mm2, tensile Figure 1. Cross section of the composite structure
strength of 8.8 N/mm2, and bending strength of 32.6
N/mm2. This material has a high tensile strength, bending
strength, and tensile toughness; thus it can function as a
structure in itself. This slump flow was approximately
600 mm and had a self-filling property. Therefore, the
Nozzle
placement work was easy, and the automation and
mechanization will be easy as well, compared to the
manual arrangement of reinforcing bars.
6-axis robot arm
2.3 Verification of Mechanical Performance
2.3.1 Outline of Experiment
Figure 1 shows the cross section of the test piece. The
width and thickness are 500 mm and 120 mm,
respectively, and the UFC parts with a width of 50 mm Photo 1. Printing of test piece
and a thickness of 70 mm, are evenly arranged in five
different positions.
Photo 1 shows the manufacturing status of the test
piece. First, the 3D mortar was laminated with a 3D
printer until the height was 1 m. Next, as shown in Photo
Cue stick
2, the UFC was placed in the hollow. The UFC, which
(Deformed bar)
was placed in the hollow, was constructed without being
spliced.
A three-point bending test was conducted to confirm
the bending properties of the test piece (No. 1)
manufactured with the composite structure. For
comparison, a bending test was also conducted on a test
piece (No. 2), which was not filled with UFC, as shown
in the cross-section of Figure 1.
Photo 2. Placing UFC
2.3.2 Methods of Loading and Measuring
Photo 3 shows the device loading for the bending test.
Hydraulic jack
The left end of the test piece was supported by a pin, the
right end was supported by a pin roller, and the distance
between the supporting points was 800 mm. In order to
maximize the bending moment at the center of the test Test piece
piece, a hydraulic jack and ball seat were attached to the
upper center part of the span, and the load was applied
vertically downward. Since the width of the test piece
was as large as 500 mm, a vertical load was applied
through a beam with a height of 200 mm. The applied
force was a monotonic load that was pushed in one
direction. The vertical load at the center of the test piece Measuring frame
was measured with a load cell. The displacement in the
vertical direction at the center of the test piece was Photo 3. Loading device

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measured with a displacement meter, and the downward

direction reflected the positive values. The displacement
was the average of the values measured at the front and
at the back of the test piece.
2.3.3 Result of Experiment
Photos 4 and 5 show the final destruction status.
Photo 4 shows the final fracture of No. 1. Photo 5 is an
enlarged photograph of the fractured surface of No. 1. In
both No. 1 and No. 2, cracks were found near the lower
end of the center of the test piece, and finally a fracture
surface was formed almost in the center of the test piece.
Many steel fibers protruded from the portion of the UFC Photo 4. Final fracture (No.1)
on the fracture surface of No. 1. It was also confirmed
that the hollow was filled with the UFC without any gaps.
In both the test pieces, there were no evidences that the
mortar at the compression edge had undergone
compression failure.
Figure 2 shows the relationship between the vertical
load and the center deflection. The maximum load of No.
1 was 47.4 kN. On the other hand, the maximum load of
No. 2, which was not filled with the UFC, was 22.5 kN.
No. 1 shows a maximum load of more than twice the
maximum load of No. 2, because the UFC withstood the
tensile force. Moreover, in No. 2, brittle fracture occurred
after the maximum load was applied, and the yield
strength decreased sharply. However, in No. 1, due to the
tensile toughness of the UFC, the yield strength gradually Photo 5. Detail of the fracture surface (No.1)
decreased.
From the above, it was found that the developed 50
composite structure improved both the maximum load No.1 (UFC placed)
No.1（鋼繊維モルタル有）
No.1
(kN)

and the toughness performance, because the UFC was 40 No.2

No.2 (UFC unplaced)
No.2（鋼繊維モルタル無）
(kN)

placed in the hollow and could withstand the tensile force.

load

30
鉛直荷重
Vertical

20
3 Design of Shell-shaped Bench
10

3.1 Outline of Design 0

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
To verify the practicality of the developed composite 中央たわみ
Center deflection(mm)
(mm)
structure, the shell-shaped bench, which is shown in (1) Entirety
Figure. 3, was manufactured. The design included a
50
cantilever shape that produced a large tensile force and
(kN)(kN)

incorporated a curved surface that 3D printers were good 40

at.
鉛直荷重load

30
The outer shape was manufactured by laminating the
Vertical

3D mortar, but if the entire interior was filled with the 20

UFC, as shown in Figure 4, the weight increased and the No.1（鋼繊維モルタル有）
No.1 (UFC placed)
10
structural rationality decreased. Therefore, the internal No.2 (UFC unplaced)
No.2（鋼繊維モルタル無）
structure of the shell-shaped bench had a hollow part, as 0
shown in Figure 5, to reduce the weight. Therefore, in 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
中央たわみ
Center deflection(mm)
(mm)
order to determine the morphology of the internal
structure, we applied topological optimization that (2) Initial loading
gradually removed the stress and derived the optimum
Figure 2. (Relationship between) vertical
morphology by Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis.
Figure 6 shows the design flow of the internal structure. load and center deflection

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Since a 3D printer could manufacture pieces without

using the formwork, it was suitable for manufacturing
complex shapes that had hollow internal structures
derived by topology optimization.

3.2 Topology Optimization

In topology optimization, the ratio of the reduced
weight to the initial weight was set as the target value.
Then, a form in which the stress was minimized in a
range satisfying this target value was derived. The target
value for weight reduction was set at 65% of the initial Figure 3. External design of shell-shaped bench
weight. Only the long-term load (self-weight) was used
as the load condition in the FEM analysis, and the short-
term load (horizontal force) generated during use was not
considered. The reason for this is that shell-shaped
benches have a cantilever shape and are easily affected
by their own weight. As shown in Figure 7, topology
optimization was performed by assuming a thin plate 3D mortar
with a width of 30 mm in the cross-sectional shape of the
center position of each piece obtained by dividing the UFC
total bench width of 7 m into 1 m intervals. For fixing the
conditions, both the ends of the bottom of each piece
were fixed. Figure 4. Layout of 3D mortar and UFC
Figure 8 shows an example of the result of topology
(Fully filled)
optimization. The result of topology optimization of each
piece divided into seven parts was truss-shaped, similar
to that shown in Figure 8. The truss-shaped portion
derived by topology optimization was made visible as a
shell-shaped bench design. Therefore, as a design
adjustment, the position of the bundle was adjusted finely
so that the positions of the holes could be seen 3D mortar
continuously from one end to the other. UFC
3D mortar
3.3 Checking Allowable Stress
Topology optimization does not check whether the Figure 5. Layout of 3D mortar and UFC
stress calculated in the morphology derivation process is (Structurally rational)
within the allowable stress level of the material used.
Therefore, the static stress analysis was performed on the
design adjusted form, and the allowable stress level was
checked. At that time, in addition to the long-term load,
the horizontal force (0.2 G) was also considered as a Topology
short-term load that was generated during the use. The optimization
structural designer manually corrected the cross- Yes
Within the allowable
sectional shape till the allowable stress level was cleared. stress level of UFC?
Structural experiments have suggested that in the
Design
composite structure, 3D mortar and UFC behave as a unit. adjustment
However, since the mechanism is still unclear, we used a No
design so that it could be established only for the cross Correcting the cross- End
section of the UFC. sectional shape
Static stress
3.4 Final Design analysis

Figure 9 shows the final design of the shell-shaped

bench. The shell-shaped bench was divided into 12 parts. Figure 6. Design flow

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The reason for this was that the time required for printing
3D mortar (working time per day) was limited, and
transportation and erection after manufacturing became
safe and smooth. The divided width of the 12 pieces was
500 mm at both ends and 600 mm at the other parts. Each
piece was installed by a crane, with a joint width of 10
mm from the adjacent piece, and then sealed without
connecting to the adjacent piece. The final design was
approximately 60% lighter than the structure fully filled
with the UFC. Figure 7. Sections to apply topology optimization

4 Development of Elemental Technology

for Printing 3D Mortar

4.1 Development of Valve

If the material ejection cannot be stopped in the
printing 3D mortar, the print path must be a one-stroke bundle
and a non-intersecting path. Since the shell-shaped bench
had a hollow, it was necessary to print the outer and the
inner peripheries separately. Therefore, as shown in
Photo 6, it was necessary to intermittently move the Figure 8. Example of applying topology
nozzle from the outer periphery to the inner periphery optimization
and from the inner periphery to the other inner
peripheries. Therefore, we developed a valve that worked
with the pump so that the ejection of the mortar could be
stopped temporarily.

4.2 Automatic Generation of Print Path

We developed a software that automatically
generated print path data from a 3D model. The 3D model
was prepared in a format that represented a solid with a Figure 9. Final design
triangular mesh called the stereolithography (STL)
format. In 3D modeling software, the STL format is a
standard output format. Figure 10 shows an example of
automatic generation. The 3D model was cut with the
Moving the nozzle
laminated thickness of the mortar, and the coordinates of
the obtained intersections were classified into "outer
periphery" and "inner periphery ". A print path was
generated from the classified intersections and converted
into a robot language used to control the robot arm.

5 Construction of Shell-shaped Bench Photo 6. Example of jump in the print path

5.1 Outline of Construction

The 3D printer was installed in the building for
experiments using concrete. Figure 11 shows the
manufacturing process of the shell-shaped bench pieces.
Manufacturing is a 5-day process. On the first day, the
outer shape of the composite structure was manufactured
using a 3D printer. The second day was a curing day and
was used for developing the strength of the 3D mortar.
The third day was the placement day of the UFC. The Figure 10. Automatic generation of the print path

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fourth day was also a curing day for developing the

Day 1
strength of the UFC. On the fifth day, the piece was
Printing 3D Mortar
moved from the 3D printer to the installation location.
Day 2
5.2 State of Construction curing day for
3D mortar
5.2.1 Printing 3D Mortar
Photos 7 and 8 show the condition of the printing 3D
Day 3
mortar. The width and thickness of the 3D mortar
Placing UFC
lamination could be controlled to a designated size by
adjusting the ejected amount of the 3D mortar and the Day 4
moving speed of the nozzle. These were adjusted in curing day for UFC
advance to obtain a mortar width of 30 mm and a mortar
thickness of 5 mm.
The piece was printed, laid down, and was divided
into three layers in the direction of the height. The net Day 5
time required for printing the 3D mortar was moving from
approximately 5 h. To lift the piece during construction the 3D printer
and connect it to the foundation, a hole with a diameter
of 24 mm was drilled, and an insert with an inner
diameter of 20 mm was attached before the 3D mortar
hardened. After printing the 3D mortar, it was covered
with a wet curing mat. Water was sprayed till evening Figure 11. Manufacturing process of shell-
before the day of placing the UFC. shaped bench
5.2.2 Placing UFC
UFC was placed at once without any jointing, using a
concrete bucket with a capacity of 0.3 m3. Photo 9 shows
the UFC condition. The UFC is self-filling. Therefore,
the UFC could be placed without any problem even if a
3D printer complicated the shape. In addition, because it
has the characteristic of being hardened at room
temperature, special curing methods such as heat curing
was not required. However, after the placement was
completed, a sheet curing was performed, after spraying
a surface curing material, in order to prevent the dry
shrinkage cracks on the top surface.
5.2.3 Moving Pieces
Photo 7. Printing of 3D mortar (at the start)
After the curing day of the UFC, the piece was moved
from the 3D printer to the installation location. Lifting
was performed under balanced conditions based on the
position of the center of gravity calculated from the 3D
model of the piece. After moving the piece, the 3D
printing yard was cleaned to prepare for the next piece.
5.2.4 Erection and Installation of Pieces
First, the laid-down piece was raised. Gradually the
roof side of the piece was lifted with a crane. When the
piece was raised, the level was adjusted using the level
gauge. Next, the piece was moved to the installation
position, as shown in Photo 10. Support was installed to
the bottom side of the roof to temporarily receive the
piece. Then, the piece was anchored to the foundation
with an insert attached to the bottom of the bench seat. Photo 8. Printing of 3D mortar (at the finish)

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 37th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC 2020)

This support was removed after the foundation was

established.
5.2.5 Finishing Work
A modified silicone sealing material for construction
was applied to the joints between the pieces. In order to
perform an exposure test on the coating performance on
the 3D mortar surface, an aqueous fluororesin-based
paint and a weak solvent-type two-component silicone-
based paint were applied half by half. Photo 11 shows the
completion of the shell-shaped bench.

Photo 9. Placing UFC

6 Conclusion
We developed a composite structure in which the
outer part was laminated with 3D mortar and the inner
part was filled with UFC, as a substitute for reinforcing
bars. In this study, basic structural experiments were
conducted to confirm that a structure could be actually
constructed with this composite structure. In this paper,
we have described the design and the construction of a
large shell-shaped bench with outer dimensions
comprised a width of 7 m, depth of 5 m, and height of 2.5
m, respectively, which were conducted as a
demonstration experiment for this composite structure. Photo 10. Erection and installation of the pieces
The findings obtained are as follows:
1. In the developed composite structure, the UFC
withstood the tensile force and the maximum load,
and toughness performance improved. Using this
composite structure, it was possible to manufacture
a shell-shaped bench having a complicated shape
that generated tensile force.
2. By topology optimization, the overall weight of the
shell-shaped bench was reduced by approximately
60%. In addition, the hollow part consisting of
curved surfaces, generated by topology
optimization, had a shape that was difficult to
Photo 11. Completion of the shell-shaped bench
construct with a formwork, and we were able to
exploit the advantages of manufacturing with a 3D [2] bam. A World First: the first fully 3D printed,
printer. structurally pre-stressed concrete cycle bridge in the
3. Since UFC has a self-filling property, it was world. On-line: https://www.bam.co.uk/media-
possible to place it into a complicated shape centre/news-details/a-world-first-the-first-fully-3d-
manufactured by the 3D printer without any gaps. printed-structurally-pre-stressed-concrete-cycle-
bridge-in-the-world, Accessed:18/8/2020.
[3] Nadja G., Romain D., Charles B., Alban M.,
Acknowledgments Philippe R., Mahriz Z., and Justin D. Large-scale
In this research, we cooperated with Denka Company 3D printing of ultra-high performance concrete – a
Limited for the design and the supply of 3D mortar. new processing route for architects and builders,
Materials and Design, Vol. 100, pp. 102-109, 2016.
[4] Takayoshi H. "SLIM-CRETE": DEVELOPMENT
References OF UFC FROM WHICH HIGH STRENGTH IS
OBTAINED AT AN EARLY AGE IN NORMAL
[1] apis cor. The biggest 3d printed building. On-line:
TEMPERATURE ENVIRONMENT (in Japanese).
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CEMENT and CONCRETE, JAPAN CEMENT
Accessed:18/8/2020.
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