Can 3D Printing Go Mainstream for Bridge Construction?
Date Posted: June 27, 2024
Posted In: Discussion, Ideas, Workforce,
From New Civil Engineer: 3D printing technology could be deployed for bridge construction, but there are still some factors hindering its adoption.
The evolution of 3D printing technology in the past two decades has made it increasingly popular in the automotive and aerospace industries, as well as in the production of medical devices.
This technology is less common in the construction sector, with most investment directed to housing applications rather than infrastructure.
“There’s much more of a culture for prototyping new technologies in other industries,” says Cowi UK vice president Jo Bonnett, emphasizing that testing new technologies on infrastructure projects is especially challenging because of safety parameters.
However, some players in the construction market, particularly in Europe, have decided to explore the use of 3D printing for bridge construction. The 3D printed footbridges that have emerged demonstrate the ability of this technology to produce structures with complex geometries using a range of materials.
3D printed bridges
Dutch contractor Bam Infra Nederland and the Eindhoven University of Technology worked together to develop what they claimed to be the world’s first 3D printed reinforced, prestressed concrete bridge in 2017. The 8m long cycling bridge was made of 3D printed concrete blocks and formed part of a ring road around Gemert in the Netherlands.
Since then, the contractor has deployed this technology in other projects including a 29.5m 3D printed concrete cycling bridge in Nijmegen, as well as three pedestrian bridges in the province of North Holland.
A different type of 3D printed concrete footbridge was unveiled at the Venice Architecture Biennale in Italy in 2021. The “Striatus” was a 16m span arched, unreinforced masonry footbridge with five access points and composed of 3D printed hollow concrete blocks.