SIM-AM 2025

Viscoplastic Modeling of Shotcrete 3D Printing

  • La, Tuan Quoc (Technische Universität Braunschweig)
  • Meyer, Knut Andreas (Chalmers University of Technology)
  • Kollmannsberger, Stefan (Bauhaus-Universität Weimar)
  • Jänicke, Ralf (Technische Universität Braunschweig)

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In recent years, Additive Manufacturing in Construction (AMC) has gradually transformed the building industry by offering a faster and more efficient way to build with concrete. Unlike traditional methods that rely on molds, AMC deposits material layer by layer, enabling new possibilities for custom designs and complex shapes. AMC also digitalizes the construction process, which helps to reduce labor costs, cut material waste, and streamline the transition from design to construction. To optimize these advantages, AMC requires appropriate modeling of building components and deposition processes. Many developments have focused on digital methods for designing parts and planning AMC processes, while others have provided numerical simulations to predict the failures of AMC structures. Our study contributes to the latter, aiming to develop a modeling and simulation approach for bulk-deposited AMC concrete and its interlayers. From this, a homogenized substitute model is developed to reduce the computational cost of simulating complex geometries on a part-scale. Our first step is to develop and validate the viscoplastic material model for shotcrete 3D printing. The model is based on Perzyna’s viscoplasticity and incorporates Bingham-type rheology to represent the thixotropic behavior of freshly printed shotcrete. Additionally, interlayers are modeled using cohesive zone elements to simulate how layers settle as new ones are added. Finally, the material model is integrated into the finite element method and validated against experimental data.