Bioinspired cellular cementitious structures for prefabricated construction: Hybrid design & performance evaluations

• Published in: Automation in construction Vol. 119; p. 103324
• Main Authors: Nguyen-Van, Vuong, Tran, Phuong, Peng, Chenxi, Pham, Luong, Zhang, Guomin, Nguyen-Xuan, H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.11.2020; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Additive manufacturing; Bioinspired; Biomimetics; Cellular structure; Compression tests; Compressive strength; Cubes; Cubic lattice; Damage; Finite element method; Lightweight; Lightweight structure; Material properties; Mechanical properties; Minimal surfaces; Mortars (material); Numerical models; Performance evaluation; Polylactic acid; Prefabricated buildings; Prefabricated construction; Pressure molding; Stress-strain curves; Three dimensional printing; Triply periodic minimal surface; Finite element method; Bioinspired; Prefabricated construction; Lightweight structure; Additive manufacturing; Triply periodic minimal surface; Cellular structure
• ISSN: 0926-5805; 1872-7891
• DOI: 10.1016/j.autcon.2020.103324

Lightweight cellular structures with porous architectures and controllable mechanical characteristics are promising candidates for a broad range of prefabricated engineering applications. A triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structure that is a naturally inspired continuous non-self-intersecting surface is a bioinspired cellular structure. In this work, we investigate a novel approach based on a combination of primitive-TPMS cells and cubic blocks along with lattice and gyroid-TPMS cells achieving 50% volume fraction cellular structures. Lightweight cellular specimens made of cement mortar with 3D printed sacrificial thermoplastic Polylactic Acid (PLA) moulds are subjected to uniaxial compressive loadings. Compression tests are carried out on the cement cubes, while tensile behaviours follow the simplified damage plasticity model, which is used to obtain the material properties for the input model data. Finite element (FE) analysis is employed to predict mechanical performances such as stress distributions, stress-strain curves, and the damage mechanisms of three representative cellular structures (primitive, lattice, and gyroid). Compressive experiment tests are conducted on these blocks and validated by the FE model. Results indicate that the mechanical responses of the cellular structure, wherein primitive cellular structures yield the highest compressive strength, could be predicted accurately through the FE analysis, and outcomes from both numerical models and experimental tests are validated. •Novel bio-inspired cellular cementitious structures are designed, and mechanical performances are evaluated.•Material properties data required for simulation were obtained from experiments on cementitious cubic samples.•Compressive strengths of gyroid, primitive and lattice blocks at 50% volume fraction are compared.•3D printed PLA cases serve as the moulds and provide considerable confinement for concrete blocks.•Numerical validations and experiments agree to show the primitive block to yield the best performance.