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Eggshell, ETH Zurich, 2017-2022
Eggshell is a novel fabrication process for the creation of non-standard, reinforced concrete structures. The process exploits the controlled hydration of concrete as developed in Smart Dynamic Casting. By carefully controlling the early age strength gain of the concrete, 3D-printed recyclable formworks can be used for the casting of full scale, concrete building elements.

Traditionally, concrete casting relies on two separate processes for the fabrication of a concrete element. A formwork is put in place, after which concrete is casted and the element is left for demolding. Eggshell aims to combine these processes by 3D printing a thin-shell formwork whilst simultaneously casting concrete inside. Using this approach, geometrically complex structures can be fabricated efficiently, minimizing formwork waste. The control and synchronization of material properties for both printing and casting are essential to the fabrication process, as the hydrating concrete helps resist buckling behavior of the thin shell formwork during printing.

An advantage of Eggshell is the easy integration of reinforcement, which is often considered to be a challenge for other digital fabrication methods such as concrete extrusion. Furthermore, the extended design space brought by the process grants the possibility of producing structurally efficient shapes such as branching columns which are difficult to fabricate otherwise.

Publications:

Burger J, Lloret-Fritschi E, Scotto F, Demoulin T, Gebhard L, Mata-Falcón J, Gramazio F, Kohler M, Flatt RJ (2020) Eggshell: Ultra-Thin Three-Dimensional Printed Formwork for Concrete Structures. 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing 7:48–59 . https://doi.org/10.1089/3dp.2019.0197
PDF

Burger J, Lloret-Fritschi E, Taha N, Scotto F, Demoulin T, Mata-Falcón J, Gramazio F, Kohler M, Flatt RJ (2020) Design and Fabrication of a Non-standard, Structural Concrete Column Using Eggshell: Ultra-Thin, 3D Printed Formwork. In: Bos FP, Lucas SS, Wolfs RJM, Salet TAM (eds) Second RILEM International Conference on Concrete and Digital Fabrication. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp 1104–1115
PDF

Burger J, Wangler T, Chiu Y-H, Techathuvanun C, Gramazio F, Kohler M, Lloret-Fritschi E (2021) Material-informed Formwork Geometry - The effects of cross-sectional variation and patterns on the strength of 3D printed eggshell formworks. In: Proceedings of the 39th eCAADe Conference - Volume 2. University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia, pp 199–208 PDF

Burger J, Huber T, Lloret-Fritschi E, Mata-Falcón J, Gramazio F, Kohler M (2022). Design and Fabrication of Optimised Ribbed Concrete Floor Slabs Using Large Scale 3D Printed Formwork. Automation in Construction 144: 104599 PDF

Burger J, Aejmelaeus-Lindström P, Gürel S, Niketic F, Lloret-Fritschi E, Flatt R J, Gramazio F, Kohler M (2023). Eggshell Pavilion: A Reinforced Concrete Structure Fabricated Using Robotically 3D Printed Formwork. Construction Robotics PDF

Credits:
Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich

In cooperation with: Physical Chemistry of Building Materials group (Prof. Dr. Robert J. Flatt), Concrete Structures and Bridge Design (Prof. Dr. Walter Kaufmann)
Collaborators: Joris Burger (project lead), Dr. Ena Lloret-Fritschi, Fabio Scotto, Nizar Taha, Bruno Pinto Aranda, Lukas Gebhard, Dr. Jaime Mata-Falcón, Dr. Thibault Demoulin, Dr. Sara Mantellato, Andi Reusser, Michael Lyrenmann, Philippe Fleischmann

Copyright 2023, Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Gramazio Kohler Research
Chair of Architecture and Digital Fabrication
ETH Zürich HIB E 43
Stefano-Franscini Platz 1 / CH-8093 Zurich

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