Benefit Cost Analysis of 3D Printed Concrete Building: Fid-Bau Portal

Benefit Cost Analysis of 3D Printed Concrete Building

Manhanpally, Najeeb / Saha, Suman

3D printing technology in the construction industry is gaining more and more interest in recent years. It allows to reduce the construction cost through faster construction with lesser labour consumption. In 3D printed concrete, use of formworks is avoided by precisely placing and setting of concrete material printed in sequential layers under an automated process. This study attempts to find out the benefits of 3D printed concrete over the conventional construction practices for a regular building in terms of construction cost. Due to its poor tensile characteristics, 3D printed concrete is usually used to replace masonry walls in a building. Material and labour costs for brick wall masonry and 3D printed concrete wall for a hypothetical building were considered for the cost comparison study. Even though the rate per unit quantity of material for 3D printed concrete was more than twice the rate of brick masonry, the cost of constructing a 3D printed wall for the building considered was found to be 40% less than that required for construction of brick masonry wall. This is due to the unique structure followed for construction and reduced labour consumption in case of 3D printed concrete. The increased speed of construction and early completion of the project can help the consumer to overcome the unnecessary expenses like variation in cost of materials involved with delays in constructions. These benefits are even more pronounced in complex-shaped buildings. This paper contributes to identify key benefits of 3D printing construction over conventional construction practices.