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A relief cutting method, or kerfing, is considered to create flexible freeform surfaces from relatively stiff and thick panels. The flexibility and moldability are achieved by introducing slender components within the panel, forming kerf patterns, and hence reducing the second moment and polar moment of an area of the solid panel. This paper presents a systematic study on the deformations of kerf unit-cells and of kerf panels. Two different kerf patterns, i.e., square and hexagon, with various cut densities are studied. The effects of different cutting density and kerf patterns on the stretching, bending, and twisting deformations are examined. Understanding the influence of kerf patterns and cut densities on various deformation mechanisms will guide the design of freeform complex shapes out of kerf panels. Experimental tests were performed on unit-cells under different boundary conditions, e.g., uniaxial and biaxial stretching and bending. The tests were also performed on kerf panels with different kerf patterns and varying cut densities. We used a nonlinear beam element in order to describe the deformations of the slender components within the kerf patterns. We compared the overall deformations in the kerf unit-cells and panels from the beam element model and experimental tests. Using the kerfing technique allows for generating flexible structures with complex geometries from mass-produced panels of standard shape and size. When using the kerfing method to achieve the desired surface topology, the stresses, strains, and displacements in the surface will depend on the kerf pattern, cut density, and constituent behavior.

Kerfing is a subtractive manufacturing approach to create flexible freeform surfaces from stiff planar materials. The kerf structures are used in both indoor and outdoor architectures for wall paneling, outdoor façade and pavilion. In addition to their physical appeal, these structures have potential applications in tuning the dynamics responses in buildings, e.g., indoor acoustic, vibration suppression, etc. To exploit these novel applications of kerf structures, this paper presents a study on the dynamic responses of kerf structures made up of Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF). MDF is a viscoelastic composite material comprising of wood fiber networks and epoxy. The influence of the material behavior, i.e. viscoelasticity of MDF is considered in determining the dynamic response of the kerf panels. Two kerf panels with similar kerfing pattern but different cut density and arrangement are studied for their modal responses. A 3D beam element is used to model the mechanical responses of the kerf panels. With the understanding of the dynamic response of these kerf panels, their applications in altering the indoor acoustics and the wind responses of the buildings can be better comprehended.

The construction industry is being buffeted by winds of change, balancing the urgent need to remedy deteriorating infrastructure in the developed world and the push to build new infrastructure in emerging economies whilst devising means to better its catastrophic carbon footprint. Much of the deleterious environmental impact of construction results from the utilization of concrete as well as inefficiencies across the construction process that result in considerable waste and energy expenditure. Additive manufacturing methods stand poised to substantially transform the industry by enhancing automation, enabling economy of materials use, and allowing for unprecedented fusion of form and function; however, reliance on concrete as the extrusive material of choice has the potential to greatly compound mounting environmental challenges. In this perspective, we discuss our efforts to develop an altogether new palette of naturally sourced construction materials based on natural soils, which are reconfigured into extrudable formulations compatible with additive manufacturing. We furthermore delineate a roadmap bringing together soil chemistry with composite science, modeling of mesoscale phenomena, rheological studies of extrudable soil “inks”, generative design, post-synthetic modification, and the development of robust structure—function correlations relating atomistic and mesoscale structures as well as geometry of the architectures to load-bearing capabilities and mechanical response. We illustrate this approach using a naturally harvested burlewash clay sample crosslinked through formation of a siloxane framework, which has been 3D printed into a load-bearing structure. The need for an integrated life cycle assessment approach is emphasized to ensure development of a new palette of sustainable construction materials.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has had an enormous impact in the manufacturing sector. Its role has evolved from printing prototypes to manufacturing functional parts for a variety of applications in the automotive, aerospace, and medical industries. Recently, AM processes have also been applied in the infrastructure construction industry. Applications of AM processes could bring in significant improvements in infrastructure construction, specifically in the areas of productivity and safety. It is desirable to have a review on the current state of emerging AM processes for infrastructure construction as well as existing gaps in this field. This paper reviews AM processes in infrastructure construction. It discusses the process principle, application examples, and gaps for each of the AM processes.

3D printing processes have found several applications in automobile, aerospace, and biomedical industries. Recent development of large-scale 3D printing processes has fueled applications in the construction industry. Materials such as ceramic clay (porcelain) can now be used in additive manufacturing (AM). However, information regarding the effect of process parameters on part quality is limited. There is a need to study the effects of various parameters on the successful printing of samples for the construction industry. This paper presents an experimental study to determine the feasible parameter regions for extrusion-based 3D printing of porcelain using a Delta WASP 2040 Clay printer. The printing parameters studied are extruder height, layer thickness, print speed and air pressure. The effects of these parameters on the surface quality of the printed samples are examined. The identified feasible parameter regions from this study would provide preliminary insights on material extrusion-based 3D printing of porcelain.

In this work, we demonstrate that quad-edge mesh data structure can efficiently be used to construct large shapes. We have developed a system to unfold any polygonal mesh based on quad-edge structure. Using our system, any shape can be constructed by using laser-cut developable panels. This approach is particularly suitable to construct complicated sculptural and architectural shapes from anisotropic materials that can only be bent in one direction. Graphical abstractDisplay Omitted HighlightsWe have classified multi-panel unfolding and construction methods.For classification, we employed widely used polygonal mesh data structures.We have implemented each one of these multi-panel unfolding methods for comparison.We have identified quad-edge based construction is best for our purposes.We have constructed physical shapes to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach.Our software is used in a Freshman Architecture studio.

To explore the potential of a holistic pedagogical model that incorporates motion studies into existing curricular structures, the Pedagogy of Motion provides a methodical series of steps regarding the best methods for teaching the principles of transformable architecture. The development of this pedagogy could recast the architectural design process, transmuting the landscape of how we do architecture. As vehicles for examining the opportunities of this approach, two design studios1 in two schools of architecture at Virginia Tech and Texas A&M University were offered, occasioning theoretical overviews and practical methods for designing morphological changes in architecture.