Strength, Thermophysical And In-Service Performance of a Three-Layer 3d-Printed Wall with Expanded Polystyrene Concrete Infill A Numerical Parametric Study and An Experimental Verification Programme
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37547/tajet/Volume08Issue10-02Keywords:
Construction 3D printing, printed concrete, expanded polystyrene concreteAbstract
A non-load-bearing, three-layer external wall for a low-rise building is investigated. The wall consists of two cementitious shells manufactured by layer-by-layer extrusion-based 3D printing and a cast-in-place expanded polystyrene (EPS) concrete core. The study aims to establish relationships between wall geometry, construction-stage actions, the mechanical response of the printed shells, heat and moisture transfer, and in-service performance, and to develop a testable experimental verification programme. The baseline model has an overall thickness of 250 mm, comprising two 30 mm shells and a 190 mm core. Using illustrative thermal conductivities of 0.80 and 0.10 W/(m·K), the calculated thermal resistance of the homogeneous region is 2.145 m²·K/W and its thermal transmittance is 0.466 W/(m²·K). Increasing the design thermal conductivity of the core by 20% and 40% increases U by 17.3% and 33.9%, respectively. Continuous cementitious ribs 30 mm wide at 0.6 m spacing can increase the equivalent U-value by 33.6%; thermal optimisation must therefore consider the actual two- or three-dimensional geometry. A construction-stage analysis of fresh infill pressure gives 3.18 kPa for a density of 450 kg/m³, a dynamic factor of 1.2 and a lift height of 0.6 m. For a 30 mm thick shell strip spanning 0.6 m, the elastic stress is 0.95 MPa and the deflection is 0.40 mm at an early-age modulus of 6 GPa. Wind-response screening identifies quadratic and fourth-power relationships between support spacing and stress and deflection, respectively. A steady-state winter moisture assessment indicates a potential intersection of vapour partial pressure and saturation pressure at the cold boundary of the core. This requires transient hygrothermal modelling that accounts for drying, joints and climate data rather than specifying a vapour barrier from the simplified analysis alone. A multilevel testing programme—material, printed element, connection, wall specimen and building—and a production quality-control matrix are developed. The scientific contribution lies in the integrated parametric treatment of the filling stage, the anisotropic printed shell, thermal bridges, moisture risk and verification of in-service performance.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Dilshod Bakhodirovich Akbarov, Khusnitdin Akhrarovich Akramov
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