Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research (IC&SR) , IIT Madras
A 3-D printed waffle slab assembly and method thereof
Categories for this Invention
Technology: 3D printed waffle slab assembly;
Industry & Application: Infrastructure, Civil, Construction buildings;
Market: The global waffle market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.3% during 2024-2032.
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Problem Statement
- Conventional 3D printing elements are having challenges like costlier process, installation difficulties, unable to use for bigger structure printing such as roof slabs.
- Moreover, the construction of waffles slabs requires using a formwork, which has multiples components like waffle pods, horizontal supports, vertical supports, moulds, steel bars, etc. The usage of the formwork results in extra expenditure of time, money & resources, which makes the process very difficult, slow & inconvenient.
- Hence, there is a need to address the issues.
Technology
- Present invention describes a 3D-printed waffle slab assembly and construction method. (Refer Figures 1 & 2)
- The assembly is made up of 3D-printed components such as waffle bases, waffle cups, and shear locks.
- The waffle base has a first plate, outer and inner vertical projections.
- The waffle cup has a second plate and vertical walls, wherein said waffle cup is placed in an inverted position over the waffle base.
- The shear lock is inserted into the cavities of the formed waffle slab to connect the top and bottom flanges of the slab and transmit shear stresses.
- Further, claimed invention describes a method for constructing a 3D-printed waffle slab assembly, wherein method involves 3D-printing, the required number of waffle slabs, waffle cups, & shear locks.
- The waffle bases are laid side-by-side on a flat surface, & a fixing material such as grout is poured into the cavities.
- Thereby, the waffle cups are placed in an inverted position over the grout-layered waffle bases to form the waffle slab assembly.
- Reinforcement bars are placed in the gaps between the waffle cups, & the fixing material such as grout is poured to fill all the cavities of the waffle slab assembly up to half the depth.
- The 3D-printed shear locks are then inserted, & distributer bars are placed on top, finally a fixing material is poured into the space above the flat surface of waffle cup.
Key Features / Value Proposition
Technical Perspective:
- Claimed constructional method, for waffle slab assembly using 3D-printing, does not require formwork.
- Facilitates an efficient load carrying structural slab.
- The construction method uses 3D-printing to facilitate the construction of a large span waffle slab assembly.
- Provides effectively & accurately 3D-printing small pieces & assembling for efficient load transmission in the waffle slab assembly.
- The formed waffle slab assembly can be lifted and placed at required positions for building construction. (Refer Fig. 2 & 3)
- Claimed invention provides a method for constructing the shear lock, wherein said shear lock is to resist shear forces within sections of the waffle slab assembly.
Industrial Perspective:
- The claimed waffle slab assembly allows for an efficient and faster construction buildings.
- The constructional method comprises constructing a waffle slab using 3D printed components, which can be built in cost-effective manner & thereafter transported to building construction sites.
- Advantageously, in 3D-printing the components of the waffle slab assembly allows to efficiently optimize shapes of waffle slab.
- Allows to design waffle slab components with more flexibility, of any size and in any geometric shape.
Questions about this Technology?
Contact For Licensing
sm-marketing@imail.iitm.ac.in
ipoffice2@iitm.ac.in
Research Lab
Prof. Benny Raphael
Department of Civil Engineering
Intellectual Property
IITM IDF Ref. 2130
IN Patent No:499903
Technology Readiness Level
TRL-4
Proof of Concept ready, tested in lab.