Structural design methodology for low-rise 3D printed concrete (3DPC) buildings subjected to non-seismic loading: Description, application and validation

The emergence of three-dimensional (3D) extrusion-based concrete printing – a form of additive construction – represents a potential paradigm shift in the construction industry and structural engineering discipline. However, compared to conventional construction methods, methods of structural design and analysis for 3D printed concrete (3DPC) buildings remain relatively undeveloped, and as a result, 3DPC components are mostly treated as non-load bearing elements. This paper aims to fill this gap by presenting one of the first holistic structural design methodologies tailored to low-rise 3DPC buildings subjected to non-seismic loads, such as those resulting from wind and gravity loads. This design methodology includes: (a) a proposed building configuration identifying all major load-bearing elements, (b) a proposed load path design and analysis, which builds upon established design standards, (c) a new three-stage out-of-plane wall analysis and design method that is particular to 3DPC walls, (d) an in-plane 3DPC wall analysis adopted from Aghajani Delavar et al. (2024) [1], and (e) design considerations for structural integrity. Particularly the proposed three-stage out-of-plane wall analysis and design method enables explicit design of the interlayer wire reinforcement and its spacing as well as explicit design of the spacing and reinforcement of the RC grouted cells by considering three discrete, local out-of-plane load transfer mechanisms. This approach bypasses the need for prescriptive, often ad hoc, rules. Two prototype 3DPC buildings were designed using the proposed methodology and analyzed using continuum finite element (FE) analyses to examine the proposed design methodology. The findings from the FE analysis validated the adopted load transfer mechanisms and confirmed the sufficiency of the proposed design methodology.