Thermal Walls: Enhancing Thermal Properties of Prefabricated Wall Systems with Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (or 3D printing) is used to design the properties of any material with high precision. In relation to the construction field, solid clay bricks are structurally sturdy, but they are not designed to be thermally effective since their thermal properties are weakened by their homogeneity. 3D printing tools precisely manipulate the geometry of a brick to design, its thermal conductivity properties without changing the material itself. This thesis investigates the methods to design the thermal properties of a brick via 3D printing. This research employs full scale material models and simulation software to assess the thermal effectiveness of the proposed geometry. The key impact of this research is to contribute towards the development of efficient additively manufactured designs that can be integrated into construction systems in order to overcome the material inefficiency and labor-intensive aspects associated with traditional construction methods.