I-Corps: 3D Printed Earth-Fiber Building products

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to bolster and commercialize radically low-carbon 3D-printed building materials. Using a wide range of 100% natural bio- and geo-genic materials, this project provides a catalogue of printable mixtures of earth and biological fibers—modernized versions of ancient technologies— that could adapt to the specific material availability of different territories. In addition to creating new products for additive manufacturing using nonconventional materials, the broader impact of this project is to create a link to the specific community by exploiting both their aesthetical traditions and local materials, namely “farm to building”. Using engineering and architecture as interdisciplinary tools to improve environmental and social equity, this project advances fabrication processing through establishing field collaborations with leaders in advanced manufacturing.This I-Corps project is based on the development of 3D printed earth-fiber construction products. Earth materials are an emerging, sustainable alternative to cementitious materials because of their low embodied carbon, affordability, labor safety, and thermal characteristics while increasing carbon storage and generating lightweight artifacts. By developing printable recipes for tiles, bricks, and wall panels, this project presents a range of natural fibers to reinforce 3D printed earthen assemblies, with fiber contents ranging from common earth components to newly developed printed light fiber clay. By producing a range of recipes, with varying fiber contents, this line of work produces a variety of thermal, structural, and weight possibilities for building elements made with purely natural, nontoxic, and low-carbon resources.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.