2022 LSU Gumbo - Book - Page 175
LSU Engineering is working on several research
projects involving 3D construction printing, one of
which is in partnership with NASA to help build bases
on the moon.
“We are working with a few NASA scientists to use
the material which is already available on the Moon
and Mars to turn these into printable construction
materials,” said Ali Kazemian, of LSU Bert S. Turner
Department of Construction Management who is
leading LSU’s 3D construction projects.
Kazemian’s projects are funded by the Louisiana
Space Grant Consortium and the Transportation
Consortium of South-Central States (U.S. Department
of Transportation).
By using a construction robot to harvest the
material already present on the moon and Mars,
NASA will be able to build infrastructure necessary for
sustaining life on the red planet and the moon more
efficiently and at a cheaper cost, such as landing pads,
habitats and research labs.
“Other proposals were basically about the idea of
shipping material from the Earth or shipping smaller
structures from the Earth and assembling them
together on the moon which is super expensive,”
Kazemian said. “It is estimated that shipping one
kilogram of material from the Earth would at least cost
$100,000.”
NASA hopes to use 3D printers to build structures
for their upcoming mission in 2024, “The Artemis
Mission,” which will aim to set up a permanent base on
the moon. The technology that Kazemian is working
on will assist in building these moon bases by lowering
costs substantially.
The prospects for 3D printing technology doesn’t
stop there. 3D printing can significantly reduce the
time and money required to build various structures
here on Earth.
“On average, it takes five to six months to build a
house, but with this technology we’re talking about a
few days,” Kazemian said.
This technology has numerous applications, such
as in disaster relief where 3D printed shelters can be
manufactured within hours and days for people who
have lost their homes. This technology can also be
used to build low-income housing at even cheaper
rates and with dramatically reduced construction
times.
There are still certain challenges that still need to be
overcome to see this technology used more widely in
construction, on Earth and beyond.
One of the largest barriers to the broader adoption
of concrete [3D printing] of civil infrastructure is the
difficulty of providing printed structural components
with reinforcement to achieve sound structural
performance, explained construction management
professor Gabriel Arce, who is working with Kazemian
and Professor Marwa Hassan to develop materials
and reinforcement techniques tailored to 3D printed
infrastructure.
Further research will still be required to see this
technology used in construction on Earth or in the
building of bases on the moon and Mars.
Photos by Julian Cooper
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