Corrosion challenges and opportunities in digital fabrication of reinforced concrete

Abstract

This contribution addresses corrosion of steel in digitally fabricated concrete. In recent times the concrete processing for digital fabrication applications has been greatly advancing, rising the interest of research institutions, industrial partners, governments and public media. Nevertheless, for a broad large scale application, not just the technological feasibility, but also the long term durability needs to be ensured. This contribution presents a general overview of recently developed digital fabrication technologies and assesses them from the point of view of reinforcement corrosion risks. Experimental results are presented and a number of potential durability issues specific to digital fabrication are raised. On the other hand, we highlight opportunities for making more corrosion-resistant concrete structures by taking advantage of digital fabrication technology.