Robotic Fabrication

Natural ventilation in buildings is one of the most important passive cooling strategies to provide better thermal performance. This paper presents the assessment of a 3D printed opening with a dual function of cooling and heating through a cavity wall using clay.

Two prototypes are printed using a desktop clay printer for the small scale, followed by using a robotic Kuka arm for the large scale.

The design of the opening aimed at achieving passive cooling by utilizing natural ventilation, which is inspired by wind catchers and Trombe wall concepts.

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation test is done to examine the airflow through the inlet and outlet opening through the space, followed by a smoke test to validate the resulting data.

The results recorded a difference in the structural performance and material behavior between both small and large scales, considering the thickness of the nozzle, the weight of the materials, and the drying process.