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Shaking 3D homes experiment a 'world first'

Beth Cruse & Pam Caulfield
BBC News, West of England
BBC A white 3D printed structure in the shape of a building has been erected in a laboratory. The structure is being held down by steel. There are warning signs and a yellow tray full of protective eyewear.BBC
Bristol professors are using a simulator to see if 3D structures can withstand earthquakes

Scientists using a shaking table to test the safety of 3D-printed homes in earthquakes have called it a "world first experiment".

University of Bristol professors have built a specialist simulator which shakes 3D structures to see if they can withstand different levels of seismic activity.

It is hoped their results will be used to make housing in natural disaster zones safer and affordable for everyone.

Anastasios Sextos, professor of earthquake engineering, said: "Testing a real-scale structure is a dramatic leap forward to see if it can be used in earthquake prone countries."

The work is being carried out at the university's Soil Foundation Structure Interaction Laboratory (SoFSI), with an aim to "provide a means to reduce the cost of safety worldwide".

Homes are buildings constructed using 3D printing technology, where a robotic arm attached to a crane builds the walls layer-by-layer from a digital blueprint.

"It is deemed to be a very sustainable technology because there is less wasted material and also it is deemed to be flexible and fast," said Raffaele De Risi, associate professor of civil engineering.

"Being fast it is also affordable."

The table, which is believed to be largest of its kind in the UK, can mimic any earthquake by shaking structures horizontally and applying a range of ground motions.

A white man with brown hair and glasses, wearing a University of Bristol 'Faculty of Engineering' polo shirt is smiling at the camera. He is standing in front of a large 3D structure.
David Williams is in charge of the laboratory which is located in Langford, Somerset

David Williams, who manages SoFSI, said the they can test "anything that we can bolt to the table".

The results of the experiment will be fed back to building designers so they can make their structures safer.

Professor Sextos said in a world that is "changing faster than science" it is important to make sure solutions for safer housing in natural disaster zones actually work and are affordable for everyone.

"Earthquake safety is a problem that affects millions of people worldwide and many of them don't have the financial means to protect themselves," he said.

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