PARI has two main goals: performing innovative research and contributing to practical solutions for actual problems.
Now a team of PARI researchers led by Satoshi Matsumura and Takaaki Mizutani are using 3D printing to evaluate the effect of structure on the mechanical behavior of soil.
The pair say to understand the effect of particle arrangement within soil, they applied a 3D printing technique to soil mechanics and conducted what they called “triaxial compression testing” using natural gravel soil and 3D printed samples for comparison and study.
The team say they confirmed that it is possible to reconstitute samples which have the same structure as that of the originals using 3D printing and CT scanning techniques.
“We concluded that even though the granular sample could be reconstituted at the same packing density, the difference of particle arrangement made the mechanical response vary more widely,” they write of the results.
Their work is among a wide range of projects aimed at revealing changes in mechanical characteristics of soil due to difference of compaction conditions, and they say 3D printing is ideal to recreate those conditions.
The work uses micro X-ray CT imaging to quantify soil structure and then replicate “static model microcosms” meant to exhibit the physical characteristics found in soils. They say the soil pore geometries needed for study can be quantified via these X-ray CT images – or even digitally designed – to arrive at the structures. The printed study samples were built with an AGILISTA-3100 DLP Printer from Keyence Corporation.
What do you think of how 3D printing is being applied to various scientific fields of study? Let us know in the 3D Printed Soil forum thread on 3DPB.com.