The bridge reached a major milestone with the 3D robotically printed span of the bridge (printing of the bridge began in March 2017, taking approximately six months), completed and revealed to the public in 2018. It is formed of one main pieces and four “corner swirls” that were manually welded together. It will have a double function, on the one hand being a necessary infrastructure, and also being an artistic work that shows the potential of 3D printing technology.
The bridge will also become a “living laboratory,” fitted with dozens of sensors. Over the next four years, researchers from Imperial College London will study data generated by the bridge, which they will use to monitor and measure the bridge’s performance in the real world.
The bridge will also become a “living laboratory,” fitted with dozens of sensors. Over the next four years, researchers from Imperial College London will study data generated by the bridge, which they will use to monitor and measure the bridge’s performance in the real world.
It took four robots, nearly 4,500 kilogram of stainless steel, about 1,100 kilometer of wire, and six months of printing to build the sinuous, undulating structure, with a rough surface, which looks like it’s straight out of a science-fiction movie.
The data collected from the bridge will allow researchers to monitor performance in real-time, analyze how its performance changes over its lifespan, and understand how the public interacts with 3D-printed infrastructure. Data will be fed into a “digital twin” of the physical bridge to imitate its performance and behavior, helping to inform future novel construction projects involving 3D manufacturing.
“In the absence of structural design provisions for 3D printed steel, physical testing is an important part of ensuring the safety of the structure. The recent testing confirmed not only that the bridge could withstand the applied load, but also that the numerical simulation of the bridge developed by the Steel Structures Research Group provided an accurate representation of the behaviour observed in practice.”
Leroy Gardner, professor in Imperial College London
