Bridge Project
The world’s longest 3D-printed concrete pedestrian and cyclist bridge, co-commissioned by Rijkswaterstaat (Dutch Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management), is to be built in Dukenburg in the city of Nijmegen, Netherlands, and printed in Eindhoven, where the 3D-printing facility of BAM and Weber Beamix is located. Summum Engineering was responsible for the parametric modelling, in order to elaborate and rationalize the freeform geometry, designed by Michiel van der Kley.
The possibilities of freeform construction with 3D printing also lead to new challenges, such as the approach to structural safety, the method of analysis for such shapes, and determining the input for the 3D printer. In order to elaborate and rationalize the freeform design, Summum Engineering was commissioned by the structural engineers, Witteveen+Bos, to create a parametric model. This model took the initial shape, conformed it to structural constraints set by the engineers, segmented it based on printing specifications from TU/e, and then generated the bridge’s internal geometry. Three types of outputs were determined: first, exterior surfaces of the segmented bridge as input to the Revit-model and 2D drawings by Witteveen+Bos; second, meshes, including of the internal geometry, as input to their finite element calculations in DIANA; and, third, printing paths for the 3D printers of TU/e, and later BAM and Weber Beamix, based on their printing specifications.
Read more on the official project website.
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Team
Project owner and developer
Rijkswaterstaat
City of Nijmegen
Designer
Michiel van der Kley
Structural engineer and client
Witteveen+Bos
Parametric modelling
Diederik Veenendaal | Summum Engineering
Academic partner
Eindhoven University of Technology
Contractor and suppliers
BAM and Weber Beamix (general contractor, 3D printing)
Dywidag-Systems International (DSI) (prestressing)
Services: Parametric modelling
Nijmegen krijgt langste betonnen 3d geprinte voetgangersbrug ter wereld. Pers release Rijkswaterstaat. March 22nd 2019.
‘s Werelds langste 3d geprinte brug komt in Nijmegen. Cobouw. March 28th 2019.