[01] NeoBrick
NeoBrick
An environmentally informed 3d printed lattice brick that maintains indoor thermal comfort
M.S MDC Thesis Research (2021-Current) Advisors: Jenny E Sabin, Timur Dogan, Sadaf Sobhani Role: Main Contributor
Additive Manufacturing Robotic Fabrication Sustainability Heat Transfer CFD
2021 - Current
Clay is a material that has less embodied energy
and more thermal benefits than other construction materials. Maintaining indoor thermal comfort contributes not only to energy efficiency but also to a healthy indoor air environment. Building Energy Simulations (BES) and nonstandard 3D fabrication techniques are key drivers to examine and design sustainable architectural systems. However, we often see a dissociation between these two research pipelines, resulting in design iterations that lack performance evaluations. This paper introduces an integrated workflow to design a parametric clay-brick system that is informed by environmental parameters including performance of airflow and heat transfer. To articulate this environmentally performing clay brick system, this research leverages Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and conjugate heat transfer analysis. Then, the research utilizes robotic clay deposition using customized toolpath to fabricate complex brick geometries informed by environmental parameters. Lastly, physical evaluations are conducted to validate the thermal performance of brick wall prototypes.