The main bottleneck during the manufacture of complex geometry thin-walled GFRC structures is the time taken to make the timber or CNC machined moulds for each panel. Complex geometries are comprised of many unique panel forms and the extensive time and high costs of their manufacture often prevents their architectural intent from being fully realised. A novel mould-making process is proposed that uses a state-of-the-art flexible table with computer-controlled actuators to create free-formed geometry, fast-curing, dual-density, polyurethane moulds. This mould-making process was successfully tested by using sprayed GFRC to manufacture 9 different double curved intermediate moulds for a 10 m high GFRC self-supporting, thin-walled hyperbolic shell, with 12 mm thick panels at the base of the structure. The completed structure showcased the effectiveness of the novel mould-making process by reducing the production time from an estimated 100 days to 10 days. The primary outcome was the development and application of a new manufacturing method capable of casting complex geometry thin-walled GFRC panels with good surface quality that was suited to more rapid, cost-effective and automated large-scale production.@en

Resolving the challenges of advancing thin-walled glass fibre-reinforced concrete (GFRC) requires a novel, more automated digital design and manufacturing process that meets the requirements of present demands for thin-walled GFRC panels. The design, optimisation and manufacture of moulds using existing approaches are subject to many limitations and constraints that result in feedback loops between each stage of the design and manufacturing processes. This precludes the efficient and fully automated digital design and manufacture of complex geometry thin-walled GFRC panels. The proposed mould system described in this article overcomes many of these constraints and, when combined with new software plug-ins, will be capable of digitally resolving the limitations or constraints that interrupt each key stage of the design and manufacturing processes. These plug-ins have been characterised to provide a seamless interface between software and hardware with minimal delays caused by design feedback loops to allow a fully automated digital design process to be realised. The impact of the new mould on this novel process is analysed and further research necessary to advance the process is identified.@en

Complex geometry concrete is being used in building and infrastructure projects, however costly in-situ mouldings are necessary to achieve these geometries. Advancing discretised concrete shell structures requires the development of a new moulding system at lower cost and reduced mould production times. Future thin-walled glass fibre reinforced concrete (GFRC) elements must possess good surface quality, with the required edge returns and offsets, combined with the physical material properties to increase spans and lower the risk of visible surface cracks. Existing moulding systems do not have the capability to meet these contemporary architectural aesthetic and design aspirations. A new mould system to produce freeform thin-walled GFRC elements is presented and can be used to replace CNC milled moulds for the manufacture of thin walled GFRC. Such a system allows the mould for thin-walled GFRC elements to be produced in a fast, cost effective and more efficient manner. A step-by-step process to achieve such thin-walled GFRC panels is described permitting the fabrication of complex geometry thin-walled GFRC elements using more cost effective large-scale production methods. This process bridges the gap between the limited capabilities of current solutions and the architectural aesthetic demands for good surface quality, with the option of having an edge-return of the same surface quality as the front surface to give a monolithic appearance.@en

Complex geometry concrete is being used in building and infrastructure projects, however costly in-situ mouldings are necessary to achieve these geometries. Advancing discretised concrete shell structures requires the development of a new moulding system at lower cost and reduced mould production times. Future thin-walled glass fibre reinforced concrete (GFRC) elements must possess good surface quality, with the required edge returns and offsets, combined with the physical material properties to increase spans and lower the risk of visible surface cracks. Existing moulding systems do not have the capability to meet these contemporary architectural aesthetic and design aspirations. A new mould system to produce freeform thin-walled GFRC elements is presented and can be used to replace CNC milled moulds for the manufacture of thin walled GFRC. Such a system allows the mould for thin-walled GFRC elements to be produced in a fast, cost effective and more efficient manner. A step-by-step process to achieve such thin-walled GFRC panels is described permitting the fabrication of complex geometry thin-walled GFRC elements using more cost effective large-scale production methods. This process bridges the gap between the limited capabilities of current solutions and the architectural aesthetic demands for good surface quality, with the option of having an edge-return of the same surface quality as the front surface to give a monolithic appearance.@en

Thin-walled glass fibre reinforced concrete (GFRC) panels are being used as the primary cladding material on many landmark buildings especially in the last decade. GFRC is an ideal material for building envelopes because it is durable, it can resist fire and the environmental impact is low compared to other materials, because the base materials used in the production of GFRC are widely available throughout the world. Thin-walled GFRC was initially developed as a cladding material in the 1970s and 1980s where the majority of the available research lies. The introduction of 3D CAD software has enabled the design of buildings with complex shapes that, in the past, would have been rationalised to meet budget and time constraints. However, when GFRC has been proposed for buildings with a complex freeform geometry it has been replaced with alternative materials such as glass reinforced plastic (GFRP) due to the high cost and time required to fabricate suitable GFRC panels using conventional manufacturing methods. The literature showed that empirical performance characterization of GFRC had not been researched in detail regarding the limits of functionality or any systematic approach to understanding their use in complex geometry building envelopes. As a first step the key architectural demands, the main barriers and limitations in the manufacture of complex geometry thin-walled GFRC were identified by interviewing and visiting manufacturers, designers and key buildings. This identified the key barrier to be the process of producing the mould for casting the complex geometry GFRC panels. Solutions to resolve them were tested over several stages for each of the main production methods most suited for the manufacture of thin-walled GFRC, namely; the automated premixed method, the premixed method and the sprayed method. The results from the laboratory testing over all the stages, and the prototype structure manufactured with the identified solution from the testing, answered the main research question: How can the manufacture of complex geometry thin-walled GFRC be advanced to meet today’s architectural demands?@en