Bárbara Rangel

Large-scale 3D printing has emerged as a potentially transformative technology for emergency construction in remote and disaster-affected areas, offering rapid, sustainable, and economically viable solutions. This article presents a literature review examining the advances, challenges, and future prospects of this technology, with an emphasis on applications in critical settings. The findings indicate that 3D printing can shorten construction schedules and improve material efficiency; however, the magnitude of these benefits depends on the building type, material formulation, system boundary, and regional construction method used as the baseline. Key challenges include the lack of specific technical standards, adaptation to extreme climatic conditions, and the need to improve cultural acceptance among beneficiary communities. The review also identifies research gaps, including the limited number of long-term studies on the performance of printed structures and the need to optimize materials for different geographical contexts. Despite these challenges, the technology demonstrates considerable potential, especially when integrated with innovations such as Internet of Things (IoT) sensors for continuous structural monitoring and artificial intelligence for real-time design and process optimization. This review concludes that large-scale 3D printing can substantially improve emergency construction, provided that its adoption is supported by strategic research investment, adaptive regulations, and culturally sensitive implementation strategies.

This study presents a comparative review of the mechanical performance of conventionally cast concrete and 3D printed concrete. To assess variations in compressive, tensile, and flexural behaviour under different loading conditions, pertinent experimental data published in recent years were systematically analysed. Many studies indicate that conventional concrete generally exhibits higher compressive and tensile strengths than 3D-printed concrete, with reported reductions of 30–56% in the compressive strength of printed specimens. Papers note that 3D‐printed materials often exhibit marked anisotropy, with strength values varying significantly across different loading directions due to layer deposition and interlayer adhesion. In tensile tests, conventional mixes tend to outperform printed ones. However, incorporating fibres into 3D‐printed concrete can enhance ductility and, in some cases, yield up to a 100% increase in splitting tensile strength. Flexural performance shows greater variability: several studies document improvements of up to 282% in some ultra‐high performance, fibre-reinforced mixes, while others report reductions of approximately 20 to 22%.