US researchers working with SHoP Architects have created a potential alternative to steel and concrete as a structural floor material: recyclable panels made entirely from bioplastic and wood flour.
The prefabricated panel was made using 3D printing by researchers at the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Maine (UMaine) ? both part of the SM2ART public-private partership.
According to the team, the SM2ART Nfloor cassette panel is better for the environment and quicker to manufacture than similar steel-and-concrete elements, which are typically used in multi-storey buildings.
The researchers began work on the cassette following a prompt from SHoP Architects to explore the potential of bio-based materials and additive manufacturing for mass-produced floor panels. The SM2ART Nfloor cassette is 3D printed from a bioplastic and wood waste mixture
"We saw the precedent in the aerospace industry, where they introduce new technologies within small parts and expand outward to the whole," SHoP principal John Cerone told Dezeen.
"We applied that principle by isolating a building system product ? a light-gauge steel floor cassette assembly ? from an existing supply-chain partner to benchmark its replacement with a single solid-state, printed, bio-based part."
Strength from combining materials
ORNL and UMaine made the panels using polylatic acid (PLA), a bioplastic derived from corn residue, which they mixed with wood...