Researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) have demonstrated a new method of 3D printing ice reinforced with natural fibers. Developed through a joint effort between ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) and the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL), the technique is designed to support rapid, on-site construction in remote, frigid environments where traditional methods are unfeasible.
“We sought to utilize ice and snow as abundant natural resources in these regions that can be leveraged for construction of expeditionary structures, those that are temporary,” said Kiera Thompson Towell, a CRREL research materials engineer. “Developing a method for 3D printing using ice and snow would allow for automated construction of various customizable structures depending on location and need, while reducing the amount of construction materials that would need to be transported to these regions.”
In addition to reducing logistical burdens, the method offers operational and environmental benefits: it minimizes cold exposure for soldiers and staff, lowers the risk of cold-related injuries, and supports sustainable, low-impact structures that are easy to dismantle.
Following this demonstration, the ERDC team plans to scale the project using a larger 3D printing system, continuing material performance tests in CRREL’s specialized Cold Room facilities.
Ice: A Versatile Tool in 3D Printing Innovation
The use of ice in 3D printing is not entirely new. In 2022, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University developed a method of 3D printing microscale ice structures that can be used as sacrificial templates to form intricate channels inside other parts. This ‘inside-out’ 3D printing process involves jetting water droplets onto a custom-built platform, capable of freezing them upon landing at a temperature of -31 °F. These smooth, support-free ice sculptures can then be dunked in resin and cured, in a way that melts them, leaving behind parts with complex internal pathways.
According to the team, the technology has the potential to yield devices featuring fully-fledged networks of liquid or airflow conduits, including anything from soft robots with the ability to safely and non-invasively interact with patients, to flexible electronics and biomimicking human tissues with vein-like channels.
In 2018, researchers at Zhejiang University in China introduced a novel approach to 3D nanofabrication by combining ice with electron beam technology. Their technique, known as ice electron beam lithography (iEBL), is an advancement over traditional electron beam lithography (EBL), which typically involves more than ten intricate processing steps. In contrast, iEBL streamlines the workflow, reducing the number of steps by nearly half. By simplifying the fabrication process, this method has the potential to make high-resolution 3D nanofabrication more accessible to a wider range of laboratories.
Elsewhere, University of Cincinnati aerospace engineering professor Francesco Simonetti and his undergraduate student Michael Fox introduced a new non-destructive testing (NDT) method called cryoultrasonics. The process combines ice and ultrasound to inspect metal 3D printed parts more effectively than conventional techniques, offering a promising alternative for quality assurance in advanced manufacturing.
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Featured image shows new method of 3D printing with ice reinforced with natural fibers. Photo via ERDC.
