3D concrete print – regional potential and challenges

The article aims at identifying scientific and industrial development prospects in 3D concrete printing with focus on regional potential. The main research method consisted in a study of field literature enhanced by a bibliometric survey and analysis of means of intellectual property protection. For the bibliometric investigation there was collected detailed data about publications regarding concrete additive manufacturing. The gathered information included among others: year of publication, scope, authors with affiliations, citations, etc. The data was analysed in sets and subsets with the objective of identification of mutual relations and influence paths. Tag cloud creation and analysis was also performed as an auxiliary tool for the investigation. Additionally, a patent and intellectual property database referring to concrete printing was studied to provide some insight into industrial implementation and commercialisation potential. The results allowed for concluding which aspects seemed to be most significant for the development of the concrete printing science and application. Additionally, propositions of paths for further research and development were determined. The presented results could be a used as guidance reference for regional scientific and industrial partners.