from the soldiers-are-always-the-guinea-pigs dept.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/09/army_3d_barracks/
The US Department of Defense is going to use 3D printing techniques to build military accommodation as part of an experimental development program.
Scheduled to be built at Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, over the next 10 months, the three 3D-printed concrete barracks will each be more than 5,700 square feet (529.55 square meters) each, making them the largest 3D-printed structures yet built on the continent.
That title was previously held by the Texas Military Department, which had additive manufacturing company ICON build 3,800 square foot (353 square meters), 72-bunk barracks in 2021. The military was able to order these facilities after changing its Unified Facilities Criteria, used to decide what can be purchased, to include structures made of 3D-printed building materials.
[...] According to the company, the compressive strength of its high-strength concrete is between 2,000 and 3,500 PSI.
While it may not match the strength of the toughest modern concrete, Lavacrete is plenty strong enough to serve as the walls of a barracks, and the DoD has plans to continue experimenting with 3D printed buildings at the Defense Innovation Unit, its experimental wing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2022, @03:38PM
Please tell me they're making a giant penis to make other Leaders jealous.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2022, @03:50PM (9 children)
They've got a bunch of soldiers who could use some exercise, and hauling bricks builds character. This is another example of a so-called superpower who's going to get their ass kicked by next small country they decide to invade.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by EvilSS on Monday April 11 2022, @03:57PM
Because that would be illegal. Can't use the military to build stuff for themselves most of the time. Have to use contractors according to Congress. Got to spread that money around those districts!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2022, @04:07PM (7 children)
The problem is, while hauling bricks builds character, it does not do much to train one to fight. The US military is increasingly moving to a model where things that CAN be done by civilians ARE done by civilians. The military has trouble finding enough people willing to enlist. They can't afford to waste them on things that could be done by civilians.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2022, @04:38PM (6 children)
I'm surprised, after decades of illegal wars over things that aren't relevant to our interests, I'm not surprised that nobody wants to enlist. We're not the good guys and the US military is the biggest threat to our national security. Just look at the zeal for manufacturing consent for WWII.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2022, @05:14PM (1 child)
Are you saying you are AGAINST going to war with Russia over Ukraine? YOU MONSTER.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2022, @06:17PM
He sounds like he doesn't Support The Troops(tm)!?? And possibly Hates America(tm)!? OMG!1
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2022, @06:31PM (1 child)
>> I'm not surprised that nobody wants to enlist.
Then bring back the draft. As my grandpa used to say: "You kids today have it too easy - back in my day we used to have to kill a few Germans before we got to go to college".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 13 2022, @06:50AM
Absolutely, if everybody had the potential to be shipped overseas to potentially die in some god forsaken piece of land, I'm sure the support for war would go way down.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday April 12 2022, @02:12PM (1 child)
WWII had an abject aggressor and the aggressor was evil. At least the head leadership definitely was. The wars after that are a lot murkier.
Part of the reason for the zealous uptake in manufacturing for WWII was that it helped fully bring the USA out of the Great Depression.
Also:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression#/media/File:WomanFactory1940s.jpg [wikipedia.org]
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 12 2022, @08:31PM
you don't know wtf you are talking about, you Shabbos Goy slave.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by OrugTor on Monday April 11 2022, @04:25PM (7 children)
If the military is genuinely willing to try new building techniques then use other materials. Anything but global warming concrete.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Immerman on Monday April 11 2022, @05:05PM (3 children)
There's not a whole lot of competitive options if you're planning on being shot at - and I can only assume the DoD's long-term interest here is in facilitating the maturation of the technology to quickly build military bases in contested territory.
Between strength, durability (even against small arms fire), and ease and low expense of acquisition of the majority of the raw materials (sand and gravel), concrete is a truly incredible building material that's hard to beat.
Fortunately, the problem is not actually concrete, but the cement we make it with. And there are a number of options to mitigate that - from more expensive low-carbon cements (some of the newer ones are actually carbon-negative after curing), to various low-cement techniques such as used in pumice-crete where just enough cement is used to bond material together, rather than also filling gaps - weaker, but with other advantages that can make it preferable in certain circumstances.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday April 11 2022, @05:47PM (2 children)
That's a reasonable argument, but I'm not sure that it applies. This isn't just cement, it's cement formulated to be printable by a 3D printer. That's likely to be some specific combination of fluid, granular, etc.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday April 11 2022, @07:05PM (1 child)
That's a good point. I find I get varying results with different brands of just PLA--one will adhere and detach nicely from the print bed and another won't and your print winds up ruined.
Even if you had a totally uniform, standard combination of fluid, granular, and other qualities the drying/setting times will vary with ambient temperature and humidity.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2022, @09:28PM
Ah, so they're practicing in Texas in preparation for the post-apocalyptic mad-max scenario!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday April 11 2022, @05:13PM
Why is OrugTor's comment "troll"? Concrete is a high carbon footprint product. Estimates say that ~8% of the world's carbon comes from concrete. Translation: it takes a lot of energy to produce the cement in concrete, and it takes a lot of energy to mix it, transport it, and to put it in place. Add in the not-negligible energy required to produce forms for the concrete.
I scanned the article, looking for any hint that this particular concrete might be more carbon friendly, but found nothing.
I have to agree with OrugTor - the military ought to be researching and experimenting with alternatives to concrete, or at least looking for less energy intensive methods of producing concrete.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 12 2022, @10:51AM (1 child)
NOt sure what fuck nut modded you Flamebait...but holy shit is this site moderation system totally fucked.
Have a different opinion?
Trying to show some talking points?
Ohhhh noooosss, time to mod negative!!!
We need to be able to mod the mods cause there are some moderators who are just masturbating for any reasons to mod child, troll or flamebait.
Fuck off already!
(Score: 1) by anubi on Wednesday April 13 2022, @01:45AM
DrugTor did bring up a controversial concern.
I would not downmod his post for putting his concern up.
I feel anyone should have the ability to run a valid concern up the flagpole to see if anyone will salute. I do that a lot here. I feel this is definitely a valid concern.
Now, I did follow up with an "underrated" mod to replace his lost karma.
He brought the concern up. Clearly to me an invitation for comment. Not a bitchslap.
OK, that was my two cents worth.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Thexalon on Monday April 11 2022, @04:32PM (2 children)
Everybody knows that in RTS-land the only thing you really need to build complex military equipment and facilities is a required amount of raw materials (that can magically transport from any of your facilities to the building location instantly) and a single laborer, and it will be done in no more than a minute.
3D printing is one tool that might help make that closer to reality. Very convenient for when the US needs to, for instance, drop an expansion into eastern Turkey for some reason.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2022, @06:09PM (1 child)
I'm wondering how they're planning to protect the printer while printing. The technology to put up buildings and bridges in super fast time had been around for decades.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday April 11 2022, @06:59PM
With human units, siege tanks [fandom.com] clustered around the assembler, supported by cloaked wraiths [fandom.com].
Once you get Protoss units, you can do most anything with a giant swarm of carriers.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Monday April 11 2022, @07:13PM (2 children)
The Roman legions laid out their camps the same way wherever they campaigned. So why not lay out military bases with pre-fab modules based on shipping containers? Bases are not meant to win architectural prizes but to fulfill specific functions. If C-17s can't carry the modules exactly where you need them, heavy lift choppers or perhaps airships could. Arrive in the middle of the night, assemble base modules, and by sunrise you have a fortified encampment.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 12 2022, @04:27AM (1 child)
Can the pre-fab modules meet the same strength as the concrete mentioned in TFA?
I don't know exactly what that means in terms of the buildings getting shot, hit by shock-waves, and generally receiving the kind of punishment they might have to deal with in a combat zone. If I were tasked with the chore of coming up with a better way to build a base quickly with modern materials and techniques, I might be inclined to build a database of local soils. It's conceivable that in some situations you might be able to ship only the cement, and use the local sand as aggregate. Even simpler, sand-bags stabilized around a frame since it seems like a lot of military bases in a combat zone end up surrounded by sandbags anyway. Kevlar sandbags?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday April 12 2022, @04:33PM
Actually, prefab concrete generally has exceptional strength to weight ratios. That is, it takes a lot less concrete to build a wall with prefab, than is required to pour a wall in place. They aren't especially great load bearing, but they'll support a roof very well. The biggest downside with prefab walls is, they are rather brittle. It would be work to break through any of the prefabs I've helped put up with a 3 pound hammer, but I could break a hole large enough to walk through in a couple hours. A larger hammer would make that a little faster.
Carry that information over to the military - prefabs aren't likely to withstand attacks with explosives. They'll shatter, and readily produce shrapnel, leaving huge holes in the walls that won't even stop small arms fire any longer.
Given the choice, you'd rather have hammered earth walls for a barracks, than prefab. Or, concrete poured in place. Even better, two walls with a 2 foot separation, filling in the hollow with hammered earth.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.