Kneading elements, extrusion apparatus, and methods of manufacturing honeycomb bodies are described herein. A kneading element (1802) has an inner surface (1804) defining an opening (1806) configured to couple the kneading element (1802) to a shaft (46,48). The kneading element (1802) also has a continuous closed curve elliptical outer surface (1808). The opening (1806) has an axis (1814) that is off-center with respect to a geometric center (1816) of the kneading element (1802) as viewed in a transverse plane perpendicular to the axis.

an integrated mixer and nozzle device for a 3D printer of building construction components includes: a support; a mixer disposed inside the support to mix a first material and a second material together to produce a flowable mixture; a conveyor directly connected to the mixer to convey the flowable mixture in a first direction; and a nozzle directly connected to the conveyor to extrude the flowable mixture and to discharge the extruded mixture in a second direction different from the first direction.

A waterproofing system including a functional layer S1 including 10-80 wt.-% of at least one thermoplastic polymer P1 and 10-80 wt.-% of at least one solid particulate filler F, wherein the surface of the functional layer S1 has an Auto-correlation length of waviness W(Sal) of at least 50 μm. Further, a method for producing a waterproofing system and to the use of a mechanical surface treatment step to increase the waviness factor, determined as the ratio of the Root mean square roughness of waviness W(Sq) to the square of the Auto-correlation length of waviness W(Sal), of a surface of a functional layer S1.

A waterproofing system including a functional layer S1 including 10-80 wt.-% of at least one thermoplastic polymer P1 and 10-80 wt.-% of at least one solid particulate filler F, wherein the surface of the functional layer S1 has an Auto-correlation length of waviness W(Sal) of at least 50 μm. Further, a method for producing a waterproofing system and to the use of a mechanical surface treatment step to increase the waviness factor, determined as the ratio of the Root mean square roughness of waviness W(Sq) to the square of the Auto-correlation length of waviness W(Sal), of a surface of a functional layer S1.

An Advanced Additive Construction device to extrude layers of cementitious material consistently and accurately with an anti-clogging method is disclosed. The device introduces low continuous frequency sonic vibrations with frequency range of 20- to 10000 Hz to slow cement or binding agents from curing the mixture inside the extruder and to get rid of air bubbles trapped in the mixture. Buildup of early cured mixtures inside the extruder tract especially in large volume or long period prints result in accumulation of material inside the extruder tract which causes extruder clogging. A shaker plate coupled with four miniature shakers excite the material mixture inside the extruder orthogonal to the inner casing direction. Furthermore, four more miniature shakers equipped with extension rods excite the material mixture inside the extruder orthogonal to the top mount, thereby preventing any cementitious material sticking within the extruder casing and around the central flight auger. Moreover, increasing the print speed and flow rate of the extruder by 60% which results in cutting the print time to more than 70% when counting the elimination of clogging. Also, it allows the extruder to accommodate a wider range of cementitious mixtures without the need to adjust admixtures and setting times especially for mixtures that have a rapid setting rate. The shaker's vibrating system, FIG. 7, functions within the upper chamber of the extruder casing, the upper chamber has the largest diameter as it operates as a flow control reservoir, which has less pressure compared to the lower chamber of the extruder. The vibrating rods and inner wall system prevent cementitious material from sticking to the extruder inner walls and allows smooth continuous flow of material.

Continuous method including mixing water and cementitous powder to form slurry; mixing the slurry and reinforcement fibers in a single pass horizontal continuous mixer to form fiber-slurry mixture, the mixer including an elongated mixing chamber having a reinforcement fiber inlet port, and upstream of the fiber inlet port is an inlet port to introduce water and cementitous powder together as one stream or at least two inlet ports to introduce water and dry cementitous powder separately as separate streams into the chamber, a rotating horizontal shaft/s within the chamber, part of the chamber for mixing the fibers and slurry and moving the fiber-slurry mixture to a mixture outlet; discharging the fiber-slurry mixture from the mixer outlet; forming and setting the fiber-slurry mixture on a moving surface; cutting the set mixture into fiber reinforced concrete panels and removing the panels from the moving surface.

A system (100) and method to control rheology of ceramic pre-cursor batch during extrusion is described herein. An extrusion system (100) comprises an extruder (122) with an input port (144) configured to feed ceramic pre-cursor batch into a first section (120) of an extruder barrel and a discharge port configured to extrude a ceramic pre-cursor extrudate (172) out of the extruder barrel downstream of the input port (144). A liquid injector (210) is configured to inject liquid into the ceramic pre-cursor batch. A sensor (106) is configured to detect a rheology characteristic of the ceramic pre-cursor batch. A controller (108) is configured (i) to receive the rheology characteristic from the sensor (106), (ii) compare the rheology characteristic to a predetermined rheology value of the ceramic pre-cursor batch, and (iii) generate a command based on the comparison. A liquid regulator (110) is configured to receive the command and adjust liquid flow to the liquid injector (210) based on the command.

A print head for printing three-dimensional structures made of concrete and a method used to deposit layers of concrete material one on top of the other. The print head is configured to be moved in space and to deposit individual layers of a concrete material, which forms the structure to be produced, one on top of the other. The print head includes a feeder configured to provide the concrete material, a conveying device configured to receive the concrete material from the feeder and to convey it, a shaping section configured to be filled with the pressurized concrete material and to define lateral dimensions of the layer to be deposited, an exit section pointing in a direction opposite to a feed direction of the print head, and an exiting prevention section configured to prevent the concrete material from exiting in the feed direction of the print head.

A print head for printing three-dimensional structures made of concrete and a method used to deposit layers of concrete material one on top of the other. The print head is configured to be moved in space and to deposit individual layers of a concrete material, which forms the structure to be produced, one on top of the other. The print head includes a feeder configured to provide the concrete material, a conveying device configured to receive the concrete material from the feeder and to convey it, a shaping section configured to be filled with the pressurized concrete material and to define lateral dimensions of the layer to be deposited, an exit section pointing in a direction opposite to a feed direction of the print head, and an exiting prevention section configured to prevent the concrete material from exiting in the feed direction of the print head.

A waterproofing system including a functional layer S1 including 10-80 wt.-% of at least one thermoplastic polymer P1 and 10-80 wt.-% of at least one solid particulate filler F, wherein the surface of the functional layer S1 has an Auto-correlation length of waviness W(Sal) of at least 50 μm. Further, a method for producing a waterproofing system and to the use of a mechanical surface treatment step to increase the waviness factor, determined as the ratio of the Root mean square roughness of waviness W(Sq) to the square of the Auto-correlation length of waviness W(Sal), of a surface of a functional layer S1.