@article{0f20f4ca39c74288979f70b5329c17f9,
title = "Design and application of a novel 3D printing method for bio-inspired artificial reefs",
abstract = "Morphological complexity and diversity are key design features for forming artificial reefs that can support marine communities. Towards this end, 3D Printing (3DP) has become a unique fabrication method in the field. In the current study, we develop a novel approach to ceramic 3DP and investigate new morphologies to form marine habitats using additive manufacturing (AM) with eco-friendly materials. A large Paste Based Extrusion (PBE) 3D printer was used in addition to adapted, ceramic materials to develop a Gravity-Stimulated Printing Design method (GSPD) to fabricate bio-inspired reef designs. This approach used a direct parametric design-tool that generates and controls a specific machine tool-path of the printer, bypassing the slicer program. The developed parametric design-tool led to highly complex shapes that assembled a spatial conglomerate structure with the variety and uniqueness of each part. A reef forming prototype made from 87 printed parts was created and installed in a coral reef environment at the northern tip of the Red Sea in the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba. After two years, we observed abundant marine organisms settling and recruiting at a depth of 12 m to form a new reef. This study demonstrates the environmental potential of AM, specifically in ceramic 3D printing. Our results indicate that the GSPD method can be used for large-scale production of highly complex eco-friendly artificial marine habitats. Using our design approach, we can facilitate morphological complexity in ceramic AR construction that support a diversity of coral reef residents.",
keywords = "3D printing, Artificial habitat, Ceramic reef, Coral reef restoration, Reef formation",
author = "Ofer Berman and Michael Weizman and Asa Oren and Reem Neri and Haim Parnas and Nadav Shashar and Ezri Tarazi",
note = "Funding Information: We thank the Technion Polack Fund, the Daniel, Zeff, and Fine Fund, and the Technion Design-Tech Lab for supporting this research. We also thank The Inter-University Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat for access to its infrastructure and services. The Israeli Diving Federation also provided partial support for this study. Avi Goren and Techno Alfa INC. helped with the metal work included in this study. Dr. Natalie Levy from LMME lab, Bar-Ilan University, Dr. Tom Shaked, from Material Topology Research Lab, the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning at the Technion, and Dr. Assaf Zvuluni from INPA contributed to the success of the study. This manuscript was greatly improved by the anonymous reviewers' inputs. We wish to thank Haim Zinger for photographing some of the images presented in this study ( Fig. 3 upper row; Fig. 4 upper row; Fig. 5 A-D; Fig. 6 , and the leftmost image in Fig. 8 ). This study was carried out under Israeli Nature and Parks Authority permits no. 2019/42207, 2020/42447, and 2021/42754. This manuscript represents partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Ph.D. thesis for O.B. at the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Israel. Funding Information: We thank the Technion Polack Fund, the Daniel, Zeff, and Fine Fund, and the Technion Design-Tech Lab for supporting this research. We also thank The Inter-University Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat for access to its infrastructure and services. The Israeli Diving Federation also provided partial support for this study. Avi Goren and Techno Alfa INC. helped with the metal work included in this study. Dr. Natalie Levy from LMME lab, Bar-Ilan University, Dr. Tom Shaked, from Material Topology Research Lab, the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning at the Technion, and Dr. Assaf Zvuluni from INPA contributed to the success of the study. This manuscript was greatly improved by the anonymous reviewers' inputs. We wish to thank Haim Zinger for photographing some of the images presented in this study (Fig. 3 upper row; Fig. 4 upper row; Fig. 5A-D; Fig. 6, and the leftmost image in Fig. 8). This study was carried out under Israeli Nature and Parks Authority permits no. 2019/42207, 2020/42447, and 2021/42754. This manuscript represents partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Ph.D. thesis for O.B. at the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Israel. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 Elsevier B.V.",
year = "2023",
month = mar,
day = "1",
doi = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2023.106892",
language = "American English",
volume = "188",
journal = "Ecological Engineering",
issn = "0925-8574",
publisher = "Elsevier",
}
