3D printing Being Used to Better Understand Soil

Researchers say the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 was a profound shock which spurred them to take on long-term research on “disaster mitigation and symbiosis with the sea.” Their environmental research explores ecosystems of tidal flats and integrated management of the Japanese coastal environment, and through projects like “Guidelines for Tsunami-Resistant Design of Breakwaters,” the Port and Airport Research Institute (PARI) says they have revised technological standards pertaining to the method of evaluating the risk of soil liquefaction. A team of PARI researchers led by Satoshi Matsumura and Takaaki Mizutani are using 3D printing to evaluate the effect of structure on the mechanical behavior of soil as part of the work. They applied their understanding of particle arrangement within soil with a 3D printing technique using natural gravel soil and 3D printed samples for comparison. You can read the whole story here: http://3dprint.com/84178/3d-printing-soil-functions/
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