Damtsas, Efstathios;
Nieto Jiménez, Alejandro;
Konstantatou, Marina;
Herrmann, Michael;
Grigoriadis, Kostas;
(2025)
The design, fabrication, and structural and embodied carbon analysis of the world’s first manufactured topologically optimised multi-metal I-beam.
Architectural Intelligence
, 4
(1)
, Article 23. 10.1007/s44223-025-00100-8.
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Abstract
This research focuses on the design, fabrication, and structural and embodied carbon analysis of the world’s first topologically optimised multi-metal I-beam. Specifically, the beam under study is a European Parallel I-beam with a nominal height of 100 mm (commonly referred to as ‘IPE-100’), and the materials used are mild steel and tool steel. Topology Optimisation (TO) is performed using Altair’s OptiStruct software package, applying the Solid Isotropic Material with Penalty (SIMP) method. The multi-metal beam is fabricated using 3D printing, specifically Laser Metal Deposition (LMD), with a dual built-in metal wire feeder attached to a robotic arm. The beam is analysed both environmentally and structurally — the former focusing on an embodied carbon assessment of material extraction and component manufacturing, and the latter on four-point structural load testing. The fabrication method and analysis results are compared with those of the standard IPE-100 beam currently used in construction. Environmentally, the Multi-Material Topologically Optimised (MMTO) beam’s reduced mass results in lower carbon emissions compared with the standard IPE-100; however, due to the high emissions associated with its fabrication process, its overall carbon footprint is higher. Structurally, the MMTO beam can withstand a higher machine load than the standard IPE-100 before undergoing plastic deformation. This research is the result of an international, multidisciplinary collaboration between academia and industry across the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The design, fabrication, and structural and embodied carbon analysis of the world’s first manufactured topologically optimised multi-metal I-beam |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s44223-025-00100-8 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44223-025-00100-8 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Keywords: | Multi-metal 3d printing, Multi-material topology optimisation, Laser metal deposition, Embodied carbon analysis, Four-point structural testing |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett School of Architecture |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10217733 |
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