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In recent years, the use of Wire-and-Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) for strengthening standardized steel elements received significant interest within the research community. The reason for this lies in the theoretical potential of WAAM to improve the economic and environmental aspects of contemporary steel construction through efficient material consumption. As efficiency is often obtained through detailed design study, the paper presents a design exploration of suitable stiffener geometries under the assumption of infinite geometrical freedom. The assumption is eventually invalidated as process constraints specific to the generated geometries emerge from test trials. Once identified, process constraints are documented and overcome through adequate and precise path planning. Feasibility analysis is an important step between design and fabrication, especially in the case of large-scale or geometrically complex components. With reference to the case of stiffeners, a feasibility analysis is necessary to take into account the specific geometrical limits of the build volume, which is not typically the case for conventional WAAM fabrication. The current research provides the first investigation to understand the means for future on-site WAAM strengthening of existing steel structural elements.

The study described in this contribution contains a fundamental strategy to select geometries for dry joint profiles in 3D-printed concrete constructions. A database, here called the ‘joint catalogue’, contains a variety of joint types adapted from timber, steel, and bionic connections. Weighting factors and different criteria evaluate and score the various joint profiles (e.g., manufacturability, duration of manufacturing, and mechanical behaviour). Therefore, an algorithm sums up the scores leading to the preselection of better suitable profiles. The preselected joint profiles were afterwards analysed by the finite element method, determining the load capacity of the joint in a unit specimen. According to the joint catalogue, a smooth, triangular, truncated cone and arc joint profile appeared to be the optimal combination for dry joints in additive manufacturing of construction (AMC).