This study aims to evaluate the thermal and mechanical performances of PET-G thermoplastics with different 3D microstructure patterns and infill densities. The production costs were also estimated to identify the most cost-effective solution. A total of 12 infill patterns were analysed, including Gyroid, Grid, Hilbert curve, Line, Rectilinear, Stars, Triangles, 3D Honeycomb, Honeycomb, Concentric, Cubic, and Octagram spiral with a fixed infill density of 25%. Different infill densities ranging from 5% to 20% were also tested to determine the best geometries. Thermal tests were conducted in a hotbox test chamber and mechanical properties were evaluated using a series of three-point bending tests. The study used printing parameters to meet the construction sector’s specific needs, including a larger nozzle diameter and printing speed. The internal microstructures led to variations of up to 70% in thermal performance and up to 300% in mechanical performance. For each geometry, the mechanical and thermal performance was highly correlated with the infill pattern, where higher infill improved thermal and mechanical performances. The economic performance showed that, in most cases, except for the Honeycomb and 3D Honeycomb, there were no significant cost differences between infill geometries. These findings can provide valuable insights for selecting the optimal 3D printing parameters in the construction industry.

Population in developed countries spend most of their time indoors, whether in their homes, workplaces, stores or leisure areas. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this situation worsened and now, more than ever, the importance of a high Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) is highlighted. The IEQ is very important in building performance since it is directly related to its occupants’ comfort, health, wellbeing, and productivity and the Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) concept.Therefore, it is essential to develop tools to support designers’ decision-making in the materialization of indoor environments with higher quality. From the state-of-art analysis, it is possible to conclude that the methods to assess the overall building performance already consider the IEQ. Still, most use an approach that does not cover all relevant indicators.In this context, this paper presents the first milestone of a research work that aims to develop a new method to rate the overall IEQ of office buildings in Portugal.The main objective of the present study is to propose a list of IEQ indicators for office buildings, adapted to the Portuguese context, based on the analysis of existing rating methods for buildings and the recommendations of national and international standards.

O emprego do concreto permeável como pavimento representa um excelente artifício no combate ao fenômeno da impermeabilização superficial urbana. Esta pesquisa envolve a avaliação pioneira sobre a influência da utilização desses resíduos reciclados em substituição à 100% do agregado convencional de origem pétrea no comportamento mecânico e hidráulico do concreto permeável por meio de ensaios preconizados pela ABNT NBR 16416:2015, sem a utilização de aditivos. Para tanto, realizou-se um estudo de metodologia de dosagem com o intuito de determinar o traço mais adequado para confecção do compósito drenante enquanto pavimento, esperando-se obter um material em conformidade com os requisitos normativos de resistência e permeabilidade, a partir de procedimentos tecnicamente viáveis. Todos os coeficientes de permeabilidade obtidos em laboratório superaram o limite normativo de 0,1 cm/s, chegando a alcançar valores de até 2,36 cm/s. Do mesmo modo, obtiveram-se valores médios de resistência característica à compressão das peças ensaiadas próximos ao limite de 20 MPa estipulado pela norma (23,98 MPa e 19,57 MPa, referentes às peças de 60 mm e 80 mm, respectivamente) e a resistência à tração na flexão foi igualmente atendida: média de 2,08 MPa, superior ao mínimo preconizado (2 MPa). Em vista da perspectiva favorável, os produtos finais poderão ser fabricados em série, reduzindo direta e indiretamente os dispêndios associados ao resíduo da construção civil e à impermeabilização dos pavimentos urbanos.