First 3D-printed headwall tested on A30 upgrade

The project is part of the Digital Roads of the Future Partnership, a collaboration led by Costain with partner company Versarien, the University of Cambridge and National Highways. It’s the first trial of its kind for the agency.

The 2.3t headwall is constructed using an alkali-activated cementitious material and a 3D printer.

The first trial headwall was printed at Versarien’s Gloucestershire operations centre in December. During the printing process, Cambridge University researchers embedded a number of sensors into the structure to provide temperature and movement data.

A headwall was chosen for the trial because of the ease of access for installation and monitoring.

With the headwall in place on site, without affecting the operational highway, PhD students and post-doctoral researchers from Cambridge University will gather real-world data.

This will provide a better understanding of the technology, materials’ characteristics and performance over time to support future uses and to understand its wider application within the construction industry.

The design of the geometric shape of the product uses curves instead of straight lines. Without the need for steel reinforcement, this represents a significant and sustainable saving in costs and material, according to National Highways.

Joanna White, roads development director at National Highways, said: “We’re committed to exploring sustainable and innovative ways of constructing and maintaining our roads.”

Bhavika Ramrakhyani, head of materials at Costain, added: “This provides a step-change in the construction industry that there is no ‘one size fits all’, but different solutions are needed to combat climate change and increase productivity in parallel.”

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