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Video by Desiree Kapler, Christopher Kieffer

Engineering With Nature Additive Manufacturing

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center

April 12, 2024 | 7:15

Nature is the ultimate designer, and incorporating nature-inspired designs into coastal infrastructure can provide maximum resilience, as well as economic, environmental and social benefits. However, doing so has been difficult because of constraints in traditional manufacturing.

Rapid advancements in additive manufacturing and pioneering research by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) have opened new possibilities. Looking to capitalize, a team at ERDC is studying how 3D-printing can create geometrically complex structures needed to mimic nature.

As an added first-time innovation, this Engineering With Nature® project beneficially uses dredged material as feedstock for the printers, turning a waste material into a valuable resource and helping the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reach its goal to beneficially use 70 percent of dredged material by the year 2030.

For more information about the project, visit ewn.erdc.dren.mil/research/project/removing-artificial-from-artificial-habitats-3d-printing-natural-materials-to-unlock-complex-nature-inspired-infrastructure/.