Functionally graded concrete components enable a component’s interior to be adapted to a predominant job requirement profile in terms of structure or building physics. Optimum concrete components can be produced by continually manipulating material characteristics, for example porosity, strength or stiffness, in up to three directions. Functionally grading the concrete’s porosity in a component’s interior can be employed to minimise mass and to attain multifunctional characteristics. The starting point in grading is the technological development of two extreme concrete reference mixes with contradictory characteristics. Using layering and spraying as manufacturing procedures enables the entire range of characteristics to be developed between the reference mixes. Reproducible construction components can be produced by automating manufacturing procedure control and by applying the concrete with a multi-axis manipulator. Numerical design methods supply the robot with a gradient layout as a digital construction plan. The result is a complete automation of the process chain from design to the manufacturing of functionally graded concrete components.
