3D-Printed Ceramic Cooling Cubes
Kurt The 3D Printer GUY!!
The project comes from the Institute of Architecture and Media at TU Graz. Researcher Milena Stavric describes it as ancient physics made new by modern manufacturing. Clay jugs and traditional wind towers have used evaporative cooling for centuries. Now 3D printing makes it possible to design geometries that maximize that effect.
Ancient principle, printed geometryEach cube measures roughly 9 inches (23 cm) per side. It is digitally designed and printed from a clay mixture. The printed clay is fired at low temperatures to create a highly porous material.
The key is the geometry. The team uses a TPMS structure — Triply Periodic Minimal Surface. That design provides a very large surface area while using very little material. Water enters the porous ceramic through capillary forces. It spreads evenly through the complex geometry. It then evaporates continuously across that large surface, pulling heat out of the surrounding air.
“This has been working for centuries, both in clay jugs and in traditional wind towers,” said Stavric. “The key technological advance here lies in the use of 3D printing, which enables us to produce highly complex, porous and functionally optimized geometries from clay mixtures.”
Fungal networks boost performanceThe team has gone further by adding biology to the process. Fungal cultures and sawdust are mixed into the clay before printing. A mycelium — the thread-like network of fungal filaments — grows through the material. The cube is then fired. The fungal matter and sawdust burn away. What remains is a dense network of micro- and macro-pores inside the ceramic. Water spreads through those pores more readily, improving the cooling effect.
The team is also experimenting with lake sediment from Lake Neusiedl in Austria. That shallow lake must be dredged regularly to prevent silting. Most of the extracted sediment is currently discarded. TU Graz researchers believe it could be used as a raw material for 3D-printed ceramic cooling components instead.
12.6°F drop in an attic testA controlled field test at TU Graz measured the effect directly. Researchers placed a water-filled cube in a hot attic and monitored the surrounding temperature. The air immediately around the cube dropped by nearly 12.6°F.
“The cooling effect was clearly noticeable throughout the room,” said Kristijan Ristoski. He wrote his master’s thesis on integrating the cubes and water supply into a cooling wall.
A 2 by 2 meter (6.6 by 6.6 feet) demonstration wall now stands at TU Graz’s Campus Neue Technik in Graz. The public can visit it and experience the effect firsthand. A second installation is on display at the Museum of Perception in Graz.
No electricity, no refrigerantsAir conditioning consumes large amounts of energy. It also releases heat into the environment, which worsens urban heat islands. Ceramic evaporative cooling does neither. It requires only water and passive airflow.
“Our aim is to provide cooling where people suffer particularly from the heat,” said Stavric. “We rely on natural cooling principles rather than energy-intensive air-conditioning technology.”
The cubes are designed for residential and office buildings, schools, public spaces, and waiting areas. They work for both indoor spaces and outdoor air. Passive cooling systems like this offer a low-cost, low-impact alternative in dense cities where trees cannot grow in sufficient numbers.
