Quality Assessment of Printable Strain Hardening Cementitious Composites Manufactured in Two Different Printing Facilities

Over the past few years, several studies have shown the potential of three-dimensional concrete printing (3DCP) for applications in building and civil engineering. However, only a few studies have compared the properties of the fresh printing material and the quality of the printed elements from different printing facilities. Variations in the manufacturing conditions caused by the mixing procedures, the pumping device and the nozzle shape and/or dimensions may influence the quality of the printed elements. This study investigates the differences in the fresh and hardened properties of a printing material tested in two different printing facilities. The pump pressure and temperature experienced by the printing material during the printing session are monitored real-time. Hardened properties are measured for the printed elements, such as the bending capacity, the apparent density, and the air void content. The research shows that two different printing facilities may result in printed elements with relative differences in flexural strength and volumetric density of 49% and 7%, respectively

Numerical analysis of sandwich beams

\u3cp\u3eThis paper describes the development of a numerical model for the physical nonlinear analysis of simply supported sandwich beams, specifically with foamed-concrete cores and concrete faces. The long-term behaviour is included in view of creep and shrinkage of both faces and core. The structural behaviour of sandwich beams is described by a fourth-order differential equation in the deformation w and a second-order differential equation in the shear deformation of the core γ\u3csub\u3ek\u3c/sub\u3e. The flexural stiffness of the core is taken into account. The general-solution procedure is based on the finite-difference method, together with a successive-substitution algorithm using the secant flexural moduli of the core and faces and the secant shear modulus of the core. The option of tension stiffening is incorporated to represent the nonlinear behaviour of reinforced concrete in tension. The tension stiffening is numerically calculated from a distributed tensile load instead of a load acting on both ends of the reinforced bar. Creep and shrinkage are calculated separately from the differential equations with an algorithm based on increments of time. With the presented model, the time-dependent deflection along the axis of the beam and the state of stress in every fibre can be calculated.\u3c/p\u3

Potentials and challenges in 3D concrete printing

\u3cp\u3eReinforced concrete structures have constantly become more safe and durable over the past century and the materials properties have improved tremendously, but the design and construction method have not changed much over time. Concrete structures face a series of challenges like a new degree of freedom for architecture, sustainability, health, increased productivity and a better integration to BIM models. 3D Concrete printing has the potential to meet these demands, although it is not clear yet which type of structures will benefit most from this additive type of manufacturing. However, in order to explore the benefits, the first task of research is to make the print process robust. This is needed since the load bearing capacity of a structure depends on the design and the printing strategy. Besides, the issue of a lack of reinforcing steel must be solved to ensure safe structures, for example by developing new and ductile types of concrete.\u3c/p\u3

Ductility of 3D printed concrete reinforced with short straight steel fibers

With the number of 3D printed concrete structures rapidly increasing, the demand for concepts that allow for robust and ductile printed objects becomes increasingly pressing. An obvious solution strategy is the inclusion of fibers in the printed material. In this study, the effect of adding short straight steel fibers on the failure behaviour of Weber 3D 115-1 print mortar has been studied through several CMOD tests on cast and printed concrete, on different scales. The experiments have also been simulated numerically. The research has shown that the fibers cause an important increase in flexural strength, and eliminate the strength difference between cast and printed concrete that exists without fibers. The post-peak behaviour, nevertheless, has to be characterised as strongly strain-softening. In the printed specimens, a strong fiber orientation in the direction of the filament occurs. However, this has no notable effect on the performance in the tested direction: cast and printed concrete with fibers behave similarly in the CMOD test. For the key parameters, no scale effect was found for the specimens with fibers, contrary to the ones without. Numerical modelling of the test by using the Concrete Damage Plasticity material model of Abaqus, with a Thorenfeldt-based constitutive law in compression and a customised constitutive law in tension, results in a reasonable fit with the experimental results

Triaxial compression testing on early age concrete for numerical analysis of 3D concrete printing

In 3D concrete printing processes, two competing modes of failure are distinguished: material failure by plastic yielding, and elastic buckling failure through local or global instability. Structural analysis may be performed to assess if, and how, an object may fail during printing. This requires input in the form of transient material properties obtained from experimental testing on early age concrete. In this study, a custom triaxial compression test setup was developed, to characterize all essential parameters to assess failure by elastic buckling, and material yielding according to the Mohr-Coulomb criterion. The results of the triaxial tests were compared to simultaneously run unconfined uniaxial compression tests and ultrasonic wave transmission tests. The correlation between these experimental methods was reviewed. It was concluded that the triaxial compression test is an appropriate method to determine all relevant transient properties from one series of experiments. Subsequently, the experimental results were used for structural analyses of straight printed walls of different lengths with a Finite Element Modelling approach. These walls have been printed up to failure during print trials and the results were compared to the numerical predictions. The failure mode is predicted accurately by the numerical model, as is the critical height at which failure occurs for relatively small objects. For larger objects and/or longer printing processes, the quantitative agreement of the critical height with the print experiments could be improved. Two possible causes for this deviation are discussed.\u3cbr/\u3e\u3cbr/\u3

Hardened properties of 3D printed concrete:the influence of process parameters on interlayer adhesion

\u3cp\u3eThe technology of 3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) has progressed rapidly over the last years. With the aim to realize both buildings and civil works, the need for reliable mechanical properties of printed concrete grows. As a consequence of the additive manufacturing technique, 3D printed structures may consist of several layers that should exhibit bond to guarantee a safe structural design. This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the relation between the 3DCP process parameters and the bond strength of 3D printed concrete. The effect of 3 process parameters (interlayer interval time, nozzle height, and surface dehydration) on two mechanical properties (compressive strength and tensile strength, determined through flexural and splitting tests), has been established, in three perpendicular directions. A very limited influence of layer orientation was found for the given process-material combination, given a sufficiently short interlayer interval time. However, the bond strength between the layers reduced for increasing interlayer interval times. This was also reflected by the failure mode of the samples. The reduction in strength became more pronounced for the samples that were left uncovered during the interval time, exposed to drying. No clear relation was found between the height of the nozzle, and the bond strength between layers. The results of this study, in comparison to various other works on 3DCP, emphasize the need for standardization of test methods and characterization of 3D printed concrete, as individual process parameters clearly must be considered in relation to the applied material and other process parameters.\u3c/p\u3

Correlation between destructive compression tests and non-destructive ultrasonic measurements on early age 3D printed concrete

\u3cp\u3e3D printing of concrete and related digital fabrication techniques are enjoying rapid growth. For these technologies to be broadly accepted in structural applications and to be economically competitive, quality control methods of the process will be required. Additive concrete manufacturing processes are sensitive to process settings and conditions, which calls not only for preprint structural modelling to establish printability, but also for in-print monitoring to ensure expected properties are indeed achieved. Non-destructive test methods are highly suitable for this aspect of quality control, as they usually allow efficient, high frequent digital measurements that require relatively little effort. However, as they generally do not directly measure the appropriate parameter(s), correlations between non-destructive and destructive testing have to be established. The preprint structural modelling is based on a number of time-dependent mechanical properties, including the compressive strength and the Young's modulus. If concrete is still in the dormant state, as it often is in 3D concrete printing, these properties require difficult, time consuming destructive tests to establish. In the present work, the correlation between these two mechanical properties on the one hand, and the pulse velocity on the other, was studied. A (destructive) unconfined uniaxial compression test was applied to determine the former, while a (non-destructive) ultrasonic wave transmission test was used for the latter. As expected from previous research on a similar mortar, both the compressive strength and the Young's modulus were found to increase linearly in a time frame of 5–90 min after extrusion. This is attributed to thixotropic build-up. Within that time frame, the pulse velocity also grew in a linear fashion. Thus, a simple linear correlation between the destructive and non-destructive test results could be established. For now, this allows continuous quality control on simply obtainable control batches. Furthermore, it stimulates the development of ultrasonic online monitoring methods for the objects during printing.\u3c/p\u3

Experimental exploration of metal cable as reinforcement in 3D printed concrete

The Material Deposition Method (MDM) is enjoying increasing attention as an additive method to create concrete mortar structures characterised by a high degree of form-freedom, a lack of geometrical repetition, and automated construction. Several small-scale structures have been realised around the world, or are under preparation. However, the nature of this construction method is unsuitable for conventional reinforcement methods to achieve ductile failure behaviour. Sometimes, this is solved by combining printing with conventional casting and reinforcing techniques. This study, however, explores an alternative strategy, namely to directly entrain a metal cable in the concrete filament during printing to serve as reinforcement. A device is introduced to apply the reinforcement. Several options for online reinforcement media are compared for printability. Considerations specific to the manufacturing process are discussed. Subsequently, pull-out tests on cast and printed specimens provide an initial characterisation of bond behaviour. Bending tests furthermore show the potential of this reinforcement method. The bond stress of cables in printed concrete was comparable to values reported for smooth rebar but lower than that of the same cables in cast concrete. The scatter in experimental results was high. When sufficient bond length is available, ductile failure behaviour for tension parallel to the filament direction can be achieved, even though cable slip occurs. Further improvements to the process should pave the way to achieve better post-crack resistance, as the concept in itself is feasibl

3D printing concrete with reinforcement

\u3cp\u3eRecent years have seen a rapid growth of additive manufacturing methods for concrete construction. A recurring issue associated with these methods, however, is the lack of ductility in the resulting product. In cases this is solved by combining printing with conventional casting and reinforcing techniques. Alternatively, this paper presents first findings on the development of a system to directly entrain a suitable form of reinforcement during printing. A device is introduced to apply the reinforcement. Several options for online reinforcement medium are compared for printability and structural performance, based printing test runs and 4-point bending tests respectively. It is shown that high-performance steel cables can provide suitable reinforcement characteristics, although improved bond would allow better use of the cable capabilities. Significant post-cracking deformations and post-cracking strength can be achieved. Further research into optimal reinforcement placement and configuration is recommended.\u3c/p\u3