Document Type

Data Set

Publication Date

Winter 2024

Abstract

In recent years, 3D printing technology has gained significant momentum across various industries within the construction sector, 3D printing has emerged as a promising technique; however, there are challenges associated with designing suitable construction materials and adjusting their properties for the 3D printing process. One of the key considerations in this regard is the rheological properties, encompassing parameters such as viscosity, yield stress, and thixotropy. These properties play a pivotal role in shaping the characteristics of 3D-printed concrete, both in its fresh and hardened states, including buildability, extrudability, and mechanical performance. Researchers have traditionally relied on chemical admixtures, such as retarders, accelerators, superplasticizers, and rheology modifiers, to achieve the desired rheological properties. However, these chemical admixtures are derived from non-renewable, oil-based sources and contain toxic elements that pose environmental risks and can lead to the corrosion of reinforcements. As an alternative, organic admixtures present a promising solution, as they are renewable and abundantly available materials. This study focuses on utilizing bio-degradable additives like corn starch and xanthan gum and supplementary cementitious materials like silica fume, nano-clay, and bentonite clay. Additionally, a viscosity-modifying admixture, namely methylcellulose, is incorporated into the mixtures. These admixtures are individually tested and combined in various configurations to evaluate their impact on the rheology and printability of 3D-printable concrete. The optimization of these mixtures is performed using response surface methodology (RSM), which is a design of experiments technique. RSM enables the identification of optimized binary, trinary, and quaternary mixtures based on their rheological responses. The printability of the selected optimized mixtures is evaluated in terms of extrudability and buildability, which are critical factors for successful 3D printing. The findings of this study suggest that the examined bio-degradable additives and supplementary cementitious materials have significant potential as effective rheology modifiers in 3D-printed concrete applications. By replacing traditional chemical admixtures with these sustainable alternatives, the environmental impact can be minimized while still achieving the desired rheological and printability characteristics in 3D-printed concrete.

Comments

Tran-SET Project 22CUNM46

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