Buildability and Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Concrete

Recently, 3D concrete printing has progressed rapidly in the construction industry. However, this technique still contains several factors that influence the buildability and mechanical properties of the printed concrete. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of the nozzle speed, the interlayer interval time, the rotations per minute (RPMs) of the screw in the 3D printing device, and the presence of lateral supports on the buildability of 3D concrete printing. In addition, this paper presents the results of the mechanical properties, including the compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural tensile strengths of 3D printed concrete. The buildability of 3D printed structures was improved with an extended interlayer interval time of up to 300 s. The printing processes were interrupted because of tearing of concrete filaments, which was related to excessive RPMs of the mixing screw. The test results also showed that a lateral support with a wide contact surface could improve the resistance to buckling failure for 3D printed structures. The test results of the mechanical properties of the 3D printed concrete specimens indicated that the compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural tensile strengths significantly depended on the bonding behavior at the interlayers of the printed specimens. In addition, although metal laths were expected to improve the tensile strength of the printed specimens, they adversely affected the tensile performance due to weak bonding between the reinforcements and concrete filaments.