Hardened Properties of 3D Printed Limestone-Calcined-Clay-Cement Concrete (2023-07)¶

The emergence of a highly productive construction technology named 3D printed concrete (3DPC) is a breakthrough in the construction industry due to its ability to conserve natural resources, reduce waste, and minimise time and costs associated with the construction of concrete infrastructure. This study investigates the performance of fibre-reinforced 3DPC made with limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) to minimise the detrimental environmental footprint of ordinary Portland cement. LC3 has been a promising supplementary cementitious material showing better performance in terms of strength development, compared to Portland cement and other blended cements. The mechanical response of LC3 3DPC reinforced with micro synthetic polypropylene fibre under compression and splitting tensile loading including the modulus of elasticity is examined. The test results reveal that the anisotropic phenomenon was pronounced in mechanical characterisation of the 3D-printed specimens when subjected to loading conditions in different orientations. The peak load values of cylindrical specimens is lesser than that of cubic specimens, having mean strength ratios of 73% and 88% for compression and splitting tension, respectively. Finally, the relationship between the mechanical strength of both the cast and printed specimens cured for 28-day in a climate-controlled room at 23°C (± 2°C) and 65% (± 5%) relative humidity is presented.