Conceptualising the Behavior of 3D Printed Concrete Structures in Fire (2023-07)¶

Three-dimensional printed concrete (3DPC) is becoming a growing alternative to traditional construction practices. In recent years this novel technique has been developed into practical construction applications, including structures such as façade panels, bridges, houses, and office buildings. Despite the considerable endeavours of academia and industry towards the advancement of 3DPC practices, existing knowledge on the structural behaviour of 3DPC in fire is limited. The structural performance of non-loadbearing 3DPC cavity walls were reported in this paper using appropriate numerical uncoupled thermo-mechanical models. The aim of this work is to conceptualise both thermal performance and thermally induced stresses in 3DPC walls exposed to elevated temperatures. Using free-body diagrams of typical 3DPC walls to evaluate numerical results, it is shown that significant internal stresses can develop, which are likely to cause extensive cracking with vertical cracking (perpendicular to printed concrete layers) being dominant rather than horizontal cracking, as may be expected.