Can superabsorbent polymers be used as rheology modifiers for cementitious materials in the context of 3D concrete printing?

Autogenous shrinkage may be a critical issue concerning the use of limestone-calcined clay-cement (LC3) in high-performance concrete and 3D printable cementitious materials, which have relatively low water to binder (W/B) ratio. Adding an internal curing agent, i.e., superabsorbent polymer (SAP), could be a viable solution in this context....

Effect of curing methods during a long time gap between two printing sessions on the interlayer bonding of 3D printed cementitious materials

A good bond between the layers of 3D printed cementitious materials is a prerequisite for having high structural rigidity for the printed elements. However, the influence of printing process on an interlayer bond is still not well understood. This study investigates the influence of curing methods (i.e., air curing, plastic film covering, wet...

Determination of loss of reinforcement due to corrosion through X-ray computer micro-tomography

X-ray computer scanning tomography (CT scan) is an increasingly more available technique, which has been applied to material sciences for years. Although most of its use is qualitative for gaining insights on material behavior, quantitative analysis for estimations of deterioration rates is possible. This paper describes an unbiased,...

Piezoresistive properties of cementitious composites reinforced by PVA fibres

The use of fibres to enhance the ductility of cementitious composites has been extensively studied for the past few years. The addition of polymeric or metalic fibres with random orientation to the composite or even natural long and aligned fibres demonstrated a very successful reinforcement capable to reach a high mechanical performance....