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Method of optimisation for ambient temperature cured sustainable geopolymers for 3D printing construction applications

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posted on 2024-07-11, 12:55 authored by Shin Hau Bong, Behzad NematollahiBehzad Nematollahi, Ali Nazari, Ming Xia, Jay SanjayanJay Sanjayan
Since the initial introduction of geopolymers, these materials have been characterised as environmentally-friendly sustainable substitutes for ordinary Portland cement (OPC). There is a routine increase in the application of geopolymers, especially in advanced technologies. Because of its better rheological characteristics compared to OPC, geopolymers are appropriate materials for extrusion-based 3D printing technologies. This paper focuses on the optimisation of an ambient temperature cured geopolymer for 3D printing construction applications. The effects of mixture parameters, including the type of hydroxide solution (HS), the type of silicate solution (SS) and the mass ratio of SS to HS on the workability, extrudability, shape retention ability and mechanical performance of different geopolymer mixtures were investigated. Accordingly, an optimum mixture was identified for geopolymers cured at ambient temperatures. Mechanical properties of the optimised mixture, including flexural and compressive strengths, were measured in different directions with respect to the printed layers. Further, uniaxial tension tests were also conducted on the optimised mixture to measure its interlayer bond strength. The results showed that among the activators investigated, the sodium-based activator composed of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate solutions, with a SiO2/Na2O ratio of 3.22, was the most effective activator, providing appropriate workability and extrudability, along with reasonable strength and a high shape retention ability. The acquired mechanical properties exhibited anisotropic behaviour in different testing direction. The strength of the interlayer bond was found to be adequate to avoid interfacial shear failure.

Funding

ARC | DP170103521

ARC | LE170100168

ARC | DE180101587

ARC | FT160100066

3D Concrete Printing Facility for Automated Construction Research : Australian Research Council (ARC) | LE170100168

3D Printing of Structures using Fibre Reinforced Geopolymer Concrete : Australian Research Council (ARC) | DP170103521

3D printable geopolymer with orientable fibres for construction application : Australian Research Council (ARC) | DE180101587

Additive manufacturing of functionally graded geopolymers : Australian Research Council (ARC) | FT160100066

History

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ISSN

1996-1944

Journal title

Materials

Volume

16

Issue

6

Article number

article no. 902

Pagination

902-

Publisher

MDPI AG

Copyright statement

Copyright © The Authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Language

eng

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