A Study on Cement-based Mix Design and Mechanical Property Tests for 3D-printing

Abstract

Nowadays, one of the major challenges in a construction industry is cost reduction, which is mainly referring to labor cost and raw material cost. 3-D printers technology is introduced to the industry as an innovative alternative to achieve the goal. 3-D printers help accelerate construction speed which means decreasing human labor required in the process. They also consume less raw materials in comparison to conventional method since there were less material wasted during the process. However, the right proportion of materials in printing mix should be used to meet an optimum point between construction efficiency and cost reduction. The objective of this research is to offer alternatives in mix design which are effective and suitable for 3-D printers using cement-based mix. The mix in both fresh state and hardened state are tested for mechanical properties including flowability, setting time, and compressive strength. Furthermore, this research aims to offer guidelines in 3-D printing mix testing methods.