Material development for lightweight 3D concrete printing

• Main Author: Lim, Zhe Gee
• Other Authors: Qian Shunzhi
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2019
• Subjects: Engineering::Civil engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/136564
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The construction industry in Singapore has been facing various challenges from low productivity to poor workplace safety. Even though there are improvements made through the utilisation of off-site constructed elements or modules, the construction sector remains to be the lowest in terms of productivity and workplace safety. Hence, 3D concrete printing is an alternative that can overcome the challenges faced in the construction industry. The paper aims to incorporate lightweight materials into 3D printable concrete and review the potential raw lightweight aggregates for 3D printable lightweight concrete. This was done by investigating the concrete behaviour when these lightweight aggregates are added. The effects of the lightweight materials on the rheology of concrete were analysed. The Anton Paar rheometer was used to analyse the rheological properties of concrete. The obtained experimental results concluded that the addition of lightweight aggregates reduces the rheological properties of concrete.