Mechanical properties of 3D printed concrete: a RILEM 304-ADC interlaboratory study – compressive strength and modulus of elasticity

Abstract Traditional construction techniques, such as in-situ casting and pre-cast concrete methods, have well-established testing protocols for assessing compressive strength and modulus of elasticity, including specific procedures for sample preparation and curing. In contrast, 3D concrete printing currently lacks standardized testing protocols, potentially contributing to the inconsistent results reported in previous studies. To address this issue, RILEM TC 304-ADC initiated a comprehensive interlaboratory study on the mechanical properties of 3D printed concrete. This study involves 30 laboratories worldwide, contributing 34 sets of data, with some laboratories testing more than one mix design. The compressive strength and modulus of elasticity were determined under three distinct conditions: Default, where each laboratory printed according to their standard procedure followed by water bath curing; Deviation 1, which involved creating a cold joint by increasing the time interval between printing layers; and Deviation 2, where the standard printing process was used, but the specimens were cured under conditions different from water bath. Some tests were conducted at two different scales based on specimen size—“mortar-scale” and “concrete-scale”—to investigate the size effect on compressive strength. Since the mix design remained identical for both scales, the only variable was the specimen size. This paper reports on the findings from the interlaboratory study, followed by a detailed investigation into the influencing parameters such as extraction location, cold joints, number of interlayers, and curing conditions on the mechanical properties of the printed concrete. As this study includes results from laboratories worldwide, its contribution to the development of relevant standardized testing protocols is critical.

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Publication Details

Journal
Materials and Structures
Published
2025-06-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-025-02688-9
Citations
13
Primary Topic
Innovations in Concrete and Construction Materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
13.08

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article

Mechanical properties of 3D printed concrete: a RILEM 304-ADC interlaboratory study – compressive strength and modulus of elasticity

Rob Wolfs, Jean-Pierre Mostert, John Temitope Kolawole, Ilhame Harbouz et al.
13 citations
Materials and Structures
Innovations in Concrete and Construction Materials
13.08
article

Mechanical properties of 3D printed concrete: a RILEM 304-ADC interlaboratory study – compressive strength and modulus of elasticity

Rob Wolfs, Jean-Pierre Mostert, John Temitope Kolawole, Ilhame Harbouz, Markus Taubert, Costantino Menna, Inken Jette Rasehorn, Hélène Lombois-Burger, Yamei Zhang, Laura Esposito, Rebecca Ammann, Annika Robens‐Radermacher, David Böhler, C. Maximilian Hechtl, Luiza Rodrigues Meira de Miranda, Shantanu Bhattacherjee, Christiane Richter, Richard Buswell, Claudia Eugenin, Daniel Auer, Jean‐François Caron, Tobias Neef, Manu Santhanam, Kolluru V. L. Subramaniam, Iván Navarrete, Shravan Muthukrishnan, Māris Šinka, Abdelhak Kaci, Bilal Baz, S. Rahal, Nilüfer Özyurt, Arun R. Arunothayan, Mateja Štefančič, Zengfeng Zhao, Zhendi Wang, Chalermwut Snguanyat, Renata Monte, Dirk Lowke, Freek Bos, Inka Mai, Lucija Hanžič, Jacques Kruger, Niklas Freund, Jörg Jungwirth, Viktor Mechtcherine, Maximilian Dahlenburg, Xingzi Liu, Onur Öztürk, Alise Sapata, Victor de Bono, Jelle Versteege, Jakub Roupec, Muhammad Nura Isa, Zheng Yuan Jia
article en
13 citations

Abstract

Abstract Traditional construction techniques, such as in-situ casting and pre-cast concrete methods, have well-established testing protocols for assessing compressive strength and modulus of elasticity, including specific procedures for sample preparation and curing. In contrast, 3D concrete printing currently lacks standardized testing protocols, potentially contributing to the inconsistent results reported in previous studies. To address this issue, RILEM TC 304-ADC initiated a comprehensive interlaboratory study on the mechanical properties of 3D printed concrete. This study involves 30 laboratories worldwide, contributing 34 sets of data, with some laboratories testing more than one mix design. The compressive strength and modulus of elasticity were determined under three distinct conditions: Default, where each laboratory printed according to their standard procedure followed by water bath curing; Deviation 1, which involved creating a cold joint by increasing the time interval between printing layers; and Deviation 2, where the standard printing process was used, but the specimens were cured under conditions different from water bath. Some tests were conducted at two different scales based on specimen size—“mortar-scale” and “concrete-scale”—to investigate the size effect on compressive strength. Since the mix design remained identical for both scales, the only variable was the specimen size. This paper reports on the findings from the interlaboratory study, followed by a detailed investigation into the influencing parameters such as extraction location, cold joints, number of interlayers, and curing conditions on the mechanical properties of the printed concrete. As this study includes results from laboratories worldwide, its contribution to the development of relevant standardized testing protocols is critical.

Materials and StructuresVol. 58(5)
Tongji University (CN), Federal Institute For Materials Research and Testing (DE), Université de Sherbrooke (CA), École nationale des ponts et chaussées (FR), Loughborough University (GB), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (CL), Munich University of Applied Sciences (DE), Universidade de São Paulo (BR), Riga Technical University (LV), Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IN), Stellenbosch University (ZA), Ghent University Hospital (BE), ETH Zurich (CH), China Building Materials Academy (CN), SCG Chemicals (Thailand) (TH), Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute (SI), CY Cergy Paris Université (FR), Boğaziçi University (TR), Technische Universität Berlin (DE), Swinburne University of Technology (AU), Brno University of Technology (CZ), Technical University of Munich (DE), Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IN), University of Naples Federico II (IT), Southeast University (CN), Technische Universität Dresden (DE), Eindhoven University of Technology (NL), REVA University (IN), Technische Universität Braunschweig (DE)
Université de Sherbrooke, Loughborough University, Swinburne University of Technology, Technische Universität Dresden, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Universidade de São Paulo, Technische Universität München, Technische Universität Berlin, Key Technologies Research and Development Program
Sustainable cities and communities
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Innovations in Concrete and Construction Materials
13.08
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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