Mechanical properties of 3D printed concrete: a RILEM TC 304-ADC interlaboratory study — flexural and tensile strength

Abstract This paper discusses the flexural and tensile strength properties of 3D printed concrete, based on the results of a RILEM TC 304-ADC interlaboratory study on mechanical properties. These properties are determined using different testing techniques, including 3- and 4-point flexural tests, splitting tests, and uniaxial tension tests, on specimens extracted from large 3D printed elements in accordance with a prescribed study plan. The relationship between compressive and flexural or tensile strengths, cast or printed samples, different types of tests, and different loading orientations, are analysed to understand the influence of 3D printing. As expected, the strength can reduce significantly when the main tensile stress is acting perpendicular to the interface between layers. The role of deviations from the standard study procedure, in terms of the time interval between the placing of subsequent layers, or the adoption of a different curing strategy, are also assessed. While the increased time interval significantly impacts the strength in the critical direction, the use of variable curing conditions does not seem to have a clear-cut effect on the strength ratios of the printed to cast specimens. Additionally, the paper looks at the variability in the results for the printed specimens, in order to emphasize the need for multiple replicates for obtaining a proper result. An extensive insight into the aspects affecting the variability is presented in the paper. Finally, with the limited dataset available for specimens tested at a larger scale, it is difficult to arrive at a clear understanding of the role of specimen size (i.e., greater number of layers).

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Publication Details

Journal
Materials and Structures
Published
2025-06-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-025-02687-w
Citations
10
Primary Topic
Innovations in Concrete and Construction Materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
10.06

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article

Mechanical properties of 3D printed concrete: a RILEM TC 304-ADC interlaboratory study — flexural and tensile strength

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

Mechanical properties of 3D printed concrete: a RILEM TC 304-ADC interlaboratory study — flexural and tensile strength

Rob Wolfs, Jean-Pierre Mostert, John Temitope Kolawole, Ilhame Harbouz, Markus Taubert, Costantino Menna, Inken Jette Rasehorn, Aljoša Šajna, 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, Zengfeng Zhao, Zhendi Wang, Chalermwut Snguanyat, Katarina Šter, Renata Monte, Dirk Lowke, Freek Bos, Inka Mai, Jacques Kruger, Niklas Freund, Jörg Jungwirth, Viktor Mechtcherine, Maximilian Dahlenburg, Xingzi Liu, Onur Öztürk, Alise Sapata, Victor de Bono, Jelle Versteege, Muhammad Nura Isa, Zheng Yuan Jia, J. Roupec
article en
10 citations

Abstract

Abstract This paper discusses the flexural and tensile strength properties of 3D printed concrete, based on the results of a RILEM TC 304-ADC interlaboratory study on mechanical properties. These properties are determined using different testing techniques, including 3- and 4-point flexural tests, splitting tests, and uniaxial tension tests, on specimens extracted from large 3D printed elements in accordance with a prescribed study plan. The relationship between compressive and flexural or tensile strengths, cast or printed samples, different types of tests, and different loading orientations, are analysed to understand the influence of 3D printing. As expected, the strength can reduce significantly when the main tensile stress is acting perpendicular to the interface between layers. The role of deviations from the standard study procedure, in terms of the time interval between the placing of subsequent layers, or the adoption of a different curing strategy, are also assessed. While the increased time interval significantly impacts the strength in the critical direction, the use of variable curing conditions does not seem to have a clear-cut effect on the strength ratios of the printed to cast specimens. Additionally, the paper looks at the variability in the results for the printed specimens, in order to emphasize the need for multiple replicates for obtaining a proper result. An extensive insight into the aspects affecting the variability is presented in the paper. Finally, with the limited dataset available for specimens tested at a larger scale, it is difficult to arrive at a clear understanding of the role of specimen size (i.e., greater number of layers).

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), TVS Motor Company (India) (IN), 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), 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
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Innovations in Concrete and Construction Materials
10.06
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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