Evaluation of 3D printability of cementitious materials according to thixotropy behavior

This study is a basic research for evaluating the buildability of cementitious materials for three-dimensional (3D) printing. In the cement paste step, the thixotropy behavior according to the resting time, which represents the time interval between each layer, was analyzed. In addition, the relationship between the thixotropy behavior and 3D concrete printing buildability was derived by proposing a measurement method that simulates the 3D concrete printing buildup process. The analysis of the tendency of the thixotropy behavior according to the resting time revealed that the area of the hysteresis loop (AHyst) showed a tendency to increase and then converge as the resting time increased, which means hysteresis loop approach critical resting time for sufficient buildability. In the thixotropy behavior analysis that simulates the 3D concrete printing buildup process, the buildup ratio, which is the recovery rate of the shear stress, showed a tendency to increase and then converge as the resting time increased, which are similar results like hysteresis loop. It was concluded that AHyst and the buildup ratio can be used as parameters for determining the resting time, and they have close relationships with 3D concrete printing buildability.