See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/351540604

Mechanical and microstructural evolution of 3D printed concrete with

polyethylene fiber and recycled sand at elevated temperatures

Article  in  Construction and Building Materials · July 2021

DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.123524

CITATIONS READS

0 46

4 authors, including:

Jianzhuang Xiao Shuai Zou

Tongji University Nanjing University of Science and Technology
120 PUBLICATIONS   5,342 CITATIONS    9 PUBLICATIONS   38 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Structural Applications of lightweight foam rubberised concrete View project

3D printing concrete View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Shuai Zou on 13 May 2021.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Construction and Building Materials 293 (2021) 123524

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Mechanical and microstructural evolution of 3D printed concrete

with polyethylene fiber and recycled sand at elevated temperatures
Jianzhuang Xiao a,⇑, Nv Han a, Lihai Zhang b, Shuai Zou a
a
Department of Structural Engineering, College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
b
Department of Infrastructure Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia

h i g h l i g h t s

 3DPC suffered delamination at high temperature instead of spalling failure.

 Temperature effects on the microstructure of 3DPC are expressive over 400 ℃.
 Recycled sand and PE fiber are proved to alleviate delamination of 3DPC.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: 3D printed concrete (3DPC) has become increasingly popular in the last decade. However, the mechanical
Received 2 February 2021 and microstructural evolution of the 3DPC under extremely high-temperature environments has not
Received in revised form 12 March 2021 been fully understood. The purpose of this study is to experimentally investigate the influence of recycled
Accepted 28 April 2021
sand and polyethylene (PE) fiber on the mechanical properties and pore structure of the 3DPC under high
temperatures. A series of compressive, flexural, and CT scanning tests were conducted for 3DPC speci-
mens under 20 °C, 200 °C, 400 °C, 600 °C, and 800 °C, respectively. It shows that there is a similar degra-
Keywords:
dation trend of the compressive and flexural strengths of 3D printed and mold-casted specimens with the
3D printed concrete (3DPC)
Elevated temperature
same mixture at elevated temperatures. 3DPC specimens delaminated through the interface between lay-
Recycled sandMechanical behavior ers and strips in the layer at 600 °C and 800 °C, respectively, due to the weak adhesion between layers and
Mechanical behavior strips. The addition of recycled sand and PE fiber into the 3DPC could modify its pore structure and mit-
Microstructure igate the risks of explosive spalling.
Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction been redeveloped to meet the requirements of pumpability,

Industrialization and intelligent integrate lots of techniques and
concepts such as standardization, mechanization, cleaner produc-
tion [1]. They are considered to be greatly significant to green
and sustainable development in the construction industry [2].
The 3D printing technique is considered as a promising method
to promote the industrialization of construction in terms of reduc-
ing construction waste, time cost, and labor requirements [3,4]. In
the last decade, the 3D printer in construction was designed using
metal [5], polymer [6], and cementitious materials [7]. As cemen-
titious materials are commonly used in the construction industry
due to their high flowability in the fresh state and good mechanical
properties in the hardened state [8], printable cementitious mate-
rials, such as geopolymer mortar and fiber-reinforced mortar, have
⇑ Corresponding author at: Department of Structural Engineering, College of Civil
Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
E-mail address: jzx@tongji.edu.cn (J. Xiao).
extrudability, and buildability of 3D printing technology [9].
Extrusion-based additive manufacturing is the dominant tech-
nology in the 3D printing of cementitious materials. The cementi-
tious materials are deposited through a nozzle to build structural
components layer-by-layer without formworks [10]. The formation
process of these distinct layers may result in more complex
mechanical properties in 3D printed specimens than that of
mold-casted cementitious materials. Previous research work on
studying the mechanically anisotropic characteristics of 3D printed
concrete (3DPC) revealed that both the compressive and flexural
strengths of 3DPC were sensitive to loading directions [11,12]. Ner-
ella et al. [13] observed that, compared with the mold-casted spec-
imens, the compressive strength of 3D printed specimens
increased 10% and 14%, respectively, by applying force in perpen-
dicular and parallel directions to the layer-interface plane because
the tensile stress perpendicular to the printing direction was prone
to induce cracks than those parallel to the printing direction.
Meanwhile, a study by Ma et al. [14] showed that the flexural

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.123524
0950-0618/Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
J. Xiao, N. Han, L. Zhang et al.
strength of 3D printed specimens varied from 3.34 MPa to
6.51 MPa when the loading direction was parallel or perpendicular
to interfaces between printed layers. Alchaar and Al-Tamimi [15]
investigated the effect of hot weather on the interlayer bond shear,
compressive, and flexural strengths of 3DPC. Results indicated that
hot weather accelerated the water evaporation and surface dehy-
dration, which caused the decrease of interlayer bond shear
strength and compressive strength of 3DPC. But, the flexural
strength of hot weather specimens was increased 18% compared
to the ambient specimens due to the lower material viscosities
and better fiber orientation. Other research works [16-19] discov-
ered the existence of weak interfaces between successive layers
due to the entrapped pores between layers, which alters the spatial
distribution of the pore structure in concrete. Lee et al. [18]
obtained the correlation between pore structure and tensile bond
strength of 3D printed mortar. Based on the X-ray computed
tomography (CT) analysis, the porosity of the interlayer was
2.15%-6.66% higher than the average porosity of 3DPC specimens.
The deterioration of concrete under thermal and fire exposure is
caused by interacting with chemical, physical, and mechanical pro-
cesses [20]. It has been known that an elevation of temperature
could cause the evaporation of pore water and dehydration of
paste. The evaporation of water trapped in the closed pore could
build up pore pressure and ultimately result in spalling when the
pore pressure exceeds the tensile strength of the concrete material.
In fact, the thermal and fire resistance of concrete has been exten-
sively studied [21-23]. Generally, the mechanical properties of
ordinary concrete change with the increase of temperature. For
example, the strength of concrete increased at 200 °C in some
research [21,22], whereas a significant decrease of 45%-70% in
strength is observed under a temperature up to 600 °C [23,24].
The dehydration of cement paste results in progressive damage
of the micro-pore structure, which could decrease the mechanical
properties of concrete at macro-scale. When the elevated temper-
ature was beyond 800 °C, the decrease of concrete strength could
be over 80% [25].
Aggregates also have an essential effect on the thermal proper-
ties of concrete since it occupies almost 70% of the volume in con-
crete [26]. As recycled aggregates produced from demolished
concrete pavements or structures are bonded together by the mor-
tar of hydrated cement, the recycled concrete presents a higher
porosity and a lower thermal conductivity. The addition of recycled
aggregate can enhance the explosive spalling resistance of concrete
[27,28]. Xiao et al. [29] investigated the mechanical properties of
concrete with the different replacement ratios of recycled aggre-
gate exposed to 800 °C. When the replacement ratio of recycled
aggregates was not less than 50%, the compressive strength of
recycled aggregate was higher than that of natural aggregate con-
crete at 800 °C. The benefits of fiber on the thermal properties of
concrete were also approved in previous studies. The polymeric
fibers are often used to reduce the spalling of concrete [30-32].
The thermal spalling was attributed to excessive pore pressure at
elevated temperatures. The polymeric fibers melting could create
a network of microcracks that allow vapor to escape, reduce pore
pressure, and thereafter mitigate the risks of spalling.
Due to its special mixing proportion and manufacturing pro-
cess, the elevated-temperature thermo-mechanical behavior of
3DPC is expected to be different from that of ordinary vibrated
concrete at high temperatures. Compared to that of ordinary casted
concrete, the uneven distribution of pore structure in 3DPC could
increase the thermal gradients, result in non-uniform gas–water
distribution, and thereby lead to a different elevated-temperature
thermo-mechanical behavior [33]. However, the related research
is still very limited. According to Cicione et al.’s research [34-36],
3DPC specimens suffered delamination at elevated temperatures
instead of typical thermo-hygral spalling. This phenomenon was
2
Construction and Building Materials 293 (2021) 123524
considered as a result of higher permeability and porosity of
3DPC specimens compared to casted specimens, and the weaker
bond between filament in 3DPC specimens. Fortunately, the
delamination can be limited by sufficient restraint perpendicular
to the interlayers.
The present study aims to investigate the mechanical and
microstructural evolution of 3DPC at various temperatures ranging
from room temperature (20 °C) to 800 °C. The microstructure of
3DPC was investigated by using CT scanning and Scanning Elec-
tronic Microscopy (SEM) techniques. The change in compressive
and flexural strengths of 3DPC after exposure to elevated temper-
atures was also experimentally studied for evaluating the heat
resistance capability of 3DPC in comparison to that of ordinary
concrete with the same concrete mixture.
2. Research significance
Current research work on 3DPC mainly focuses on printability
and mechanical properties. Experimental studies on the effects of
the elevated temperature on the mechanical properties and
microstructure of 3DPC are very limited. Therefore, to promote
3DPC in engineering applications, the mechanical properties and
microstructure evolution of 3DPC at elevated temperatures is
intensively studied in this research. The studied variables are
whether to use recycled sand, PE fiber, and different temperatures
(20, 200, 400, 600, and 800 °C). Besides, the performance of 3D
printed and mold-casted concrete was compared to assess the
effect of the fabrication method on pore structure, compressive
strength, flexural strength, and thermal behaviors.
3. Materials and experimental program
3.1. 3D printing system
Fig. 1 illustrates the 3D printer equipment for cementitious
materials. In general, the system consists of a steel gantry, a
print-head, motion sliders, and motors. The size of the steel gantry
is 3.0 m (L)  3.0 m (W)  4.0 m (H) [37]. A material container was
mounted on a horizontal beam, which can freely move along the
slider-X, slider-Z, and slider-Y. An extrusion blade was equipped
inside the print-head to transport the printing materials to the
nozzle with a diameter of 30 mm. The geometry of the object to
be printed was described by a Stereo Lithography (STL) file. During
the printing process, the horizontal printing speed and layer height
were manually pre-set, and since the layer width was fixed as
30 mm, the extrusion speed can be calculated and controlled by
a controlling software system. The printing materials were mixed
in a conventional mixer before transported to the print-head and
then re-mixed in the material container to improve the uniformity
and extrudability of printing materials. The 3D printing process
was conducted layer by layer through a combined motion of the
print-head in X, Y, and Z direction.
3.2. Materials and mix design
Four different concrete mixes were manufactured and used in
this study, as the list in Table 1. Ordinary Portland cement CEM I
42.5 was used in this study as binding material with a density of
3.13 g/cm3. Both natural and recycled aggregates were with parti-
cle sizes less than 0.90 mm. The natural aggregates were local river
sand with a density of 2.59 g/cm3. The density of recycled sand is
2.41, with a water absorption of 13.5%. The mass ratio substitution
of recycled sand to natural sand in the recycled specimen was 50%.
Commercial nano clay, superplasticizer, hydroxypropyl methylcel-
lulose (HPMC), and sodium gluconate were used in this study to
J. Xiao, N. Han, L. Zhang et al. Construction and Building Materials 293 (2021) 123524

Fig. 1. 3D printer for cementitious material.

Fig. 2. Schematic illustration of 3D printing concrete specimens.

Table 1
Mixture proportion of raw materials for 3D printing (kg/m3).

Mixture Cement Nano-clay Natural sand Recycled sand PE Fiber Superplasticizer HPMC Water
3DP-N1 320 1.60 320 0 0 0.24 0.41 112
3DP-NR2 320 1.60 160 160 0 0.27 0.41 134
3DP-N-PE3 320 1.60 320 0 3.20 0.42 0.41 112
3DP-NR-PE 320 1.60 160 160 3.20 0.49 0.41 134
MC4-N 320 1.60 320 0 0 0.24 0.41 112

1: N means natural sand used alone in specimens; 2: NR means natural sand and recycled sand used in specimens;
3: PE means PE fiber used for reinforcement; 4: MC was prepared by mold-casting.

enhance the printability of concrete. It should be noted that the
dosing of the superplasticizer was determined based on jumping
table tests [38]. The initial table fluidity of the mix should be
between 190 and 210 mm to satisfy the extrudability and build-
ability requirements of 3D printing technology [39].
Polyethylene (PE) is built up by the single –CH2– repeating unit,
which can be used for the preparation of high-performance fibers
[40]. Commercially available PE fiber has an excellent performance
in chemical corrosion resistance, wettability, impact resistance,
and cutting resistance [41]. The physical and mechanical proper-
ties, as well as SEM images of the PE fibers used in this study, were
illustrated in Table 2 and Fig. 3.
crete, Mixture 1 and Mixture 2 were first mixed for 30 s, and then
the sand was added into the mixer and mixed for 120 s. After that,
the mixer was stopped to scrap the wall of the mixer. Then, the
concrete was mixed for another 120 s. For fiber-reinforced con-
crete, the PE fiber was added into the concrete mix to produce
the fiber-reinforced concrete.
The specimens were manufactured by both 3D printing and
mold-casting, simultaneously. The printing nozzle with a diameter
of 30 mm was used so that the width of each strip in the layer was
30 mm, and the thickness was 15 mm. The extrusion and horizon-
tal printing speed were set to 1.35 L/min and 50 mm/s [37].

3.3. 3D printing and specimen preparation

Table 2
The physical and mechanical properties of PE fiber.
A planetary mixer was used in this study with a constant speed
Diameter Length Strength Modulus Density
of 80 r/min. The water-reducing admixture was added to water
(lm) (mm) (GPa) (GPa) (g/cm3)
before mixed with cement as Mixture 1, while other additives were 27 12 2.50 117 0.97
mixed with cement as Mixture 2. For non-fiber-reinforced con-
3
J. Xiao, N. Han, L. Zhang et al.
Fig. 3. Images of Polyethylene fiber.
Rectangular specimens with a dimension of 100 mm
(X)  1200 mm (Y)  90 mm (Z) were printed first and cured for
10–20 min before the specimens were cut into a smal l prism
(90 mm  90 mm  360 mm) and cube specimens (70.7 mm 
70.7 mm  70.7 mm) for flexural and compressive tests. Mold-
casted specimens were used as a reference. There are 6 samples
prepared for each mix at different temperatures, in case some sam-
ples suffered explosive spalling at the elevated temperature. The
3D printed and mold-cast specimens were first cured in standard
condition for 28 d under the temperature of 20 ± 2 °C and relative
humidity of 95 ± 5%, and then moves and stored in natural condi-
tion for 6 months.
3.4. Testing and characterization methods
3.4.1. Elevated temperature
The fire performance of concrete was usually studied in two dif-
ferent ways, i.e., fire treatment and the elevated temperature
method. Although the fire treatment could provide an actual fire
environment, extremely strict test conditions are generally
required. Hence, the elevated temperature method was adopted
to simulate the fire environment, especially for small-size speci-
mens. In this study, the specimens were heated to 200, 400, 600,
800 °C in a computer control furnace, as demonstrated in Fig. 4.
After reaching the target temperature, the temperature was main-
tained for 60 min. After heating, the specimens were cooled to
room temperature in the furnace.
3.4.2. Mechanical testing
The influence of recycled sand, PE fiber, and elevated tempera-
ture on the mechanical properties of 3DPC were investigated in
this study. Besides, it should be mentioned that loading was
applied in a particular direction due to the anisotropy of 3DPC, as
shown in Fig. 2. A servo-hydraulic universal testing machine with
a loading capacity of 300kN was employed to test the specimens.
Fig. 4. Experimental process of thermal properties of 3D printed concrete.
4
Construction and Building Materials 293 (2021) 123524
The compressive strength was measured on three cube specimens
with a loading rate of 100kN/min complying with ASTM C109 stan-
dard [42]. The 3DPC specimens were further manufactured using
ultrafine sand to minimize the influence of uneven surfaces. Prism
specimens were subjected to third-point bending tests with a span
of 270 mm for the determination of the flexure strength with a
loading rate of 50 N/s according to ASTM C78 [43].
3.4.3. Microstructure observation
The pore structure of 3DPC is different from mold-casted spec-
imens due to its mixing process in the print-head and layer-by-
layer building process. The pore structure will significantly affect
mechanical properties and the spalling behavior of concrete. In this
study, CT (NIKON XTH 320/225) scanning was used to measure the
porosity and pore size distribution within the specimens under dif-
ferent elevated temperatures (Fig. 5). The change of hydration
products and PE fiber at the elevated temperature was quantified
using SEM (FEI QUANTA FEG 650) due to the limitation of CT
scanning.
4. Experimental results and discussions
4.1. Appearance and mass loss
The appearance of concrete with different mixtures changed
due to the variation of chemical compositions after elevated tem-
peratures [31]. In this research, all specimens barely changed in
appearance after heating at 200 °C. At 400 °C, lots of vapor escaped
from specimens due to the dehydration of C-S-H and part of chem-
ical binding water in hydrated sulphoaluminate. In the 3DPC spec-
imens, the escape of vapor from the layer interface could cause a
cross-shaped hole in the cross-section, as shown in Fig. 6. When
the temperature reached 600 °C, more vapor escaped from the
specimen, and all specimens turned into grayish-yellow due to
the dehydration of Ca(OH)2. At the peak of 800 °C, all specimens
became light yellow and brittle because of the decomposition of
CaCO3.
3DP-N specimens suffered interlayer delamination when the
temperature was beyond 400 °C, as opposed to dominating spal-
ling failure in MC-N specimens. As shown in Fig. 7, mold-casted
specimens broke into pieces irregularly; on the contrary, 3DPC
specimens broke through the interface between layers or strips
in layer due to the weak adhesion between layers and strips [44].
There was no interlayer delamination or explosive spalling in
3DP-NR, 3DP-N-PE, and 3DP-NR-PE groups. The recycled aggregate
led to high porosity in specimens, which mitigates the risk of spal-
ling. Besides, at the melting point of PE fiber (105–140 °C) [45], the
melting of PE fibers leads to the establishment of pore passage and
thereby contributes to the moisture escape.
J. Xiao, N. Han, L. Zhang et al.
Fig. 5. 2D and 3D CT scanning images of 3DP specimen. (a) Cross-section image (b) Digital mold of 3DP concrete (c) Digital mold of pore structure.
Fig. 6. Appearance of 3DPC specimens exposed to elevated temperatures.
As shown in Fig. 8, the mass of 3DP-N specimens was slightly
lower than MC-N specimens at room temperature, though they
were from the same mixing proportion. For the purpose of com-
parisons, the MC-N specimens were prepared without vibration
in this study, so that the difference of density between 3DP-N
and MC-N was mainly due to the extra pores in the interface
between printing layers. The mass of 3DP-N and 3DP-N-PE speci-
mens at room temperature was around 5% higher than 3DP-NR
and 3DP-NR-PE, respectively, because of the low density of recy-
cled sand.
All specimens showed obvious mass loss after elevated temper-
atures, and most mass loss of concrete was during 200 °C elevating.
The mass loss ratio of 3DP-N and 3DP-NR was 7.5% and 13.8% at
800 °C, respectively. The specimens containing recycled sand suf-
fered more mass loss than that containing natural sand alone
due to the dehydration of attached mortar in recycled sand. The
addition of PE barely affected the mass loss in this study due to
its limited amount (1% in mass).
Fig. 7. Damage of 3DPC and mold casted specimens exposed to 600 °C and 800 °C. (a) 3DPC specimens (b) Mold-casted specimens.
5
Construction and Building Materials 293 (2021) 123524
4.2. Mechanical properties
4.2.1. Compressive strength
The residual compressive strength and flexural strength of 3DP
and mold-casted specimens exposed to elevated temperatures
were tested. According to the experimental results in Fig. 9, the
compressive strength of 3DP specimens was 84.9% that of mold-
casted specimens with the same mixture under room temperature.
Comparing the test results of 3DP-N and 3DP-NR, recycled sand has
a negative impact on the mechanical properties of 3DP specimens,
since the compressive strength of 3DP-NR decreased by 22.6%
compared with that of 3DP-N. Similar observations were seen in
the comparison between 3DP-N-PE and 3DP-NR-PE. PE fiber
showed its capacity to enhance the compressive strength of
fiber-reinforced 3DP specimens, e.g., increasing 20%-40% compres-
sive strength than that of non-fiber reinforced specimens. The 3DP-
N-PE specimens even showed higher compressive strength than
that of MC-N specimens.
After exposed to an elevated temperature, both 3DP and mold-
casted specimens suffered deterioration in compressive strength.
According to Fig. 9, the compressive strength of 3DP-N and MC-N
showed a similar decrease trend with the elevated temperature
increasing. The significant loss of compressive strength happened
at 200 °C and 600 °C for both 3DP-N and MC-N specimens due to
pore water escape and hydration product decomposition. The
residual compressive strength of 3DP-N and MC-N specimens at
800 °C are more than half of the strength at room temperature.
The addition of recycled sand has benefits in controlling the
explosive spalling and the thermal resistance of compressive
strength. 3DP-NR specimens showed the second-highest strength
at 600 °C, after MN-C specimens. The decrease in compressive
strength of 3DP-NR specimens at this temperature was only
26.6% compared to that at room temperature. In contrast, PE fiber
caused a significant loss in compressive strength of 3DP specimens.
The compressive strength of 3DP-N-PE specimens decreased by
37.1% at 400 °C, closely followed by 3DP-NR-PE specimens which
J. Xiao, N. Han, L. Zhang et al.
Fig. 8. Mass loss of specimens exposed to elevated temperatures.
decreased by 32.7%. This is mainly due to the melting of PE fibers,
which induced cracks in the matrix. After 800 °C, 3DP-N-PE and
3DP-NR-PE specimens lost almost 70% of their compressive
strength at room temperature.
4.2.2. Flexural strength
The flexural strength of 3DPC and mold-casted specimens after
elevated temperatures was shown in Fig. 10. The flexural strength
tests were conducted on 3DP specimens by applying force in a per-
pendicular direction to the printing layer. According to the litera-
ture [39], the flexural strength along the selected loading
direction was the highest of 3DPC specimens. However, the 3DPC
specimens still showed a 20% lower flexural strength compared
to MC-N specimens at room temperature. The difference in flexural
strength between 3DP and MC-N specimens was relatively larger
due to the layered structure of the 3DPC specimens. The addition
of recycled sand decreased the flexural strength of 3DP specimens
under room temperature, while PE fiber had a positive effect due to
its bridging effect. Compared to that of 3DP-N and 3DP-NR, the
flexural strength of 3DP-N-PE and 3DP-NR-PE increased 109.4%
and 128.6%, respectively.
Fig. 9. Compressive strength of specimens exposed to elevated temperatures.
6
Construction and Building Materials 293 (2021) 123524
Fig. 10. Flexural strength of specimens exposed to elevated temperatures.
The flexural strengths of 3DP-N and MC-N specimens had little
change at 200 °C. When the temperature went higher, the decrease
in flexural strength of 3DP-N and MC-N specimens accelerated, but
both 3DP-N and MC-N specimens remained half of their flexural
strength at 600 °C. When the temperature reached 800 °C, the flex-
ural strength of 3DP-N and MC-N specimens sharply decreased to
8.0% and 15.9% of their strength at room temperature, respectively.
The negative influence of recycled sand on flexural strength was
amplified at elevated temperatures. The flexural strength of 3DP-
NR specimens at 200 °C decreased to 51.1% than at room temper-
ature due to the weak interface adhesion. It should be noted that
the positive effects of the PE fiber on flexural strength gradually
vanish with the increase of temperature due to the relatively low
melting point of the PE. At 200 °C, the decrease in flexural strength
of 3DP-N-PE was the highest, up to 66.4%. The flexural strength of
3DP-N and 3DP-N-PE was very close when the elevated tempera-
ture went over 400 °C.
4.3. Pore structure analysis
Pore structures of 3DP-N, 3DP-NR, and 3DP-NR-PE specimens at
room temperature were measured through CT scanning, and the
experimental results were listed in Table 3. The CT scanning results
showed that the total porosity 3DP-NR-PE specimens were the
highest, closely followed by 3DP-NR, and the porosity of 3D-N
was the lowest. The increase of porosity was mainly attributed to
the attached mortar in recycled sand.
Due to the complexity of the pore structure in 3DPC specimens,
the equivalent method for estimating the pore diameters were
introduced in this paper. The shape of all pores was normalized
to sphere, and the equivalent diameter of the sphere was obtained
by calculating the pixel volume. According to the pore diameter,
the pore in 3DPC specimens was classified into three categories:
small (0.1–1 mm), medium (1–10 mm), and large (greater than
10 mm). The small and medium pores were mainly located in
printed layers, while the large pores were mainly between printed
layers.
The main difference between 3DPC concrete and mold-casted
concrete was attributed to layer-by-layer structure from the print-
ing process, even though the number of large pores was relatively
less in concrete. The number of large pores could increase with the
addition of recycled sand which represented the poor adhesion
between printing layers. On the contrary, the addition of PE fiber
J. Xiao, N. Han, L. Zhang et al. Construction and Building Materials 293 (2021) 123524

Table 3
Pore structure of specimens exposed to elevated temperatures.

Item Total porosity (%) Number of pores Porosity (%)

Diameter (mm) 0.1–100 0.1–1 1–10 10–100 0.1–1 1–10 10–100
3DP-N 2.08 345,445 5478 8 1.484 0.363 0.206
3DP-NR 2.45 287,062 6667 9 1.364 0.519 0.567
3DP-NR-PE 2.50 309,322 5892 5 1.652 0.738 0.120

could reduce the porosity and number of large pores between
printing layers. The improvement of the interlayer was a key factor
in enhancing the pore structure of 3DPC.
The CT scanning was conducted on 3DP-N and 3DP-NR-PE spec-
imens exposed to high temperatures to investigate the effect of
recycled sand and PE fiber. Table 4 shows that the porosity of both
3DP-N and 3DP-NR-PE specimens increased with temperature ele-
vating. The change in the porosity of 3DP-N was relatively limited
when the temperature was below 400 °C. Meanwhile, the porosity
of 3DP-NR-PE showed a more significant increase due to the melt-
ing of PE fiber at 200 °C, which was consistent with the results of
mechanical properties. When the temperature further increased,
the porosity of 3DP-NR-PE showed a steadier growth than that of
3DP-N. It is beneficial from the network of microcracks from PE
fiber melting, which allows vapor to escape and prevents the
macro-scale cracks [46]. Fig. 11 shows CT scan images of the
3DP-N and 3DP-NR-PE at room temperature and 800 °C, respec-
tively. It demonstrates that the 3DP-N specimen has more pores
between printed layers compared to 3DP-NR-PE. Furthermore,
the pore between printed layers in 3DP-N specimens propagates
to through cracks at 800 °C. On the contrary, due to the melting
Table 4
Porosity of 3DP specimens exposed to elevated temperatures.
Temperature (°C) 20 200 400 600
3DP-N 2.08 2.72 2.70 3.35
3DP-NR-PE 2.50 3.27 3.23 3.66
of PE fiber, only network meso-cracks instead of macro-cracks exhi-
bits in 3DP-NR-PE at 800 °C (Fig. 12).
As shown in Table 3, the majority type of pore in concrete is the
small size pore with a diameter less than 1 mm, which is also most
significantly influenced by high temperatures. The pore size distri-
bution of small size pore in 3DP-N and 3DP-NR-PE is analyzed and
shown in Fig. 11. According to Fig. 11(a)-(c), for the pore of 3DP-N
specimens, the temperature between 20 °C and 400 °C mostly
influences the pore with diameters between 0.25 and 0.50 mm.
This phenomenon is a result of the pore water evaporation and
the ettringite decomposition [47]. When the temperature is
beyond 400 °C, the percentage of pore with diameters more than
0.50 mm increased. It is possible to note that the pores with larger
diameters are more elongated which is more possible to cause the
thermic fissure. The percentages are better distributed in all pore
aperture ranges in 3DP-NR-PE specimens at room temperature.
When the temperature is up to 200 °C and 400 °C, the percentage
of pore with diameters smaller than 0.15 mm increased mostly due
to the melting of PE fiber. The percentage of pore with diameters
more than 0.50 mm in 3DP-NR-PE specimen was limited at high
temperatures, which mitigated the risk of explosive spalling. With
further melting of the PE fiber, SEM scanning was conducted on the
3DP-NR-PE concrete at elevated temperature. As shown in Fig. 13
(a), the PE fiber has a positive effect on the flexural strength of
specimens at room temperature due to the bridging effect of the
800 fiber. However, as shown in Fig. 13(b), at the temperature of
4.15
200 °C, the melting of PE fiber leads to significant development
3.79 of micro-cracks and the increase of porosity.

Fig. 11. Digital model of 3D printed concrete at different temperatures. (a) 3D printed concrete (b) Pore structure of 3D printed concrete.

7
J. Xiao, N. Han, L. Zhang et al. Construction and Building Materials 293 (2021) 123524

Fig. 12. Pore size distribution of 3D printed concrete at different temperatures. (a) 20°C (b) 200°C (c) 400°C (d) 600°C (e) 800°C.

8
J. Xiao, N. Han, L. Zhang et al.
Fig. 12 (continued)
Fig. 13. SEM images of 3DP-NR-PE at (a) 20 °C and (b) 200 °C.
5. Conclusion
In this study, a series of 3D printed concrete (3DPC) mixtures
were developed by using recycled sand and PE fiber. The variation
in mechanical properties and microstructure of the 3DPC and
mold-casted concrete at different elevated temperatures were
9
Construction and Building Materials 293 (2021) 123524
experimentally investigated. The following are some major
findings.
1. At room temperature, the compressive and flexural strengths of
3DP concrete specimens were 20%-25% lower than that of
mold-casted specimens with the same mixture. Based on CT
scan results, the lower strength of the 3DP specimens was
mainly due to the extra pore formation between the printed
layers. Under the elevated temperatures, the mechanical perfor-
mance of both 3DP and mold-casted concrete specimens deteri-
orated with an increased risk of explosive spalling. When the
temperature reached 800 °C, more than half of the original com-
pressive strength for both 3DP and mold-casted specimens was
retained, while there was a significant decrease in the flexural
strength of the specimens.
2. The addition of recycled sand into the 3DPC led to relatively
high porosity and poor interfacial adhesion of the concrete,
which has a negative impact on the mechanical properties of
concrete at room temperature. However, a relatively high
porosity could mitigate the risk of explosive spalling during ele-
vated temperatures.
J. Xiao, N. Han, L. Zhang et al.
3. The addition of PE fiber could significantly improve the
mechanical properties of 3DPC at room temperature. The PE
fiber could increase the compressive and flexural strengths of
3DPC by around 1.4–2.0 times compared to that without PE
fiber. The positive effects of PE fiber on mechanical strength
gradually vanished when the elevated temperature was beyond
200 °C. However, the melting of PE fiber provided a network of
micro-cracks for vapor releasing, which could avoid cracks
between printing layers and alleviate explosive spalling.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Jianzhuang Xiao: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing -
review & editing. Nv Han: Data curation, Investigation, Writing -
original draft. Lihai Zhang: Writing - review & editing. Shuai
Zou: Investigation, Resources.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgment
The financial support from the National Natural Science Foun-
dation of China (No: 52078358) is highly acknowledged.
References
[1] L. Li, Z. Li, X. Li, S. Zhang, X. Luo, A new framework of industrialized
construction in China: Towards on-site industrialization, J. Clean Prod. 244
(2020) 118469.
[2] X. Zhang, M. Skitmore, Industrialized housing in China: a coin with two sides,
Int. J. Strateg. Prop. M. 16 (2012) 143–157.
[3] C. Gosselin, R. Duballet, P. Roux, N. Gaudillière, J. Dirrenberger, P. Morel, Large-
scale 3D printing of ultra-high performance concrete – a new processing route
for architects and builders, Mater. Des. 100 (2016) 102–109.
[4] G. Ma, L. Wang, Y. Ju, State-of-the-art of 3D printing technology of
cementitious material—An emerging technique for construction, Sci. China
Technol. Sci. 61 (2018) 475–495.
[5] C. Buchanan, L. Gardner, Metal 3D printing in construction: a review of
methods, research, applications, opportunities and challenges, Eng. Struct. 180
(2019) 332–348.
[6] X. Wang, M. Jiang, Z. Zhou, J. Gou, D. Hui, 3D printing of polymer matrix
composites: a review and prospective, Compos. B. Eng. 110 (2017) 442–458.
[7] B. Lu, Y. Weng, M. Li, Y. Qian, K.F. Leong, M.J. Tan, S. Qian, A systematical review of
3D printable cementitious materials, Constr. Build. Mater. 207 (2019) 477–490.
[8] A. Paolini, S. Kollmannsberger, E. Rank, Additive manufacturing in
construction: a review on processes, applications, and digital planning
methods, Addit. Manuf. 30 (2019) 100894.
[9] S. Hou, Z. Duan, J. Xiao, et al., A review of 3D printed concrete: performance
requirements, testing measurements and mix design, Constr. Build. Mater. 273
(2021) 121745.
[10] R.A. Buswell, W.R. Leal de Silva, S.Z. Jones, J. Dirrenberger, 3D printing using
concrete extrusion: a roadmap for research, Cem. Concr. Res. 112 (2018) 37–
49.
[11] T. Ding, J. Xiao, S. Zou, X. Zhou, Anisotropic behavior in bending of 3D printed
concrete reinforced with fibers, Compos. Struct. 254 (2020) 112808.
[12] J. Xiao, H. Liu, T. Ding, Finite element analysis on the anisotropic behavior of
3D printed concrete under compression and flexure, Addit. Manuf. (2020)
101712.
[13] V.N. Nerella, V. Mechtcherine, Studying the Printability of Fresh Concrete for
Formwork-Free Concrete Onsite 3D Printing Technology (CONPrint3D), in: 3D
Concrete Printing Technology, Elsevier (2019) 333–347.
[14] G. Ma, J. Zhang, L. Wang, Z. Li, J. Sun, Mechanical characterization of 3D printed
anisotropic cementitious material by the electromechanical transducer, Smart
Mater. Struct. 27 (2018) 75036.
[15] A.S. Alchaar, A.K. Al-Tamimi, Mechanical properties of 3D printed concrete in
hot temperatures, Constr. Build. Mater. 266 (2021) 120991.
[16] Z. Li, L. Wang, G. Ma, Method for the enhancement of buildability and bending
resistance of 3D printable tailing mortar, Int. J. Concr. Struct. Mater. 12 (2018).
[17] E. Keita, H. Bessaies-Bey, W. Zuo, P. Belin, N. Roussel, Weak bond strength
between successive layers in extrusion-based additive manufacturing:
measurement and physical origin, Cem. Concr. Res. 123 (2019) 105787.
10
View publication stats
Construction and Building Materials 293 (2021) 123524
[18] H. Lee, J.H.J. Kim, J.H. Moon, W.W. Kim, E.A. Seo, Correlation between pore
characteristics and tensile bond strength of additive manufactured mortar
using X-ray computed tomography, Constr. Build. Mater. 226 (2019) 712–720.
[19] B. Zareiyan, B. Khoshnevis, Effects of interlocking on interlayer adhesion and
strength of structures in 3D printing of concrete, Automat. Constr. 83 (2017)
212–221.
[20] Z. Jia, C. Chen, J. Shi, Y. Zhang, Z. Sun, P. Zhang, The microstructural change of
C-S-H at elevated temperature in Portland cement/GGBFS blended system,
Cem. Concr. Res. 123 (2019) 105773.
[21] F.P. Cheng, V.K.R. Kodur, T.C. Wang, Stress-strain curves for high strength
concrete at elevated temperatures, J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 16 (2004) 84–90.
[22] M. Ghandehari, A. Behnood, M. Khanzadi, Residual mechanical properties of
high-strength concretes after exposure to elevated temperatures, J. Mater. Civ.
Eng. 22 (2010) 59–64.
[23] M. Li, C. Qian, W. Sun, Mechanical properties of high-strength concrete after
fire, Cem. Concr. Res. 34 (2004) 1001–1005.
[24] Y.F. Chang, Y.H. Chen, M.S. Sheu, G.C. Yao, Residual stress–strain relationship
for concrete after exposure to high temperatures, Cem. Concr. Res. 36 (2006)
1999–2005.
[25] M. Bastami, A. Chaboki-Khiabani, M. Baghbadrani, M. Kordi, Performance of
high strength concretes at elevated temperatures, Sci. Iran. 18 (2011) 1028–
1036.
[26] H. Zhao, F. Liu, H. Yang, Thermal properties of coarse RCA concrete at elevated
temperatures, App. Therm. Eng. 40 (2018) 180–189.
[27] Y. Wang, F. Li, L. Xu, et al., Effect of elevated temperatures and cooling methods
on strength of concrete made with coarse and fine recycled concrete
aggregates, Constr. Build. Mater. 210 (2019) 540–547.
[28] H. Zhao, F. Liu, H. Yang, Residual compressive response of concrete produced
with both coarse and fine recycled concrete aggregates after thermal exposure,
Constr. Build. Mater. 244 (2020) 118397.
[29] J. Xiao, Y. Fan, M.M. Tawana, Residual compressive and flexural strength of a
recycled aggregate concrete following elevated temperatures, Struct. Concr. 14
(2013) 168–175.
[30] G.A. Khoury, Effect of fire on concrete and concrete structures, Prog. Struct.
Eng. Mater. 2 (2000) 429–447.
[31] Q. Li, X. Gao, S. Xu, Y. Peng, Y. Fu, Microstructure and mechanical properties of
high-toughness fiber-reinforced cementitious composites after exposure to
elevated temperatures, J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 28 (2016) 04016132.
[32] J. Xiao, H. Falkner, On residual strength of high-performance concrete with and
without polypropylene fibres at elevated temperatures, Fire Safety J. 41 (2006)
115–121.
[33] Y. Weng, M. Li, Z. Liu, W. Lao, B. Lu, D. Zhang, M.J. Tan, Printability and fire
performance of a developed 3D printable fibre reinforced cementitious
composites under elevated temperatures, Virtual Phys. Prototy. 14 (2019)
284–292.
[34] J. Kruger, A. Cicione, F. Bester, et al., Facilitating Ductile Failure of 3D Printed
Concrete Elements in Fire, 2nd RILEM International Conference on Concrete
and Digital Fabrication, 2020.
[35] A. Cicione, J. Kruger, R.S. Walls, G. van Zijl, An experimental study of the
behavior of 3D printed concrete at elevated temperatures, Fire Safety J. 103075
(2020).
[36] A. Cicione, K. Mazolwana, J. Kruger, et al., Effect of transverse and longitudinal
confinement on the interlayer bond in 3D printed concrete at elevated
temperatures: an experimental study, 11th International Conference on
Structures in Fire (SiF2020), 2020.
[37] J. Xiao, S. Zou, Y. Yu, et al., 3D recycled mortar printing: System development,
process design, material properties and on-site printing, J. Build. Eng. 32
(2020) 101779.
[38] Chinese National Testing Standard, GB 2419-2005, Test method for fluidity of
cement mortar.
[39] T. Ding, J. Xiao, S. Zou, et al., Hardened properties of layered 3D printed
concrete with recycled sand, Cem. Concr. Compos. 113 (2020) 103724.
[40] R. Kirschbaum, J.L.J. van Dingenen, Advances in gel-spinning technology and
Dyneema fiber applications, Integration of Fundamental Polymer Science and
Technology, Springer International Publishing, 1989, pp. 178–198.
[41] W. Lu, X. Fu, D.D.L. Chung, A comparative study of the wettability of steel,
carbon, and polyethylene fibers by water, Cem. Concr. Res. 28 (1998) 783–786.
[42] ASTM C109, Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of Hydraulic
Cement Mortars, American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), West
Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, USA, 2008.
[43] ASTM C78, Standard Test Method for Flexural Strength of Concrete (Using
Simple Beam with Third-point Loading), American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM), West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, USA, 2007.
[44] B. Panda, N.A.N. Mohamed, S.C. Paul, et al., The effect of material fresh
properties and process parameters on buildability and interlayer adhesion of
3D printed concrete, Materials 12 (2019) 2149.
[45] S. Zhou, L. Xie, Y. Jia, C. Wang, Review of cementitious composites containing
polyethylene fibers as repairing materials, Polymers 12 (2020) 2624.
[46] Q. Li, X. Gao, S. Xu, et al., Microstructure and mechanical properties of high-
toughness fiber-reinforced cementitious composites after exposure to
elevated temperatures, J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 28 (2016) 04016132.
[47] G.P. Alves, E.I. Jussiani, A.C. Andrello, B.M. Toralles, Effect of temperature rise
on the microstructure of cementitious materials: A study through X-ray
computed microtomography (l-CT), Constr. Build. Mater. 237 (2020) 117446.