On June 1st, 2024 a new open access publication with the title "Numerical simulation of three dimensional concrete printing based on a unified fluid and solid mechanics formulation" has been published online in Frontiers of Structural and Civil Engineering by Springer Nature.

Abstract:
Deformation control constitutes one of the main technological challenges in three dimensional (3D)concrete printing, and it presents a challenge that must be addressed to achieve a precise and reliable constructionprocess. Model-based information of the expected deformations and stresses is required to optimize the constructionprocess in association with the specific properties of the concrete mix. In this work, a novel thermodynamicallyconsistent finite strain constitutive model for fresh and early-age 3D-printable concrete is proposed. The model is thenused to simulate the 3D concrete printing process to assess layer shapes, deformations, forces acting on substrate layersand prognoses of possible structural collapse during the layer-by-layer buildup. The constitutive formulation is based ona multiplicative split of the deformation gradient into elastic, aging and viscoplastic parts, in combination with ahyperelastic potential and considering evolving material properties to account for structural buildup or aging. Oneadvantage of this model is the stress-update-scheme, which is similar to that of small strain plasticity and thereforeenables an efficient integration with existing material routines. The constitutive model uses the particle finite elementmethod, which serves as the simulation framework, allowing for modeling of the evolving free surfaces during theextrusion process. Computational analyses of three printed layers are used to create deformation plots, which can then beused to control the deformations during 3D concrete printing. This study offers further investigations, on the structurallevel, focusing on the potential structural collapse of a 3D printed concrete wall. The capability of the proposed model tosimulate 3D concrete printing processes across the scales—from a few printed layers to the scale of the whole printedstructure—in a unified fashion with one constitutive formulation, is demonstrated.

You can get a access to this open access article (DOI: 10.1007/s11709-024-1082-2) by using the following link:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11709-024-1082-2