The Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) connectors studied in this work were previously proposed by the authors for connecting the outer Steel Fibre Reinforced Self-Compacting Concrete (SFRSCC) layers of sandwich panels for prefabricated modular housing. In this building system, SFRSCC was used to totally eliminate the need for conventional reinforcement and to decrease the thickness of the panel's outer layers, with consequent reduction of the global self-weigh of the panels, while GFRP connectors aimed to significantly decrease thermal bridging effects. For a reliable design of the structural elements that make use of these connectors, the mechanical behaviour of this connection should be known and taken into account. The present paper summarizes the results obtained in an experimental research devoted to the assessment of the behaviour of GFRP-SFRSCC connection by performing pullout tests with specimens representative of the developed sandwich panel. The specimens were designed to examine the influence of the number and geometry of holes executed in the GFRP connector that assure the connection between these two materials.

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<p>The construction sector is connoted as an extremely traditional business sector since long ago. However, due to the increase of the global competiveness, there is a demand on the development of new building materials and construction methods that can bring added value to the companies. The 3D concrete printing is a novel construction approach within digital construction that can offer a higher degree of optimization and flexibility for producing either structures or structural elements with complex geometries. One of the main challenges in the 3D concrete printing using wet extrusion is balancing properly the rheological and mechanical properties of the printable mixtures. In this study, several mixtures were developed and their capability for being used in 3D printing was assessed and discussed based on their rheological properties. The compressive strength of the matrices that could be properly printed are also presented.</p>

<p>Nowadays, additive manufacturing is being widely employed in several areas and is starting to be considered for the construction sector amongst the digital construction trend. The advantages that the additive manufacturing techniques can bring over the traditional construction methods are propelling multiple research projects within the field of 3D concrete printing. Technologies used for printing, material compositions and their rheological and mechanical properties are some of the research areas on 3D concrete printing. In this work, it is used a wet extrusion method for printing a cement-based mortar mixture. The compressive behaviour of printed specimens was evaluated based on the direction of loading. The results showed that with a proper printing process and rheological properties, in the case of the current mid-strength matrix, the effect of the layers interfacial behaviour on the compressive behaviour of printed specimens was reduced.</p>