Fiber-reinforced lightweight foamed concrete panels suitable for 3D printing applications

Abstract

This contribution presents a set of experimental results on fiber-reinforced innovative lightweight panels (FRIL-panels) having thickness of 12mm. These panels are prepared with a peculiar foamed concrete that has a high viscosity and cohesion in the fresh state, which makes it particularly suitable for 3D printing applications. The FRIL-panels can be used for internal partitions, external infills, and suspended ceilings of buildings as more effective solutions than conventional plasterboard ones, with better thermal insulation and acoustic absorption properties due to the internal air-void microstructure. The aim of this work is to investigate the out-of-plane resistance of FRIL-panels, prepared with a density of 800kg/m3, under displacement-controlled three-point bending tests. In view of potential use in the precast industry, the FRIL-panels were placed into an accelerated concrete curing tank so as to speed up the overall production process. Modulus of rupture, ultimate deflection and collapse mode of FRIL-panels are critically analysed and discussed.

Influence of biochar additions on the fracture behavior of foamed concrete

“…Similar to other cementitious materials, in the low-density range foamed concrete has poor mechanical strength. For this reason, different strategies have been proposed in the relevant literature to improve the mechanical strength of foamed concrete at low densities and to limit its brittle behavior, such as addition of fly ash and silica fume [5], introduction of short fibers of different nature [6]- [9] or placement of bi-directional grid reinforcement [10], [11]. Regardless of the reinforcement adopted, the mechanical characteristics of such lightweight cementitious materials is affected by the mix design (water-to-cement ratio, quality and characteristics of the aggregates, etc.)…”