Nacre inspired 3D printing construction for high performance structural member

Abstract

Inspired by the nacre’s hierarchically assembled structure, the authors tried to use ultra-high ductile cementitious composites (UHDCC) and stack approach to fabricate structure possessing high flexural ductility and load bearing capacity. A series of beams with specially design was constructed, i.e., monolithically cast beams, monolithically stacked beams and hierarchically stacked beams. Four-point bending tests were carried out to explore the effect of hierarchical assembly on load bearing capacity, flexural deformation and flexural toughness. The test results have indicated that the monolithically stacked beams outperform the monolithically cast beams in both deformability and loading bearing capacity, indicating the effectiveness of stack-based construction. Moreover, the setup of connect/separation between layers further improves the flexural ductility of the hierarchically stacked beams, as compared with the monolithically stacked beams. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) observations indicate that the nacreous-like structure of the hierarchically stacked beam helps to trigger crack deflecting and branching between layers and inside matrix, lead to limited slide between layers, thus effectively relieving concentrated strain inside matrix, postponing the emergence of the critical crack and consequently improving the flexural ductility of nacreous-like UHDCC beams.