Effects of interlocking on interlayer adhesion and strength of structures in 3D printing of concrete

Abstract

3D printing of concrete uses computer controlled layering of cementitious material to fabricate structures. The paper presented here investigates the effect of interlocking on bond strength between layers of Contour Crafted structure using experimental approaches. A concrete mixture which is compatible with the existing extrusion system is used and different interlock configurations are tested. The results show that bonding strengths is sensitive to interlocking and it can be increased by an average of 26% as shown by splitting test.