Academic Journal of Science and Technology
ISSN: 2771-3032 | Vol. 9, No. 1, 2024
250
Research Status and Development Trend of 3D Printing
Recycled Concrete
Wei Xu1, a
1 School of Civil Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454000, China
a Email: 1076227278@qq.com
Abstract: As a new construction technology, 3D printing concrete has the advantages of mechanization and model-free. Waste
brick is an important part of construction waste. Its disposal not only consumes land but also pollutes the environment. At the
same time, cement is the main raw material in concrete materials. Cement production consumes resources, produces greenhouse
gases and is not environmentally friendly. Therefore, grinding brick waste into recycled brick powder and replacing cement to
produce 3D-printed concrete is considered a feasible method. This paper reviews the effects of recycled brick powder on
hydration, workability, mechanical properties and durability of 3D-printed concrete, analyzes its mechanism, and points out some
problems to be further studied at present.
Keywords: 3D printed concrete; Recycled powder; Mechanical properties.
1. Introduction
With the continuous advancement of the urbanization
process, the acceleration of the industrialization process and
the continuous improvement of people's living standards, the
construction waste generated by various cities in China has
been increasing, accounting for 30%-50% of the total urban
waste [1]. It is estimated that the annual urban output of
construction waste in China is about 600 million tons. In
addition, in the past 100 years, a large number of masonry
structures were constructed in our country, resulting in the
waste brick accounting for more than 30% of the construction
waste. Its recycling and utilization is an important aspect to
make the construction industry realize sustainable
development, build a circular economy and build a
conservation-oriented society.
Producing one ton of cement releases about 222 kilograms
of carbon dioxide. Excessive carbon emissions can lead to
climate change and global warming. In addition, 3D printed
concrete buildings have the advantages of high mechanization,
personalization and model-free [2,3,4,5,6,7]. Therefore,
converting waste brick into recycled powder instead of
cement and using it in the preparation of 3D printed concrete
can bring both environmental and economic benefits [8].
In order to systematically analyze the application of
recycled brick powder (RBP) in 3D printing, based on the
latest research results, this paper summarizes the impact of
RBP as a cement substitute on the performance of 3D printed
concrete, in order to provide reference for the future
development of recycled brick powder in 3D printed concrete。
2. The Basic Properties of Recycled
Brick Powder
2.1. Physical properties
RBP is a kind of powder with small particle size, loose
texture and certain congenital adhesion and plasticity, and the
surface of brick powder particles is rough and irregular [9].
Its specific surface area is 450-608m2/kg, its bulk density is
1817-1860kg/m3, and its optimal water content is
17%[10,11,12]. Figure 1 shows the preparation process of
RBP, which mainly includes recovery, crushing, crushing and
screening [13]. In addition, by changing the grinding time of
the ball mill, RBP of different fineness can be obtained [14].
2.2. Chemical and mineral composition
The chemical components of RBP are mainly SiO2, Al2O3
and Fe2O3, etc. [3] It can be seen that the total amount of
active components SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3 exceeds 70%,
which meets the requirements of ASTM C618 on the content
of main chemical components of volcanic ash materials [17].
Therefore, RBP can be considered as a pozzolanic material
used as a substitute for cement [18,19,20]. In addition,
particle size has an important effect on the activity of recycled
brick powder. The finer the particles, the larger the specific
surface area, and the more favorable the volcanic ash reaction
[21,22]. Brick powder has irregular shape and angular porous
surface, and its particles are in an amorphous state. From the
perspective of the phase structure of brick powder [23], its
crystals show an indefinite form, have an active basis, and
contain a large number of ultrafine particles, which can play
a good filling effect. Studies show [24,25] that with the
increase of grinding time, RBP tends to be refined and
spherical, which is conducive to the increase of RBP
pozzolanic activity and specific surface area. In addition, the
dried brick slag has a better grinding efficiency than the
undried brick slag. The reason is that the dry brick slag is
pulverized to form the brick powder, which is harder than the
brick powder that is not dried, and can be used as the grinding
body to play a role in the subsequent grinding and improve
the grinding efficiency. Studies show that [26,27], fine
grinding brick powder is superimposed by volume grinding
model and surface grinding model. In the early stage, the main
performance is volume crushing with high crushing efficiency.
In the later stage, the main performance is surface grinding,
and the grinding efficiency is greatly reduced. In addition [28],
too long grinding time will lead to RBP agglomeration and
increase energy consumption, so the grinding time is not easy
to be too long. Due to comprehensive consideration, the
appropriate time should be selected.
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3. Performance of Freshly Mixed 3D
Printed Concrete Containing RBP
3.1. Water requirement of normal consistency
Water consumption is the most important factor affecting
the workability of 3D printed concrete. RBP has the
characteristics of high water absorption, which will reduce the
working performance of 3D printed concrete. The irregular
shape and rough surface of RBP [29] will seriously affect the
water consumption of the standard consistency of RBP. With
the increase of the amount of RBP, the water consumption of
the standard consistency of recycled concrete will increase.
The relative water demand increases in direct proportion to
the RBP replacement rate. RBP's irregular microstructure and
high specific surface area result in increased water
requirements. Under the same RBP replacement condition,
the increase of RBP fineness will lead to the decrease of the
water requirement of the mixture. After deep grinding [30],
the initial pores of the RBP particles are destroyed, and their
microstructure becomes regular rather than angular, providing
obvious lubrication effect and offsetting the increase in water
requirement caused by the increase in specific surface area.
The microstructure of RBP is improved and the workability
of RBP mixture is improved with the increase of fineness.
3.2. Mobility
Hou et al. [31] conducted an experimental analysis on the
change rule of 3DPM fluidity with RP added over time. The
results show that the liquidity loss rate of 3DPM added to RP
is larger in the first 60 min, and the longer the time, the greater
the liquidity loss. And with the increase of RP replacement
rate, liquidity loss will also increase. The reason is that the
chemical reaction between RBP and cement hydration
product Ca(OH)2 requires more water to complete the
reaction, resulting in increased water demand and poor
fluidity [32,33]. In addition, the fluidity of concrete is also
related to RBP fineness. The smaller the RBP particle size, the
more significant the slump reduction of the mixture
[34,35,36].
3 Effect of recycled brick powder on hydration reaction of
3D printed concrete
The hydration process of cement slurry shows that with the
increase of RBP content, its peak temperature decreases,
indicating that RBP has a delayed effect on the hydration
reaction of cement [37], and the content of Ca(OH)2 also
decreases, indicating that the pozzolash effect of RBP
consumes Ca(OH)2 in the later stage of hydration. In addition,
fineness has an important effect on hydration reaction. The
finer particles in the RP disperse the cement particles,
increasing the contact area between the cement particles and
the water, and increasing the hydration rate.
The hydration of cement is an exothermic process. The
change of hydration heat with time can be analyzed. Duan et
al. [38] found that C3A of cement clinker made a great
contribution to the high hydration rate of cement in the early
stage. At the same time, the trace elements in RP promote the
hydration of C3A and increase its hydration rate. Sulfate
content has an important effect on the hydration of C3A, C3A
reacts with CaS04 to produce ettringite. The lower the SO3
content in RP, it will lead to rapid hydration of C3A and water,
and the hydration heat will increase. In addition, higher base
content also has a positive effect on the reactivity of C3A,
which can promote the reaction of C3A with sulfate. The
reactivity of RP is lower than that of cement, which is caused
by the lower CaO content.
4. Effect of Recycled Brick Powder on
Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed
Concrete
4.1. Compressive strength
Ge et al. [39] studied the long-term performance of
concrete, and the results showed that the long-term
performance (400 days) of concrete mixed with 10% or
20%RBP as a substitute for clinker was better, even better
than ordinary Portland cement without RBP. Schackow et al.
[40] found that compared with the control group, the 28-day
and 90-day compressive strength of mortar with RBP of 40%
increased by 130% and 82%, respectively, and the
compressive strength was inversely proportional to the
apparent porosity. This indicates that the pozzolanic reaction
[41] and micro-aggregate filling effect of RBP promote the
development of compressive strength of mixed mortar when
the content of RBP is appropriate. SiO2 and Al2O3 with
higher activity in RBP reacted with CH after 28 days, and
correspondingly produced more C-A-H and C-A-S-H gels. In
addition, the small RBP also fills the pores, and the two work
together to form a dense microstructure and improve the
compressive strength.
4.2. Flexural and tensile strength
Studies have shown that excess RBP can significantly
reduce the bending and tensile strength of 3D printed concrete.
Xue et al. found that the 28-day flexural strength decreased
linearly with the increase of RBP replacement rate. Zheng 's
study showed that the 28-day bending strength of concrete
with different RBP content (10%, 20%, 30%) was similar to
that of the control concrete, and similar conclusions were also
reached about the tensile strength of concrete with RBP
content. Naceri et al. showed that the bending strength of
mortar mixed with 5% and 10% RBP at 90 days was higher
than that of the control group. However, with the increasing
of RBP dosage, the bending strength of mortar will gradually
decrease. That is, the addition of appropriate RBP has no
significant effect on the tensile and bending strength of 3D
printed concrete .
5. Effect of Recycled Brick Powder on
Durability of 3D Printed Concrete
5.1. Carbonization resistance
Carbonization resistance is one of the important indicators
of durability of 3D printed concrete. Gao et al. found that the
carbonization depth increased with the increase of RBP
substitution rate, and the carbonization resistance decreased.
The addition of RBP has a great influence on the
carbonization after 7 days, and the carbonization depth
increases by 8.4%, 20% and 46.6%, respectively, when 10%,
20% and 30% RBP are added. When the curing period is
increased to 28 days, the carbonization depth of RBP with
addition of 10%, 20% and 30% increases by 36.81%, 59.72%
and 72.22%, respectively.
The carbonization effect is affected by the permeability of
CO2 gas and the content of Ca(OH)2 and C-S-H. On the one
hand, the finer particles of RBP have a filling effect on the
mortar, making the structure of the mortar more dense and
slowing down the penetration of CO2. This is beneficial to the
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carbonization resistance of mortar. The lower the CaO content,
the lower the RBP activity, the lower the hydration products
Ca(OH)2 and C-S-H. In addition, the secondary hydration of
RBP reduces the content of Ca(OH)2, which reacts with CO2
to form CaCO3. As a result, less CO2 gas is consumed and
more CO2 gas will penetrate deep into the recovered mortar
sample. On the other hand, lower CaCO3 content is produced,
resulting in relatively loose tissues, resulting in increased
carbonization depth.
6. Conclusion and Prospect
(1) RBP contains a large number of chemical components
such as SiO2 and Al2O3, and its micro-aggregate and volcanic
ash effect can significantly improve the microstructure of 3D
printed concrete, which has the potential to be used as an
auxiliary cementing material.
(2) Due to the porosity and high water absorption of
recycled micro-powder, it will significantly affect the
working performance of 3D printed concrete, increasing the
consistency and water demand.
(3) The hydration process of cement slurry shows that the
peak temperature decreases with the increase of RBP content,
indicating that RBP has a delayed effect on the hydration
reaction of cement.
(4) Adding an appropriate amount of RBP is conducive to
improving the mechanical properties of 3D printed concrete.
Studies have shown that 3D printed concrete mixed with 10%
to 20%RBP has better long-term (400 days) performance,
even better than ordinary Portland cement without the
addition of RBP.
(5) Incorporation of RBP can increase the carbonization
depth.
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