HEAT CURING AS A MEANS OF POST-PROCESSING INFLUENCE ON 3D PRINTED MORTAR SPECIMENS IN POWDER-BASED 3D PRINTING

摘要

Inkjet (Powder-based) three-dimensional printing (3DP) shows significant promise in concrete construction applications. The accuracy, speed, and capacity to build complicated geometries are the most beneficial features of inkjet 3DP. Therefore, inkjet 3DP needs to be carefully studied and evaluated with construction goals in mind and employed in real-world applications, where it is most appropriate. This paper focuses on the important aspect of curing 3DP specimens. It discusses the enhanced mechanical properties of the mortar that are unlocked through a heat-curing process. Experiments were conducted on cubic mortar specimens that were printed and cured in an oven at a range of different temperatures (40, 60, 80, 90, 100℃). The results of the experimental tests showed that 80℃ is the optimum heat-curing temperature to achieve the highest compressive strength and flexural strength of the printed mortar specimens. These tests were performed on two different dimensions of the cubic specimens, namely, 20x20x20 mm, 50x50x50 mm and on prism specimens with dimensions of 160x40x40 mm. The inkjet 3DP process and the post-processing curing are discussed. In addition, 3D scanning of the printed specimens was employed and the surface roughness profiles of the 3DP gypsum specimens and cement mortar are recorded 13.76 μm and 22.31 μm, respectively.