Title:
Numerical Simulation of Hardening Chemo-Mechanics During 3D Printing of Concrete
Author(s):
Gianluca Cusatis
Publication:
Web Session
Volume:
ws_S25_GianlucaCusatis.pdf
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
Keywords:
DOI:
Date:
3/30/2025
Abstract:
3D printed concrete as an innovative construction technology has been increasingly used for intricate and customized structural designs. This requires an improved comprehension of the material properties' transition from the flow stage to solidification in concrete. The primary objective of this study is to simulate the coupled chemo-mechanical phenomena that occur during hardening of concrete while it is exposed to deformations resulting from the 3D printing process. This specific stage is significantly challenging to model given the limited information about the mechanics of intermediate products and how shearing events break these internal reaction product bridges. Another challenge is the observed self-healing during such transition. The fresh concrete was simulated using smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) coupled with the discrete element method (DEM). DEM was employed to represent the aggregate, capturing the movements of discrete particles, while the SPH was utilized to simulate the cement paste, modeling the continuous property of the concrete mixture. After the concrete setting, the lattice discrete particle model (LDPM) was used to model the failure behavior of concrete at the meso-scale. The concrete setting process, which depicts the transition of concrete from a viscous fluid to a solid state, was also simulated. The evolution of material properties during the concrete setting was provided by experimental tests. The entire simulation was performed in Project Chrono which is an open-source multi-physics engine. The simulation was validated by comparing the numerical results with the experimental data of real 3D printed concrete.