Characterization of temperature influence on the structural build-up of 3D printed concrete

Abstract 3D concrete printing technologies enhance design freedom while reducing material use and costs without the need for formwork. Thereby, structural build-up is the key property governing stability and early strength evolution of 3D printed concrete after placement. Structural build-up is influenced by various factors, i.e., environmental conditions such as temperature. In this paper, the influence of ambient temperature on structural build-up was investigated through experimental and numerical approaches. Three experimental setups (small amplitude oscillatory shear, constant shear rate, and small amplitude oscillatory extensional tests) were applied to materials of increasing complexity under varying temperature conditions. A common modeling framework based on the maturity approach was developed to capture the time and temperature evolution. A stochastic framework was employed to estimate the unknown model parameters using experimental data. Experimental results demonstrate a significant temperature influence on structural build-up, consistent across all test setups and materials. The calibrated models successfully predict the structural build-up under different temperatures, confirming the applicability of the maturity approach to rheological parameters at early age. Furthermore, the stochastic parameter estimation allows a correct quantification of the uncertainties, enhancing model reliability. The comparison of two time evolution formulations indicates that a model with an additional linear stage is required for predicting the increase of the storage moduli ( G G ′ , E E ′ ). In conclusion, the study demonstrates that temperature significantly affects the structural build-up, and that the proposed modeling approach allows to predict this behavior.