Enhancing structural resilience by using 3D printed complex polymer reinforcement for high damage tolerant structures

Abstract

Conventional cementitious structures demonstrate high compressive strength, yet they are inherently prone to brittleness. The development of materials or building blocks with high damage tolerance is essential for constructing robust buildings and structures, capable of withstanding various forms of damage. In this study, we introduce a novel approach that involves incorporating 3D printed complex schwarzites and zeolite based biodegradable polymer porous structures (soft phase) as a reinforcement medium within cement matrices (brittle phase). In the case of composite using primitive schwarzites and primitive gyroids, the specific resilience increases by 128.1% and 121.30%, respectively, compared to the control 3D printed structures. The most remarkable enhancement was observed in zeolites based structures, where the specific resilience was improved by 125.63% w.r.t the cement cube and an 505.33% compared to the control pristine 3D printed structure, respectively. This transformation effectively would mitigate the inherent brittleness of cement blocks, imparting a more ductile and damage-tolerant charecteristic to the composite material. These findings highlight the superior resilient structure and energy absorption capabilities of the composite blocks with different 3D printed polymer structures compared to pure cement cubes.