Influence of steel fiber on the water absorption of 3D printed concrete

Abstract

• Using X-CT combined with CsCl enhancing to study the water transport in hardened 3DPC. • Steel fiber alignment can enhance water uptake rate, compared with molded concrete. • Steel fiber can not elevate the sorptivity of printed concrete along the filament. In this study, X-CT combined with CsCl enhancing method is used to investigate the effect of steel fiber on the unsaturated flow in printed concrete along the printing direction, and to contrast the molded concrete. Results indicate that this method could be used effectively to monitor the evolution of water ingress into cementitious materials continuously. The addition of steel fiber slightly reduces water absorption rate in printed specimens. Compared with the molded specimen, the fiber alignment enhances the sorptivity of the printed specimen significantly.