Abstract
The additive manufacturing technologies are fast-developing industrial sector and, potentially, a ground-breaking technology. They have many advantages such as the saving of resources and energy efficiency. However, the full exploitation of 3D printing technology for ceramic materials is currently limited; a lot of research is being conducted in this area. A promising solution seems to be geopolymers, but its application requires a better understanding of the behaviour this group of materials. This article analyses the influence of microstructure on mechanical properties whilst taking the production method into consideration. The paper is based on comparative analysis – the investigation is focused on the influence of material structure on the mechanical properties and fracture mechanism of these kinds of composites, including those reinforced with different kind of fibres. As a raw material for the matrix, fly ash from the Skawina coal power plant (located in: Skawina, Lesser Poland, Poland) was used. The investigation was made by SEM analysis. The results show that the microstructural analysis did not sufficiently explain the underlying reasons for the observed differences in the mechanical properties of the composites.
Highlights
With respect to construction materials, additive technologies have been found to be the most viable option for widespread use in automated construction processes in the near future [1, 2]
Geopolymer composites based on fly ash reinforced with flax and carbon fibres were produced using two methods – casting and injection moulding
The best values were achieved for composite reinforced by 1% flax fibre made by injection moulding to simulate 3D printing, and the worst were achieved for composite with 1% carbon fibre made by injection moulding to simulate 3D printing
Summary
With respect to construction materials, additive technologies have been found to be the most viable option for widespread use in automated construction processes in the near future [1, 2]. They have many advantages such as resource saving, energy efficiency and friendliness towards the environment [3, 4]. The full exploitation of additive technology for effective application in the construction industry still requires optimisation, especially with regard to improving methods of designing new materials [5,6,7]. Its usage is limited, only some prototype elements have been performed using this technology [10, 11]
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