A Quasi-Exponential Distribution of Interfacial Voids and Its Effect on the Inter-Layer Strength of 3D Printed Concrete (2024-07)¶

In this work, a novel theoretical model of the void length probability distribution in 3D printed concrete is established based on a zigzag analog of the layer interface. A quasi-exponential distribution of void length is predicted and subsequently validated on both the zigzag analog and the actual 3D printed concrete, with different void ratios that determine the descending rate and node intervals that decide the horizontal scaling of the distribution. Moreover, the relationships between the interlayer strength, void ratio, and quantity of voids are also studied based on the theoretical model. It is found that the quantity of voids is symmetric about a void ratio of 0.5, and the decrease in the interlayer strength against the void ratio is non-linear which is approximated well by combined exponential and linear functions. This work is believed to reveal the nature of the interfacial void distributions and significantly advance the understanding of the layer interface in 3D printed concrete. The code for the zigzag analog with the computation of its interlayer strength is publicly available at: https://github.com/Human-HLW/Layer-interface.