Table of Contents
Rheological rejuvenation and structural build-up of 3D printed manufactured sand concrete via secondary mixing protocol
The application of sustainable manufactured sand (MS) in 3D printed concrete is currently severely restricted by the “pumpability-buildability” conflict, primarily characterized by the high internal friction and angularity of MS particles. To overcome ...
More.The application of sustainable manufactured sand (MS) in 3D printed concrete is currently severely restricted by the “pumpability-buildability” conflict, primarily characterized by the high internal friction and angularity of MS particles. To overcome this bottleneck, this study proposes a novel process-oriented strategy: a secondary mixing protocol featuring a static resting period and delayed superplasticizer addition. This approach is explicitly designed to induce a “rheological rejuvenation” effect in stiff MS mixtures. Quantitative results demonstrate that this protocol reduces the static yield stress of high-volume MS ink (T-3) by approximately 39% (from 1,516 Pa to 924 Pa) and significantly diminishes thixotropic hysteresis, thereby successfully reopening the effective printing window to approximately 65 min. Although increasing MS content accelerates the structural build-up rate, the optimized 3D printed manufactured sand concrete (T-3) achieves a 28-day compressive strength of 61 MPa, representing a 15% enhancement over the river sand reference group (T-0). These findings confirm that the secondary mixing protocol is a robust solution capable of unlocking the potential of high-volume MS in sustainable digital construction.
Less.Wenxuan Zhu, ... Huawei Liu
DOI:https://doi.org/10.70401/jbde.2026.0029 - February 10, 2026