Temperature dependance of 3D printed concreteproduced with coppertailings

Abstract

3D printedconcreteis being applied in an increasing amount worldwide. While in theory, there are environmental and economic benefits associated with using this technology, in practice, the amount of cement in printable concrete is much higher than in a conventional one, leading to increased environmental and economic costs. Furthermore, cement’s performance relies heavily on climate variables, specifically temperature. One way to solve thisissueis to include local alternative low-CO2materials, such as processed mine tailings, as cement replacement. This paper pre-sents an experimental approach to assess the use of coppertailings as cement re-placement in printable concrete under different ambient temperatures. Three levels of cementvolumereplacement have been researched. The coppertailings’ rheolog-ical effect has been measured using standard printability tests and a rheometer. Fourmixtureshave been printed in a controlled-climate chamber to evaluate print-ability, buildabilityandextrudability.The mechanical effect has been assessed with compressive and flexural strength testsof samples collected fromtheprinted spec-imens. The results show that coppertailings are a promising alternative to cement in printable concrete in countries where this by-product is abundan