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Cementitious binders amenable to extrusion‐based 3D printing are formulated by tailoring the fresh microstructure through the use of fine limestone powder or a combination of limestone powder and microsilica or metakaolin. Mixtures are proportioned with and without a superplasticizer to enable different particle packings at similar printability levels. A simple microstructural parameter, which implicitly accounts for the solid volume and inverse square dependence of particle size on yield stress can be used to select preliminary material combinations for printable binders. The influence of composition/microstructure on the response of pastes to extension or squeezing are also brought out. Extrusion rheology is used in conjunction with a phenomenological model to better understand the properties of significance in extrusion‐based printing of cementitious materials. The extrusion yield stress and die wall slip shear stress extracted from the model enables an understanding of their relationships with the fresh paste microstructure, which are crucial in selecting binders, extrusion geometry, and processing parameters for 3D printing.

 

Characterization of paste flow is important in ensuring rheological control during printing. The interaction between the rheological characteristics and processing parameters are better studied through a combination of experimental and simulation tools. For fresh pastes and concrete, discrete element method (DEM)-based simulations are appropriate to provide insights into the particle scale processes occurring during extrusion-based printing, and to relate them to the macro-scale response of the entire system. In this paper, we model the extrusion process of a plain ordinary Portland cement (OPC) paste using DEM, and outline the methodology adopted to evaluate the linkage between particle scale processes and extrusion process. An analytical model for a frictional plastic material undergoing ram extrusion is also used in conjunction with the DEM model to arrive at the yield stresses and shaping stresses that enable efficient extrusion process, as a function of the material microstructure.