Utilizing steel slag aggregate (SA) as a substitute for river sand in 3D concrete printing (3DCP) has emerged as a new technique as natural resources become increasingly scarce. This study investigates the feasibility of using steel slag (SS) as fine aggregate for 3DCP. Ninety mixtures with varying steel slag aggregate-to-cement ratios (SA/C), water-to-cement ratios (W/C), and silica fume (SF) contents were designed to study the workability and compressive strength of the 3D-printed concrete. Additionally, the actual components were printed to evaluate the printability of these mixtures. The experimental results indicate that it is feasible to fully employ SA in concrete for 3D printing. Mixtures with slump values ranging from 40 to 80 mm and slump flow values varying from 190 to 210 mm are recommended for 3D printing. The optimal mix is determined to have SA/C and W/C ratios of 1.0 and 0.51, respectively, and an SF content of 10% by cement weight. A statistical approach was utilized to construct the prediction models for slump and slump flow. Moreover, to predict the plastic failure of the 3D-printed concrete structure, the modified prediction model with an SA roughness coefficient of 4 was found to fit well with the experimental data. This research provides new insights into using eco-friendly materials for 3D concrete printing.

The experimental program investigated concrete with a large amount of fly ash (FA) with silica fume (SF) to replace Portland cement on the results of semi-adiabatic test, compressive strength test, and the rapid chloride permeability test (RCPT). The replacement ratios of cement by a combination of FA and SF were 30%, 35%, and 40% by mass. The percentages of SF to replace cement were 0%, 4%, and 8% by mass. Three different water-to-binder ratios (W/B) of 0.34, 0.36, and 0.38 were also investigated. Multiple linear regression was applied to construct the predicted equations (models) for the semi-adiabatic temperature rise test and the compressive strength test. Models were assessed statistically and were used to solve the concrete mixture design optimization problems. The mixture with W/B of 0.36, 31% FA, and 5% SF was found to optimally satisfy the multi-objective problem: 28-day compressive strength of 50 MPa, low heat of hydration, and very low chloride penetrability classification. Field test on the actual wind turbine foundation of the optimal mixture revealed the maximum temperature rise was 74.8 °C and the maximum temperature differential was 21.9 °C.

In recent years, fly ash (FA) has been increasingly used widespread like a mineral admixture for the production of concrete in general and self-compacting concrete (SCC) in particular. Fly ash is an industrial by-product and is generated during the combustion of coal for energy production from the thermal power station. Fly ash is utilized to increase the workability of concrete mixtures and increase shrinkage resistance of the self-compacting concrete. In this paper, the mixture design of the self-compacting concrete with strength grade of 60 MPa is performed with requirement that the workability satisfies the slump flow, T500 and the V-Funnel TV test range from 650 to 800 mm, from 2 to 5 s and from 6 to 12 s, respectively. Besides, fly ash is used to replace cement with content of 15%, 25%, 35% and 50% to evaluate shrinkage resistance. The obtained results showed that using fly ash contents from 25% to 35% to replace cement can ensure workability of the mixture together with high degree of shrinkage restraint. According to ASTM C1581, the evaluation of restrained shrinkage of the self-compacting concrete based on the restrained ring test, this method reduces the testing time but still ensure the reliability. Keywords: fly ash; self-compacting concrete; shrinkage resistance; restrained ring test.