Finite elements procedure for modelling mechanichal behaviour of layered 3D printed concrete elements with experimental validation

3D concrete printing (3DCP), as one of the most promising digital construction technologies of Industry 4.0, is based on digital manufacturing methodology. As one of the challenges in 3DCP, the mechanical behaviour of 3D printed concrete structures has not been well understood and difficult to predict. The aim of this study is to develop a methodology for predicting the stress–strain state of layered 3D printed concrete elements using the tools available in modern computer-aided engineering (CAE) software. The developed methodology for FE analysis of the mechanical behavior of 3D printed layered elements is characterized by the use of the Drucker-Prager yield criterion to describe the elastoplastic behavior of concrete in combination with a cohesive zone model to describe the material degradation processes in the interlayer zone in "concrete-concrete" composites. A special feature of this approach is that the initial parameters for these models (the Drucker-Prager concrete and CZM) have been determined experimentally, which objectively contributes to the accuracy of the numerical simulation results.