High-Performance 3D Concrete Printing with Zeolite

The development of 3D concrete printing greatly contributes to automation in construction, which reduces formwork usage and labour investment. In the engineering application of 3D concrete printing, high-performance materials that serve high-speed printing and possess good mechanical properties are critical. The authors’ previous work suggested that zeolite may be a promising ingredient due to its similar mineralogical microstructure to fluid catalytic cracking ash, where the latter has been proven effective. In this study, the setting, slump, flowability, and printing performance of the mixtures with two types of synthetic zeolites at different dosages were analyzed. Results showed that the incorporation of synthetic zeolites significantly contributes to the accelerated setting and reduced slump and flowability, leading to a higher buildability. On this basis, suggestions for the future tailoring of printable mixtures with zeolites were proposed.