Ultra-high early strength cementitious grout suitable for additive manufacturing applications fabricated by using graphene oxide and viscosity modifying agents

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. One of the considerable challenges in the design of cementitious mixtures for additive manufacturing/three-dimensional (3D) printing applications is achieving both suitable fresh properties and significant mechanical strengths. This paper presents the use of graphene oxide (GO) as a promising nano reinforcement material with the potential to improve the printing feasibility and quality of a 3D printed cementitious matrix. Additionally, in this study, a viscosity modifying agent (VMA) was employed as a chemical additive to attain the required consistency and flow. The printed mixture was fabricated using various cementitious materials and waste materials. This study investigated the impact of GO and VMA on the enhancement of the 3D printing of cementitious composites through several tests. A flow test was conducted using the flow table test. The results showed a high fluidity and practical consistency, which are essential for nozzle pumping and accurateness in printed shapes. Furthermore, the bleeding test showed minimal bleeding up to hardening, and a considerable self-cleaning ability was noted during handling when conducting examinations of fresh properties. For hardened properties, the mechanical strengths were exceptionally high, especially at early ages, which is crucial for the stability of sequence layers of printed composites. The tensile strengths were 3.77, 10.5, 13.35, and 18.83 MPa at 1, 3, 7, and 28 days, respectively, and the compressive strengths were 25.1, 68.4, 85.6, and 125.4 MPa at 1, 3, 7, and 28 days, respectively. The test results showed the effectiveness of the fabricated cementitious mixture design method for meeting the requirements for 3D concrete printing applications.