Experimental and numerical techniques to characterize structural properties of fresh concrete

This research explores experimental and numerical techniques for the analysis of fresh concrete subjected to fabrication loads. The work is relevant wherever green, or uncured, concrete must be load-bearing, and is particularly relevant to an emerging fabrication technology called Contour Crafting, which fabricates civil structures additively with layered freeform depositions of fresh cementitious extrudate. In traditional concrete construction, rigid formworks are employed, like exoskeletons, to mold, protect and support concrete, and these molds are not removed until the concrete has developed considerable load-bearing strength. Contour Crafting dispenses with the rigid formwork, and therefore, contour-crafted concrete must be independently load-bearing immediately upon placement. This research develops techniques, tools and strategies for engineering the in-process fresh concrete subjected to these unprecedented fabrication loads.