Mechanical and acoustic properties of polymer-reinforced mortar structures based on D-surfaced shellular processed by 3D printing

Abstract

Concrete is the most commonly used building material as it offers excellent compressive strength and is cheap to manufacture. Due to massive consumption, it has become an indirect source of about eight per cent of the total global carbon emissions. Efforts were poured into the research and development of low carbon concrete with high structural efficiency. However, the structural efficiency achieved was not comparable to biological materials. In recent years, 3D printing and biomimetics have gained significant attention within the construction sector due to its potential to aid the development of low carbon concrete products with high structural efficiency. This paper proposes the development of a polymer-reinforced mortar product based on the D-surfaced Shellular processed by 3D printing. This new product was expected to achieve a desirable strength to weight ratio suitable for non-structural building applications like vertical greenery support system. Uniaxial unconfined compression (UUCT) and Transfer Function Method were performed to determine the compressive strength and sound absorption coefficient of this new mortar product. Findings suggested the potential for this product with a D-surfaced Shellular architecture to be used as a floating seed carrier system for the restoration of mangrove forests around the world. This architected mortar product was able to achieve a relative density lower than water. This enables the product to float on water. Also, the architected mortar product can also be used for sound insulation applications like the supporting structure for vertical greenery systems as it was able to achieve a maximum sound absorption coefficient of 0.6 that is better than aerogel which is known for its excellent sound dampening properties.