Mortar for additive manufacturing comprising raw earth, a polysaccharide and a deflocculating agent

Abstract

The invention relates to a dry mortar composition comprising raw earth and a binder, said binder comprising a polysaccharide and a deflocculating agent.

Description

Title of the invention: Mortar for additive manufacturing comprising raw earth, a polysaccharide and a deflocculation agent

[0001] The invention relates to the field of construction. It relates more particularly to the manufacture of construction elements using an additive manufacturing technique.

[0002] Additive manufacturing techniques are currently experiencing promising developments in a large number of technical fields. Also known as "3D printing," additive manufacturing is a method in which a computer-controlled robot manufactures three-dimensional objects by continuously depositing material layer after layer. These techniques make it possible, in particular, to manufacture objects with complex shapes.

[0003] Additive manufacturing has, for example, been used to manufacture structural elements such as concrete walls.

[0004] Additive manufacturing of construction elements, for example concrete or mortar, makes it possible to integrate design, planning and construction processes and to automate and streamline the latter. Other advantages of this technology include reduced labor costs, reduced material losses and consumption, the elimination of formwork and reduced project duration and investments.

[0005] According to a known method, a wet mortar, obtained by mixing a dry mortar and mixing water, is pumped and conveyed to a print head secured to a robot or a gantry whose movement is controlled by computer. A layer of wet mortar is deposited on a layer of mortar previously deposited, generally by being extruded through a nozzle. The print head is continuously moved according to a predetermined pattern in order to manufacture the final object.

[0006] In order for the final construction element to have good mechanical strength, it is important to ensure good adhesion between the successive mortar layers. However, it is important that the mortar layers retain their shape and can support the overlying layers. It is also essential to ensure proper operation of the process at all times and in particular to guarantee that the wet mortar remains sufficiently fluid during its transport to the printing nozzle, to allow it to be pumped under good conditions and to avoid any blockage. These different requirements are in some respects contradictory, so that it is difficult to find compositions that satisfy them.

[0007] The aim of the invention is to propose mortar compositions based on raw earth which, by meeting all of the above-mentioned requirements, are particularly well suited to the additive manufacturing process described above.

[0008] To this end, the invention relates to a dry mortar composition comprising raw earth and a binder, said binder comprising a polysaccharide and a deflocculation agent.

[0009] Another subject of the invention is a method for additive manufacturing of construction elements comprising mixing such a dry mortar composition with water to obtain a wet mortar, pumping and transporting said wet mortar to a print head comprising a nozzle, and successively depositing superimposed layers of wet mortar by extrusion through said nozzle.

[0010] The invention also relates to a construction element obtained (or simply capable of being obtained) by implementing such a method.

[0011] In this text, dry mortar means a powdery mixture and wet mortar the paste obtained by mixing this dry mortar with a mixing liquid, generally water or an aqueous composition.

[0012] The inventors were able to demonstrate that the use in combination of a polysaccharide with a deflocculation agent made it possible to obtain a wet mortar whose rheology evolution over time is optimal, allowing both easy pumping of the wet mortar and good stability of the structure.

[0013] In particular, the compositions according to the invention make it possible to achieve rates of increase in the shear threshold that are particularly well suited to the additive manufacturing process. The shear threshold corresponds to the shear stress necessary to initiate the flow of the material. The rate (V) of increase in this shear threshold makes it possible in particular to quantify the rate at which the material stiffens. Too low a rate leads to structures that are not stable because the layers are not able to support the weight of the overlying layers. Conversely, too high a rate results in poor adhesion between the different layers and can lead to difficulty in transporting the wet mortar, or even to blockages. The compositions according to the invention also make it possible to obtain initial shear thresholds (a few minutes after mixing) that are suitable for pumping the wet mortar.

[0014] The polysaccharide is preferably a polysaccharide that gels at room temperature. It is therefore preferably an alginate, in particular sodium alginate.

[0015] The deflocculating agent is preferably a phosphate, particularly a polyphosphate, especially sodium hexametaphosphate. Other (poly)phosphates are, for example, sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium orthophosphate. Alternatively, the deflocculating agent may be a non-ionic surfactant, such as a polyoxyethylene ether, or an anionic compound, for example chosen from carbonates, sulfonates, lignosulfonates and polyacrylates. The deflocculating agent can also be an amine.

[0016] Preferably, the binder further comprises a water-soluble calcium salt, for example calcium chloride or calcium bicarbonate. This embodiment is particularly preferred in combination with a deflocculating agent which is a polyphosphate. It has indeed been observed that the reaction between polyphosphates and calcium makes it possible to regulate the start of gelation. The mass ratio between the calcium salt and the polysaccharide (in particular alginate) is preferably between 1 / 100 and 1 / 20.

[0017] The quantity of binder is preferably between 0.5% and 5%, in particular between 0.8 and 4%, relative to the weight of dry mortar composition.

[0018] The amount of deflocculation agent is preferably between 0.05 and 1.0%, in particular between 0.1 and 0.6%, relative to the weight of dry mortar composition.

[0019] The quantity of polysaccharide is preferably between 0.4 and 4.9%, in particular between 0.7 and 3.9%, relative to the weight of dry mortar composition.

[0020] Preferably, the binder consists of a polysaccharide (especially an alginate), a deflocculation agent (especially a polyphosphate) and a water-soluble calcium salt.

[0021] The use of raw earth makes it possible to reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and the depletion of abiotic resources. The raw earth is preferably obtained by excavating soils located on the construction site or near the construction site, so that it requires little or no transport. In particular, the earth excavated for the purpose of creating the foundations of the building can be used to create the walls of a building. Alternatively, the raw earth can come from neighboring construction sites, for example public works sites (construction of tunnels for underground means of transport, etc.). The process therefore makes it possible to recycle this excavated earth (thus reducing the waste generated by the construction site) and to reduce the need for concrete or prefabricated materials as well as their transport.

[0022] Raw earth typically contains sand, clay and silt, in varying amounts depending on where it is excavated. The raw earth may also have undergone preparation operations for implementing the method, including but not limited to a screening operation. When preparation operations are carried out, they are preferably carried out at the excavation site, the latter preferably being the construction site.

[0023] The raw earth content is preferably between 15 and 90%, in particular between 20 and 50% relative to the weight of the dry mortar composition.

[0024] The dry mortar composition may further comprise aggregates, such as sands, clays, fillers, lightweight aggregates and / or fibers.

[0025] The addition of sands and / or clays makes it possible in particular to adjust the consistency of the wet mortar, depending on the composition of the raw earth used. The dry mortar composition advantageously comprises clays, for example kaolinite, when the clay content in the raw earth is low.

[0026] The lightweight aggregates are preferably chosen from pozzolan, perlite, vermiculite, expanded glass beads, hollow glass microspheres, cenospheres, expanded silicates, expanded clays, expanded polystyrene beads, cork and mixtures thereof. The fibers are preferably natural fibers (plant or animal), in particular plant fibers, such as hemp, flax or wood fibers.

[0027] The aggregates may include recycled aggregates, for example from the demolition of buildings or infrastructure, industrial by-products, and / or sand from rock crushing. This may, for example, be crushed demolition waste, foundry sand, and / or crushed glass. Demolition waste may include, for example, pieces of concrete, mortar, gypsum, or glass.

[0028] The dry mortar composition may further comprise additives (or adjuvants), chosen in particular from rheological agents (in particular cellulose ethers), water-retaining agents, plasticizers and superplasticizers, air-entraining agents, thickening agents, biocidal protective agents, dispersing agents, pigments, accelerators and / or retarders and polymeric resins. The total content of additives and adjuvants preferably varies between 0.001 and 5% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition.

[0029] The mixing rate, i.e. the quantity of water in relation to the quantity of dry mortar, is preferably between 11 and 28%, in particular between 14 and 19%. Adjusting the water content makes it possible in particular to adjust, for a given binder, the rate of increase in the stress at the flow threshold.

[0030] The wet mortar, of pasty consistency, can be pumped and transported to the print head of a printer. Pumping is carried out, for example, by means of a screw pump. Transport is typically carried out in a pipe.

[0031] The print head comprises in particular a nozzle through which the wet mortar is extruded. The extrusion nozzle is preferably located less than 100 mm from the underlying mortar layer. Preferably, the print head does not comprise shearing means, in particular active shearing means, such as a screw driven by a motor.

[0032] The printer is for example an industrial robot or a gantry, carrying the print head, and whose movement is controlled by a computer. The computer comprises in particular a recording medium in which is stored a set of data or 3D model as well as instructions, which when executed by the computer lead the latter to control the movement (trajectory, speed, etc.) of the print head as well as other process parameters, for example the mixing rate (i.e. the ratio between the quantity of mixing water and the quantity of dry mortar).

[0033] The printing speed is typically 30 to 1000 mm / s, in particular 50 to 300 mm / s. The thickness (or height, since this is the dimension in the vertical direction) of the mortar layers is preferably between 5 and 40 mm, in particular between 10 and 20 mm. The width of the mortar layers is preferably between 10 and 300 mm, in particular between 20 and 100 mm.

[0034] The construction element will most often be a wall or a wall element, in particular for a facade or partition wall.

[0035] The building elements may be prefabricated elements, intended to be assembled on the construction site, for example by means of mortar, in order to form the exterior or interior walls (for example the partition walls) of a building. The elements may also be manufactured directly on the construction site and form the complete wall of the building.

[0036] The lateral dimensions of the construction element are preferably between 1 and 4 m, in particular between 1 and 3 m. The thickness is preferably at most 70 cm, in particular between 20 and 50 cm.

[0037] Examples

[0038] The following non-limiting examples illustrate the invention.

[0039] Dry mortar compositions were obtained by mixing sand, clays (kaolinite), raw earth, sodium alginate (marketed under the reference Cimalgin ® HS 4 by the company Vinpai and containing an addition of calcium chloride) and sodium hexametaphosphate (HMP). A wet mortar was then obtained by mixing these compositions with water. Table 1 below indicates for each composition the constituent contents in percent relative to the weight of dry mortar composition, as well as the mixing rate. Table 1 also indicates the initial shear threshold (¾) as well as the rate of increase of the shear threshold (denoted V).

[0040] The rate of increase of the shear threshold was calculated by measuring the shear threshold at regular intervals (every 5 minutes) for 1 hour after mixing. The shear threshold (t0) was calculated from measurements made using a cone penetrometer, using the following formula, where m is the mass of the cone (in kg), 0 is the angle of the cone, and h is the depression of the cone (in m):

[0041] [Math.l] mx gxcox20 T o = --5---- 7rh~ xtanë

[0042] [Tables 1] Cl 1 2 3 4 5 Sand - - - - 61.7 61.7 Clay - - - - 7.4 7.4 Raw earth 97.2 97.0 96.8 96.7 29.6 29.6 Alginate 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 1.1 1.1 HMP - 0.23 0.35 0.46 0.2 0.2 Water 25.5 25.5 25.5 25.5 16.8 14.8 TOi (Pa) 13000 1000 1000 1000 400 644 V (Pa / s) 5.4 21.3 9.2 2.4 15

[0043] The compositions were also tested for their ability to be printed under good conditions.

[0044] The composition of Comparative Example C1, free of deflocculating agent, has a very high initial shear threshold, making it difficult to pump the wet mortar. In contrast, the compositions of Examples according to the invention 1 to 5 made it possible to obtain both suitable initial shear thresholds and suitable rates of increase in the shear threshold, sufficiently high to allow the subsequent deposited layers to be supported, but without hindering the pumping and transport of the wet mortar. Their printability was good.

Claims

Claims

1. A dry mortar composition comprising raw earth and a binder, said binder comprising a polysaccharide and a deflocculating agent.

2. Composition according to claim 1, in which the polysaccharide is an alginate, in particular is a sodium alginate.

3. Composition according to one of the preceding claims, in which the deflocculation agent is a phosphate, in particular sodium hexametaphosphate.

4. A composition according to any preceding claim, further comprising a water-soluble calcium salt.

5. Composition according to one of the preceding claims, in which the quantity of binder is between 0.5% and 5%, in particular between 0.8 and 4%, relative to the weight of dry mortar composition.

6. Composition according to one of the preceding claims, in which the quantity of deflocculation agent is between 0.05 and 1.0%, in particular between 0.1 and 0.6%, relative to the weight of dry mortar composition.

7. Composition according to one of the preceding claims, in which the raw earth content is between 15 and 90% relative to the weight of dry mortar composition.

8. Composition according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising aggregates, in particular sands, clays, fillers, lightweight aggregates and / or fibers.

9. A method of additive manufacturing of construction elements comprising mixing a dry mortar composition according to one of the preceding claims with water to obtain a wet mortar, pumping and transporting said wet mortar to a print head comprising a nozzle, and successively depositing superimposed layers of wet mortar by extrusion through said nozzle.

10. Method according to the preceding claim, in which the quantity of water relative to the quantity of dry mortar is between 11 and 28%, in particular between 14 and 19%.

11. Method according to one of claims 9 or 10, in which the print head does not comprise shearing means.

12. Construction element obtained by implementing a method according to one of claims 9 to 11.