The 3D printing technology for cementitious materials (3DPC) has been developed rapidly, which brought significant technological advancements for building and construction industry. However, surface finish problem and weaking bonding interface restricts the development and application of 3DPC technology. This work aims at solving above-mentioned problem using a specially designed shaping plate apparatus. X-CT technology is introduced to analyze the microstructure, while the single-phase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation is used for characterizing the filling of extrudate in the shaping plate apparatus and stress and pressure distribution in printed structures. Results indicate that using the shaping plate apparatus may slightly reduce the printing speed, but it can effectively constrain the free expansion of the extrudate, control its cross-sectional geometry, improve the surface finish quality and mechanical properties of printed structures. This study provides a theoretical basis and technical guidance for the design and application of shaping plate apparatus.
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