Strength and deformation characteristics of engineered cementitious composite slabs with different polymer fibres

Abstract

This paper presents a study on the compressive and flexural strength of engineered cementitious composite (ECC) cubes and slabs, reinforced with various polymer fibres. The type of fibre, fibre content and aspect ratio were the parameters considered in this study. For all types of fibre, the compressive strength of the ECC decreased as the reinforcing index increased. For the ECC polypropylene fibre (PP) slabs, the first crack strength significantly decreased with an increase in the fibre content. For the ECC polyethylene fibre (PE) slabs, the first crack strength decreased as the reinforcing index increased. For the ECC PE slabs, the usage of PE 1600D fibres showed a substantial increase in flexural strength due to their higher tensile strength and E modulus. The ECC PP slabs behaved like plane concrete due to the zero value of flexural strength, which was attributed to the weak interfacial bonding with the cement matrix, low tensile strength and E modulus of the PP fibres. The highest ductility was observed for the ECC-PE slabs with the highest recorded deflection values; these values achieved many extended multiple cracks and an extensive area under the load–deflection curve indicating high energy absorption capacity.

Keywords

Engineered cementitious composite polyvinyl alcohol fibres polypropylene fibres polyethylene fibres reinforcing index

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

. Engineered cementitious composites (ECC) – material, structural, and durability performance. Concrete construction engineering handbook, Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2008.

Lepech

. Large scale processing of engineered cementitious composite. ACI Mater J 2008; 105: 358–366.

Li VC. Advances in ECC research. Material science to application – A tribute to Surendra P Shah, Volume 206, ACI Publication, Farmington Hills, MI: ACI Special, 2002, pp.373–400.

. Engineered cementitious composites for structural applications. J Mater Civil Eng ASCE 1998; 10: 66–69.

Wang

. Engineered cementitious composites with high-volume fly ash. ACI Mater J 2007; 104: 233–241.

Yang

. Use of high volumes of fly ash to improve ECC mechanical properties and material greenness. ACI Mater J 2007; 104: 620–628.

Naaman

Reinhardt

Characterization of high performance fiber reinforced cement composites—HPFRCC. In: Naaman

Reinhardt

(eds). High performance fiber reinforced cement composites 2 (HPFRCC 2), Cachan Cedex, France: RILEM Publications, 1996, pp. 1–24.

. From micromechanics to structural engineering – The design of cementitous composites for civil engineering applications. J Struct Mech Earthquake Eng JSCE 1993; 10: 37–48.

. On engineered cementitious composites (ECC). A review of the material and its applications. J Adv Concrete Technol 2003; 1: 215–230.

10.

Fischer

Wang

Design of engineered cementitious composites (ECC) for processing and workability requirements. In: Brandt

Marshall

(eds). Proceedings of international symposium on brittle matrix composites 7, Warsaw, Poland: Zturek Rsi, Woodhead, 2003.

11.

Zhang

Leung

CKY

Gao

. Simulation of crack propagation of fiber reinforced cementitious composite under direct tension. Eng Fract Mech 2011; 78: 2439–2454.

12.

Long

Fang

Min

. Effect of composition on flexural behavior of engineered cementitious composites. Sci China Technol Sci 2012; 55: 3425–3433.

13.

Mishra

. Matrix design for pseudo strain-hardening fiber reinforced cementitious composites. J Mater Struct 1995; 28: 586–595.

14.

Yuan

Pan

. A comparison of engineered cementitious composites versus normal concrete in beam-column joints under reversed cyclic loading. Mater Struct 2013; 46: 145–159.

15.

Shao

Shah

. Mechanical properties of PVA fiber reinforced cement composites fabricated by extrusion processing. ACI Mater J 1997; 94: 555–564.

16.

Wang

. Flexural behaviors of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforced engineered cementitious composite beams. ACI Mater J Am Concrete Inst 2002; 99: 11–21.

17.

Fischer

. Deformation behavior of fiber-reinforced polymer reinforced engineered cementitious composite (ECC) flexural members under reversed cyclic loading conditions. ACI Struct J 2003; 100: 25–35.

18.

Maalej

. Flexural/tensile strength ratio in engineered cementitious composites. J Mater Civil Eng ASCE 1994; 6: 513–528.

19.

Maalej

. Introduction of strain-hardening engineered cementitious composites in design of reinforced concrete flexural members for improved durability. ACI Struct J 1995; 92: 167–176.

20.

Minard A. Bendable concrete heals itself-just add water. National Geographic News, National Geographic ed, National Geographic Society, 2009.

21.

Wafa MA and Fukuzawa K. Characteristics of ferrocement thin composite elements using various reinforcement meshes in flexure. J Reinf Plast Compos 2010; 29: 3530-3539.

22.

Pichandi

Rana

Oliveira

. Fibrous and composite materials for blast protection of structural elements—A state-of-the-art review. J Reinf Plast Compos 2013; 32: 1477–1500.

23.

Zhang

Cao

. Fiber synergy in multi-scale fiber-reinforced cementitious composites. J Reinf Plast Compos 2014; 33: 862–874.

24.

Sahmaran

Yücel

Yildirim

. Investigation of the bond between concrete substrate and ECC overlays. J Mater Civil Eng ASCE 2014; 26: 167–174.

25.

Zhou J. Performance of engineered cementitious composites for concrete repairs. Delft, The Netherlands: Delft University of Technology, 2011.

26.

Kamada

. The effects of surface preparation on the fracture behavior of ECC/concrete repair system. Cement Concrete Compos 2000; 22: 423–431.

27.

. Behavior of ECC/ concrete layered repair system under drying shrinkage conditions. Restor Build Monument 2006; 12: 143–160.

28.

Balaguru

Narahari

Patel

. Flexural toughness of steel fiber reinforced concrete. ACI Mater J 1992; 89: 541–546.

29.

Banthia

Trottier

. Test methods for flexural toughness characterization of fiber reinforced concrete: Some concerns and a proportion. ACI Mater J 1995; 92: 48–56.