Application of low drying shrinkage ECC in the protection layer of thermal insulation wall

Abstract

An innovative application of the fiber reinforced engineered cementitious composite (ECC) in thermal insulation wall is presented in this paper. Special focuses are paid for the purpose of eliminating bond failure between the structural layer, thermal insulation layer and surface protective layer, and enhancing cracking resistance of the surface protective layer. ECC with characteristics of low drying shrinkage (LSECC), strain-hardening and multiple cracking was used as surface protective material in the wall. The test results show that uniformly distributed steel wires crossing the thermal insulation layer at an inclination angle to the direction of horizontal direction of the wall and embedded in the structural concrete layer with certain length can provide sufficient bond strength of structural layer, thermal insulation layer and surface protective layer. Tensile test results on LSECC used in the surface protective layer of the wall show that LSECC can provide sufficient tensile strain capacity to adsorb the deformation induced by temperature change, material shrinkage and mechanical loads. Meanwhile, high crack opening control ability and fine crack opening is expected as well during service.