Chapter 3 - All-strength-grade polyethylene engineered cementitious composite (PE-ECC): Mechanical performance, energy parameters and its performance-based design method

Abstract

Engineered cementitious composite (ECC) as one of the most typical types of strain-hardening cementitious composites (SHCC) has received worldwide attention. In order to expand the engineering application scope of ECC, polyethylene fiber (PE) has been considered to produce PE-ECC covering all-strength grade (i.e., 43–115 MPa). The mechanical properties of all-strength-grade PE-ECC including the compressive properties, the tensile properties and the shear properties are introduced. Besides, the compressive constitutive model of all-strength-grade PE-ECC is also proposed. Moreover, the strain energy density and the fracture energy under uniaxial tension is stated to illustrate the energy dissipation capacity of PE-ECC. Based on the relationships between fiber reinforcement index (VfLf/df) and the tensile properties over a wide range, a performance-based design (PBD) method is proposed to facilitate a designation method of PE-ECC according to the practical requirements. The critical purpose of this chapter is to provide a general understanding of the basic performances and an applicable designing process of all-strength-grade PE-ECC.