Compressive behavior of polyvinyl alcohol engineered cementitious composites incorporating steel slag as aggregate

Abstract

Disposal of the steel by-product steel slag (SS) negatively impacts the environment. The use of SS as an aggregate in engineered cementitious composites (ECC) can prevent pollution and mitigate natural aggregate depletion. In this study, river sand (RS) was replaced by SS with maximum size of 4750 µm, and the properties of ECC with varying contents of SS and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber were investigated. SS changed the hydration product composition and enhanced the bond stress between the fiber and cementitious matrix, increased the bulk specific density and compressive strength, and reduced the porosity. ECC containing only SS and with high PVA fiber content exhibited superior performance. A 25% SS replacement ratio and 2% PVA fiber content improved the compressive strength, ductility index, and toughness index to 47.5 MPa, 1.45, and 2.60, respectively.