Abstract
Engineered cementitious composite (ECC) is a group of ultra-ductile fibre-reinforced cementitious composites, characterised by high ductility and moderate content of short discontinuous fibre. The unique tensile strain-hardening behaviour of ECC results from a deliberate design based on the understanding of micromechanics between fibre, matrix, and fibre–matrix interface. To investigate the effect of fibre properties on the tensile behaviour of ECCs is, therefore, the key to understanding the composite mechanical behaviour of ECCs. This paper presents a study on the fibre-bridging behaviour and composite mechanical properties of ECCs with three types of fibres, including oil-coated polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibre, untreated PVA fibre, and polypropylene (PP) fibre. The experimental result reveals that various fibres with different properties result in difference in the fibre-bridging behaviour and composite mechanical properties of ECCs. The difference in the composite mechanical properties of ECCs with different fibres was interpreted by analysing the fibre-bridging behaviour.
Highlights
By deliberate design based on the understanding of micromechanics between fibre, matrix, and fibre–matrix interface, engineered cementitious composite (ECC) exhibits unique strain-hardening behaviour (Li, 2003)
This paper aims to investigate the mechanical properties of Engineered cementitious composite (ECC) with different polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and PP fibres and to reveal the effect of fiber types and properties on uniaxial tensile and fibre bridging properties of ECCs
The relation of composite tensile properties and fibre-bridging behaviour is discussed from the point of view of ECC micromechanics reported in ECC
Summary
By deliberate design based on the understanding of micromechanics between fibre, matrix, and fibre–matrix interface, engineered cementitious composite (ECC) exhibits unique strain-hardening behaviour (Li, 2003). ECC shows tensile strain-hardening behaviour and develops tensile strain capacity in the range of 3–7%, compared to 0.01–0.05% for ordinary concrete and fibre-reinforced concrete (FRC). Ordinary concrete is a brittle material, and crack formation is followed by a sudden loss of load carrying capacity. Tensile strength and fracture toughness are enhanced, to some extent, by adding fibre, FRC is, a quasi-brittle material, showing strain-softening single-cracking behaviour under tension. After the first crack forms in ECC, tensile load-carrying capacity rises as strain increases, through multiple-cracking process with tight crack width control. The crack width of ECC is self-controlled to below 100 μm without the presence of steel reinforcement, which is much smaller than the typical crack width observed in ordinary concrete and FRC (Weimann and Li, 2003; Xiao et al, 2021; Xiong et al, 2021)
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