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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Conventional concretes are almost unbendable and have a strain capacity of only
0.1% making them highly brittle and rigid. This lack of bendability is a major cause of
failure under strain and has been a pushing factor in the development of an elegant
material namely, bendable concrete also known as Engineered Cementious Composites
(ECC.) This material is capable to exhibit considerably enhanced flexibility. A bendable
concrete is reinforced with micromechanically designed polymer fibers.
ECC is made from the same basic ingredients as conventional concrete but with the
addition of High-Range Water Reducing (HRWR) agent as it is required to impart
good workability. However, coarse aggregates are not used in ECCs (hence it is a mortar
rather than concrete). The powder content of ECC is relatively high. Cementious materials,
such as fly ash, silica fume, blast furnace slag, etc., may be used in addition to cement for
increasing the paste content. Typically, ECC uses 2% by volume of short, discontinuous
fibers. ECC incorporates super fine silica sand and tiny Polyvinyl Alcohol- fibers covered
with a very thin (nanometer thick), slick coating. This surface coating allows the fiber to
begin slipping when they are over loaded so they are not fracturing.
ECC prevents the fiber from rupturing which would lead to large cracking. Thus an
ECC deforms much more than a normal concrete but without fracturing. Fig. 1.1
shows the behavior of ECC under flexural loading and it can be seen that the beam can deform
well without direct failure. The different ingredients of ECC work together to share the
applied load. ECC has proved to be 50 times more flexible than traditional concrete,
and 40 times lighter, which could even influence design choices in skyscrapers (Vol. 4, No.
1, February 2015 © 2015 IJSCER.) Additionally, the excellent energy absorbing properties
of ECC make it especially suitable for critical elements in seismic zones.
CHAPTER 2
BACKGROUND STUDY
Since ECC are more flexible than traditional concrete, it acts more like metal than
glass. Traditional concrete is considered to be a ceramic, brittle and rigid. It can suffer
catastrophic failure when strained in an earthquake or by routine overuse. It is studded with
specially-coated reinforcing fibers that hold it together. ECC remains intact and safe to use
at tensile strains up to 5%. Traditional concrete fractures and can’t carry a load at
0.01 % tensile strain.
In recent times, builders reinforce concrete structures with steel bars in order to keep
cracks as small as possible. But they’re not small enough to heal. So, water and deicing
salts can penetrate till steel, causing corrosion that further weakens the structure. Li’s self-
healing concrete needs no steel reinforcement to keep crack width tight, thereby eliminating
corrosion.
LITERTURE SURVEY
1) Victor C Li et al. (2012) carried out experimental study to improve the fibre distribution by
adjusting the mixing sequence. With the standard mixing sequence, fibres are added after all
solid and liquid materials are mixed. The undesirable plastic viscosity before the fibre addition
may cause poor fibre distribution and results in poor hardened properties. With the adjusted
mixing sequence, the mix of solid materials with the Liquid material is divided into two steps
and the addition of fibres is between the two steps. In this paper, the influence of different
water mixing sequences was investigated by comparing the experimental results of the uniaxial
tensile test and the fibre distribution analysis.
The result was concluded that compared with the standard mixing sequence, the adjusted
mixing sequence increases tensile strain capacity and ultimate tensile the strength of ECC and
improves the fibre Distribution.
2) Yu Zhu et al. (2012) carried out an experimental study to develop a kind of green
ECC with high tensile ductility and strong enough matrix strength, especially at early age. A
series of investigations was carried out to evaluate mechanical properties and drying shrinkage
of ECC with 70% combination mineral admixtures of FA and ground
Granulated blast furnace slag (SL). Four ECC mixtures with constant W/B of 0.25 are prepared
with combined inclusion of FA and SL as constant cement replacement level of 70%. The
laboratory measurements are carried out, including direct tensile test, four point bending test,
and compressive strength and drying shrinkage.
The experimental results show that ECC with combination mineral admixtures can
Achieve strain hardening behaviour, tensile capacity of ECC can be more than 2.5% at 90 days.
Meanwhile, compared to ECC only with fly ash, slag and fly ash can effectively increase
compressive strength of ECC, especially at early age. Incorporating SL into matrix can slightly
increase drying shrinkage of ECC.However, among four ECC mixtures, ECC with 30% SL
and 40% FA presents the lowest
Drying shrinkage at later ages.
3) Mustafa Saharan et al. (2013) carried out experimental work for 36 different ECC mixtures
to evaluate the combined effects of the following factors on workability and rheological
properties: water-binder (w/b), sand-binder (s/b), superplasticizer-binder (SP/ b) ratios and
maximum aggregate size (Dmax). A mini-slump cone, a Marsh cone and a rotational
viscometer was used to evaluate the workability and rheological properties of ECC mixtures.
Compressive strength and four point bending tests was used for mechanical characteristics of
ECC mixtures at 28 days.
The effects of studied parameters (w/b, s/b, SP/b and Dmax) was characterized and
Analysed using regression models, which can identify the primary factors and their interactions
on the measured properties. Statistically significant regression models was developed for all
tested parameters as function of w/b, s/b, SP/b and Dmax. To find out the best possible ECC
mixture under the range of parameters investigated for the desired workability and mechanical
characteristics, a multi-objective optimization problem was defined and solved based on the
developed regression models.
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
4.1. CEMENT
Cement used is Ordinary Portland cement. Numerous organic compounds which are
used for adhering or fastening materials are called cements. But, these are classified as
adhesives, and the term cement alone means a construction material. Blast furnace
slag may also be used in some cements and the cement is called Portland slag cement (PSC).
The color of the cement is due mainly to iron oxide. In the absence of impurities, the color
would be white. Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) – 53 grade (Ultratech Cement) is normally
used
Sand is used for making mortar and concrete and for also used for polishing and
sandblasting. Sands containing a little clay are used for making molds in foundries. Clear
sands are employed for filtering water. The weight varies from 1,538 to 1,842 kg/m3,
depending on the composition and size of grain. The fine aggregate passing through 4.75
mm sieve with a specific gravity of 2.68 is normally used. The grading zone of fine
aggregate will be zone III as per Indian Standard specifications.
4.4. FLYASH
Fly ash used is pozzocrete dirk 60. And specifications provided by suppliers are
given in Table 1. In RCC construction, use of fly ash has been successful in reducing heat
generation without loss of strength, increasing ultimate strength beyond 180 days,
and Providing additional fines for compaction. Replacement levels of primary class fly
ash have ranged from 30-75% by solid volume of cementitious material. In
proportioning mixes, for minimum paste volumes, one of principal function of a fly ash is
to occupy void space which would otherwise be occupied by cement or water. Occupation
of void space with water would obviously result in reduction in concrete strength. The fact
is that even a small amount of free lime liberated from cement is sufficient to react with
large volume of fly ash. The huge amount of fly ash is produced in the thermal power
stations. Class F fly ash is utilized so the acquisition cost may be reduced
PVA fibre has suitable characteristics as reinforcing materials for cementitious composites.
High modulus of elasticity, durability, tensile strength and bonding strength with concrete
matrix are some of its desirable properties. PVA fibre has high strength and modulus of
elasticity (25 to 40GPa) compared to other general organic fibre which are widely used for
cement reinforcing. Fibre elongation is about 6-10%. The tensile strength of fibre is between
880MPa to 1600MPa. One of the remarkable characteristics of PVA fibre is strong bonding
with cement matrix. The layer of Ca (OH) 2 called ITZ (Interfacial transition zone) around
PVA fibre is formed as white part. And in case of PP, this layer is not observed. It is known
that PVA is easy to make complex cluster with metal hydroxide. It is assumed that Ca+
and OH- ions in cement slurry are attracted by PVA and makes Ca (OH) 2 layer. It seems
reasonable to think that Ca(OH)2 layer plays important role for bonding strength. Fig. 2
shows images of surface for coarse PVA fibre after single fibre pull-out test. This image
implies that surface of PVA fibre is peeled by Ca (OH) 2 layer and this phenomena is related
to strong bonding between PVA fibre and cement matrix.
PVA fibres
Asbestos fibres
Fig.4 Different types of reinforcement fibers used in Flexible Concrete
4.6. WATER
Water fit for drinking is generally considered fit for making concrete. Water should be
free from acids, oils, alkalis, vegetables or other organic Impurities. Soft waters also produce
weaker concrete. Water has two functions in a concrete mix. Firstly, it reacts chemically with
the cement to form a cement paste in which the inert aggregates are held in suspension until
the cement paste has hardened. Secondly, it serves as a vehicle or lubricant in the mixture of
fine aggregates and cement.
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
TESTS COMPARISON ON FLEXIBLE CONCRETE
6.1 Tests conducted on materials
Serial no. Material Property Value Codes
Soundness 2 mm
Specific 2.53
gravity
6.2.2 Bending Test: - The test is done in accordance with the IS12467-2004. The flexural stress of the
flexible concrete
Bending
Sheet strength test results:
is measured
Bending test on the material has conducted in accordance with the IS12467- 2004.
Flexural strength f = 18.75 N/mm² from the above test results, it has found that the
material is not flexural rigid material and hence it has concluded that it is an elastic
material.
6.2.3 Bullet Impact Test: The test is done with the gun. The impact impressions are
observed on the flexible concrete sheet.
CHAPTER 7
MIX DESIGN
The mix design for ECC Concrete is basically based on Micromechanics design
basis. Micromechanics is a branch of mechanics applied at the material constituent level
that captures the mechanical interactions among the fibre, mortar matrix, and fibre–matrix
interface. Typically, fibres are of the order of millimeters in length and tens of microns in
diameter, and they may have a surface coating on the nanometer scale. Matrix
heterogeneities in ECC, including defects, sand particles, cement grains, and mineral
admixture particles, have size ranges from Nano to millimeter scale. However the
micromechanics based mix design requires pull test to be carried on the PVA fibres,
which is not possible in the laboratory. Hence the ideal mix proportion given in the
literature of ECC Concrete is used as the guidelines to determine the proportion of
various constituents in the concrete. The ideal Mix proportion which can be taken as
reference is given in the following sections.
The performance of the ECC Concrete is influenced by the mixing. This means
that a proper and good practice of mixing can lead to better performance and quality of the
ECC Concrete. The quality of the concrete is also influenced by the homogeneity of the
mix material, Flexural Test on Slab during the mixing and after the placement of fresh
concrete. A proper mix of concrete is encouraged to the strength of concrete and better
bonding of cement with the PVA fibres. Once the concrete mix design is finalized, the
mixing is carried out. The mixing of ECC Concrete is carried out by using hand mixing.
The procedure of hand mixing is as follows: - Add sand, cement, 50% of fly ash and 50%
water and super plasticizer. Add slowly remaining quantity of fly ash, water and super
plasticizer. Once the homogenous mixture is formed, add the PVA fibres slowly. Mix all
the constituents till the fibres are homogenously mixed in the matrix.
Before placing of concrete, the concrete mould must be oiled for the ease of
concrete specimens stripping. The oil used is a mixture of diesel and kerosene. Special care
is taken during the oiling of the moulds, so that there are no concrete stains left on the
moulds. Once the workability test of ECC Concrete is done, the fresh concrete must be
placed into the concrete moulds for hardened properties tests. During the placing of fresh
concrete into the moulds, tamping is done using Tamping rod in order to reduce the
honeycombing. After placing the concrete into the moulds, vibrations are done using a table
vibrator. The vibration of concrete allows full compaction of the fresh concrete to release
any entrained air voids contained in the concrete. If the concrete is not compacted to a
proper manner, the maximum strength of the concrete cannot be achieved. After
vibration operation, the levelling of concrete is done on the surface of the concrete.
Levelling is the initial operation carried out after the concrete has been placed and
compacted. After the levelling of the fresh concrete is done, the concrete in the mould is left
overnight to allow the fresh concrete to set.
After leaving the fresh concrete in the moulds to set overnight, the concrete
specimens in the moulds were stripping. The identification of concrete specimens was
done. After 24 hours, all the concrete specimens were placed into the curing tank with a
controlled temperature of 250C in further for 28 days for the hardened properties test of
concrete. Curing is an important process to prevent the concrete specimens from losing of
moisture while it is gaining its required strength. Lack of curingwill lead to improper gain
in the strength. After 28 days of curing, the concrete specimens are removed from the curing
tank to conduct hardened properties test of ECC Concrete.
CHAPTER 8
The normal concrete structure are The flexible concrete structure are
Durability less durable. more durable
The structure made with the As the flexible concrete does not
Earthquake original concrete are prone to break easily by the earthquake
resistance earthquake. They generally forms motion. So the structure made
cracks or may collapse during with the flexible concrete are
earthquake. more earthquake resistance.
The repair & maintenance cost of The repair & maintenance cost of
Repair & concrete structure is high as it flexible concrete is less as it does
maintenance developed cracks and other defects. not develop that much cracks.
CHAPTER 9
FIELD APPLICATIONS
ECC have found use in a number of large-scale applications in Japan,
Korea, Switzerland, Australia and the U.S. These include:
The Mintaka Dam near Hiroshima was repaired using ECC in 2013. The surface of
the then 60-year-old dam was severely damaged, showing evidence of cracks,
spalling, and some water leakage. A 20 mm-thick layer of ECC was applied by
spraying over the 600 m2 surface.
Also in 2013, an earth retaining wall in Gifu, Japan, was repaired
using ECC. Ordinary Portland cement could not be used due to the severity of the
cracking in the original structure, which would have caused reflective cracking.
ECC was intended to minimize this danger; after one year only micro cracks of
tolerable width were observed.
The 95 m (312 ft.) GlorioRoppongi high-rise apartment building in Tokyo contains
a total of 54 ECC coupling beams (two per story) intended to mitigate
earthquake damage. The properties of ECC (high damage tolerance, high energy
absorption, and ability to deform under shear) give it superior properties in
seismic resistance applications when compared to ordinary Portland cement.
Similar structures include the 41-story Nabeaure Yokohama Tower (four coupling
beams per floor.)
The 1 km (0.62 mi) long Mihara Bridge in Hokkaido, Japan was opened to traffic in
2015. The steel-reinforced road bed contains nearly 800 m3 of ECC material.
The tensile ductility and tight crack control behavior of ECC led to a 40% reduction
in material used during construction.
Similarly, a 225-mm thick ECC bridge deck on interstate 94 in Michigan was
completed in 2015. 30 m3 of material was used, delivered on-site in standard mixing
trucks. Due to the unique mechanical properties of ECC, this deck also used
less material than a proposed deck made of ordinary Portland cement. Both the
University of Michigan and the Michigan Department of Transportation are
monitoring the bridge in an attempt to verify the theoretical superior durability
of ECC; after four years of monitoring, performance remained undiminished.
The first self-consolidating and high-early-strength ECC patch repair was placed on
Ellsworth Road Bridge over US-23 in November 2016. The high-early-strength
ECC can achieve a compressive strength of 23.59 ± 1.40 MPa (3422.16 ± 203.33
psi) in four hours and 55.59 ± 2.17 MPa (8062.90 ± 315.03 psi) in 28 days, allowing
for fast repair and re-opening the session to traffic. The high-early-strength ECC
repair has shown superior long-term durability in field conditions compared to
typical concrete repair materials.
CHAPTER 10
CONCLUSION
Life expectancy of the material is found to be nearly three – four years and which can
be increased to seven- ten years by little improvement and change in the material.
The average compressive strength of the flexible concrete cube used in this project
work is found out to be 41.6 N/mm². It is also seen that the strength of the mortar
increases with the time and depends on the mortar mix ratio.
The cone puncture resistance test showed that the material does not fail under the
impact load even when the penetration of the cone rises up to 2.7mm. It is also observed
that whatever penetration occurs is regained after the removal of the load.
The bending parameter is based on the theory of pure bending. The test leads to the
inference that the material is not flexural rigid material
From the bullet test it can be observed that there is no effect of bullet impact on the
material. Moreover, the top layer of the material is also not distorted.
It is proved that Flexible concrete gives more flexible strength than conventional
concrete. Conventional concrete has 0.01% of strain capacity but flexible concrete has
strain capacity of 5%.
The Cost of Flexible concrete is bit higher than conventional but it can be minimized
by using a small cross section of member sizes and eliminating reinforcement bars
REFERENCES
Professor Victor Li - From mechanics to structural engineering - The design of
cementitious composites for civil engineering applications Structural
Engineering/Earthquake Engineering (1993) – University of Michigan
Alberti M G, Enfedaque A, Galvez J C, Canvas M F and Osorio I R (2014), -
“Polyolefin fib rereinforced concrete enhanced with steel-hooked fibers in low
proportions”, Journal of Materials and Design, Vol. 60, pp. 57–65
Jian Zhou, Shunzhi Qian, Guang Ye, OguzhanCopuroglu, Klaas van Bruegel and
Victor C Li (2012), - “Improved fiber distribution and mechanical properties of
engineered cementitious composites by adjusting the mixing sequence”, Journal of
Cement & Concrete Composites, Vol. 34, pp. 342–348..
Waseem Akhtar, Amit thyagi- International Research Journal Of Engineering And
Technology Volume: 02 Issue: 09 | Dec 2015
Professor Dr. S. G. Makarande- Civil Department, B.D.C.E. SEWAGRAM
Professor M. R. Nikhar - Civil Department, B.D.C.E. SEWAGRAM
V. Vedhanarayanan- International Journal on Applications in Civil and
Environmental Engineering Volume 1: 6 Volume 1 Issue 1 Issue 3: March 2015 ISSN
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Indian standard code IS 456:2000
SagarGadhiya, Patel T N and Dinesh Shah(2015) - “Parametric study on flexural
strength on ECC 2015 ijscer vol:4 no:5
Seminar report on “Bendable concrete “presented by Chaitra NageshBabasahebi
M.tech. in structural engineering Basaveshwar Engineering College Bagalkot