• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.48 no.5
• /
• pp.565-582
• /
• 2023

The present research reports the application of engineered cementitious composites (ECC) as an alternative to conventional concrete to improve the seismic behavior of short columns. Experimental and finite element investigation was conducted by testing five reinforced engineered cementitious composite (RECC) concrete columns (half-scale specimens) and one control reinforced concrete (RC) specimen for different shear-span and transverse reinforcement ratios under cyclic lateral loads. RECC specimens with higher shear-span and transverse reinforcement ratios demonstrated a significant effect on the column lateral load behavior by improving ductility (>5), energy dissipation capacity (1.2 to 4.1 times RC specimen), gradual strength degradation (ultimate drift >3.4%), and altering the failure mode. The self-confinement effect of ECC fibers maintained the integrity in the post-peak region and reserved the transmission of stress through fibers without noticeable degradation in strength. Finite element modeling of RECC specimens under monotonic incremental loads was carried out by adopting simplified constitutive material models. It was apprehended that the model simulated the global response (strength and stiffness) and damage crack patterns reasonably well.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
• /
• 2006.05b
• /
• pp.329-332
• /
• 2006

This paper presents the experimental results for durability of an ECC designed with ground granulated blast furnace slag (BFS) through the test method of chloride ion resistance and freezing-thawing resistance. In order to compare with ECC, normal mortar was also tested. Test results showed that BFS ECC exhibited higher durability performance than ordinary mortar. These results suggest that by adding BFS in ECC, its matrix density is increased which results in decreased of deterioration and it also adds to the fiber bridging that contributes in control of cracking.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.305-317
• /
• 2018

Steel reinforced Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) components have been proposed for seismic structural applications, for example in coupling beams, infill panels, joints, columns, and flexural members. The development of strain in the steel reinforcement of cementitious components has been shown to vary based on both the steel reinforcement ratio and the applied deformation history. Strain in the steel reinforcement of reinforced ECC components is an important structural response metric because ultimate failure is often by fracture of the steel reinforcement. A recently proposed bond-slip model has been successfully calibrated to cyclically tested reinforced ECC beams wherein the deformation history contained monotonically increasing cycles. This paper reports simulations of two-dimensional finite element models of reinforced ECC beams to determine the appropriateness and significance of altering a phenomenological bond-slip model based on the applied deformation history. The numerical simulations with various values of post-peak bond-slip softening stiffness are compared to experimental results. Varying the post-peak bond-slip softening stiffness had little effect on the cracking patterns and hysteretic response of the reinforced ECC flexural models tested, which consisted of two different steel reinforcement ratios subjected to two different deformation histories. Varying the post-peak bond-slip softening stiffness did, however, affect the magnitude of strain and the length of reinforcing bar that strain-hardened. Overall, a numerical model with a constant bond-slip model represented well various responses in reinforced ECC beams with multiple steel reinforcement ratios subjected to different deformation histories.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.78 no.5
• /
• pp.545-556
• /
• 2021

The present experimental study evaluated the seismic performance of six engineered cementitious composite (ECC) columns strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates under cyclic lateral loading. The ECC columns damaged and crushed in the first stage of cyclic tests were repaired using the ECC with a certain polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber and strengthened with flexural and sheer CFRP laminates and then re-assessed under the cyclic loading. The effects of some variables were examined on lateral displacement, energy absorption and dissipation, failure modes, crack patterns, load bearing capacity and plasticity, and the obtained results were compared with those of the first stage of cyclic tests. The results showed that retrofitting the ECC columns can improve their performance, plasticity and load-bearing threshold, delayed the concrete failure, changed the failure modes and increased the energy absorbed by the strengthened columns element by over 50%.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.809-815
• /
• 2011

An experimental investigations on the bond-slip properties of the steel and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer(GFRP) bars in engineered cementitious composite (ECC) with Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) fibers are presented. Total of 8 beam specimens prepared according to the Rilem procedures with 2% of PVA and PE fiber volume percentage and steel and GFRP reinforcements significantly changed the failure mechanism and slightly improved bond strength. The main objective of the tests was to evaluate the load versus displacement and load versus slip behaviors and the bond strength for the following parameters: concrete type (normal and fiber concrete) and bar diameter (10 and 13 mm). The study results showed that ordinary concrete and ECC specimens showed similar behavior for steel reinforced specimen. However, GFRP reinforced specimen showed different behavior that the steel specimen. The code analytical results showed more accuracy compared to the experimental results as expected in conservative code provisions. Based on the obtained results, it is safe to conclude that the new parameters need to be adopted to ensure safe usage of ECC for construction applications.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.85 no.1
• /
• pp.65-80
• /
• 2023

To explore the effect of Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) on improving the progressive collapse resistance of reinforced concrete frames under a middle column removal scenario, six beam-column substructures were tested by quasistatic vertical loading. Among the six specimens, four were ECC-concrete composite specimens consisting of different depth of ECC at the bottom or top of the beam and concrete in the rest of the beam, while the other two are ordinary reinforced concrete specimens with different concrete strength grades for comparison. The experimental results demonstrated that ECC-concrete composite specimens can improve the bearing capacity of a beam-column substructure at the stages of compressive arch action (CAA) and catenary action in comparison with ordinary concrete specimen. Under the same depth of ECC, the progressive collapse resistance of a specimen with ECC at the beam bottom was superior to that at the beam top. With the increase of the proportion of ECC arranged at the beam bottom, the bearing capacity of a composite substructure was increased, but the increase rate slows down with the proportion. Meanwhile, the nonlinear numerical analysis software MSC Marc was used to simulate the whole loading process of the six specimens. Theoretical formulas to calculate the capacities of ECC-concrete composite specimens at the stages of flexural action, CAA and catenary action are proposed. Based on the research results, this study suggests that ECC should be laid out at the beam bottom and the layout depth should be within 25% of the total beam depth.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
• /
• 2003.11a
• /
• pp.244-247
• /
• 2003

Recently, construction materials have been quickly advancing. Especially, the rate of development of cement based construction materials is much quicker than steel or composite materials. In order to optimize the ductility and strength of cement based materials, Micro-Mechanics based fiber concrete called Engineered Cement Composite (ECC) has been developed and studied extensively by many researchers in the field due to ECC's remarkable flexural strain and strength capacities, many leading nation (i.e., US, Japan and European countries have reached the point of being able to use ECC in actual constructions. But, due to the belated interest in the field, Korea is lagging behind the leading countries. ECC's ability to use its short fibers to bridge micro-cracks (50-80㎛ in width) allows great ductility and strength. In this study, it is confirmed excellency of ECC through the test of tensile strength.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
• /
• 2003.05a
• /
• pp.361-366
• /
• 2003

Recently, construction materials have been guickly advancing. Especially, the rate of development of cement based construction materials is much quicker than steel or composite materials. In order to optimize the ductility and strength of cement based materials, Micro-Mechanics based fiber concrete called Engineered Cement Composite (ECC) has been developed and studied extensively by many researchers in the field due to ECC's remarkable flexural strain and strength capacities, many leading nation (i.e., US, Japan and European countries have reached the point of being able to use ECC in actual constructions. But, due to the belated interest in the field, Korea is lagging behind the leading countries. ECC's ability to use its short fibers to bridge micro-cracks (50-80㎛ in width) allows great ductility and strength. ,In this study, ECC with superior material capacities are manufactured using domestic materials such as cement, silica sand, metal cellulose, etc. Using only domestic products, the optimal W/C ratio and mixing procedures are determined.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.50-57
• /
• 2010

It is important to detect fibers in the sectional image of fiber reinforced cementitious composites (FRCC), since the fiber distribution is a crucial factor to predict or evaluate the mechanical performance of FRCC. In this paper, we investigated the fluorescence characteristics of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) fibers, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) fibers, Polyethylene (PE) fibers, and Polypropylene (PP) fibers used in Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC), which is a special kind of FRCC that incorporates synthetic fibers and exhibits extremely ductile behavior in uniaxial tension, to detect each fiber according to its type. Furthermore, optimum excitation and emission wavelengths were proposed on the basis of maximum difference of Relative Fluorescence Intensity (RFI) between two types of fibers used in the hybrid ECC. Optimum threshold values to discriminate two types of fibers using statistical tools were also proposed. Finally, images of four types of fibers obtained using a fluorescence microscope are compared.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.135-144
• /
• 2012

This article reviews the tailoring of engineered cementitious composites (ECC), a type of high performance fiber reinforced cementitious composites with a theoretical design basis, for special attributes or functions. The design basis, a set of analytic tools built on micromechanics, provides guidelines for tailoring of fiber, matrix, and fiber/matrix interfaces to attain tensile ductility in ECC. If conditions for controlled multiple cracking are disturbed by the need to introduce ingredients to attain a special attribute or function, micromechanics then serve as a systematic and rational means to efficiently recover composite tensile ductility. Three examples of ECCs with attributes of lightweight, high early strength, and self-healing functions, are used to illustrate these tailoring concepts. The fundamental approach, however, is broadly applicable to a wide variety of ECCs designed for targeted fresh and/or hardened characteristics required for specific applications.