Engineered Cementitious Composite as a durability protective layer for concrete

Abstract

Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) shotcrete is a sprayable cement composite reinforced with synthetic fibres that exhibits a strain-hardening characteristic when subjected to load. The ductile behaviour of ECC makes it an ideal repair material for concrete structures as the strains that arise from thermal expansion of the original concrete structure can be accommodated. Four tests were conducted to assess the suitability of ECC as a durability protective layer for concrete structures exposed to marine environments. The tests were conducted to determine the voids percentage, electrical resistance, capillary suction rate and chloride diffusion coefficient of the material. Six ECC mix designs and a 40 MPa concrete were tested. Results indicated that the optimum ECC mix design reduced the apparent chloride diffusion coefficient by 90.8% compared with a 40 MPa concrete, indicating that ECC is suitable as a durability protective layer for concrete.