Tensile Strain Capacity Prediction of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) Using Soft Computing Techniques

Plain concrete is strong in compression but brittle in tension,having a low tensile strain capacity that can significantly degrade the long-term performance of concrete structures,even when steel reinforcing is present.In order to address these challenges,short polymer fibers are randomly dispersed in a cement-based matrix to forma highly ductile engineered cementitious composite(ECC).Thismaterial exhibits high ductility under tensile forces,with its tensile strain being several hundred times greater than conventional concrete.Since concrete is inherently weak in tension,the tensile strain capacity(TSC)has become one of the most extensively researched properties.As a result,developing a model to predict the TSC of the ECC and to optimize the mixture proportions becomes challenging.Meanwhile,the effort required for laboratory trial batches to determine the TSC is reduced.To achieve the research objectives,five distinct models,artificial neural network(ANN),nonlinear model(NLR),linear relationship model(LR),multi-logistic model(MLR),and M5P-tree model(M5P),are investigated and employed to predict the TSCof ECCmixtures containing fly ash.Data from115 mixtures are gathered and analyzed to develop a new model.The input variables include mixture proportions,fiber length and diameter,and the time required for curing the various mixtures.The model’s effectiveness is evaluated and verified based on statistical parameters such as R2,mean absolute error(MAE),scatter index(SI),root mean squared error(RMSE),and objective function(OBJ)value.Consequently,the ANN model outperforms the others in predicting the TSC of the ECC,with RMSE,MAE,OBJ,SI,and R2 values of 0.42%,0.3%,0.33%,0.135%,and 0.98,respectively.

Experimental and numerical study on flexural behaviors of steel reinforced engineered cementitious composite beams

To investigate the flexural behaviors of steel reinforced engineered cementitious composite （ECC） beams, the behaviors of the steel reinforced ECC beam and the conventional steel reinforced concrete beam subjected to flexural load are experimentally compared. The experimental results show that the flexural strength and ductility of the steel reinforced ECC beam are 24.8% and 187.67% times larger than those of the steel reinforced concrete beam, and the substitution of concrete with ECC can significantly delay the propagation of cracks. Additionally, a simplified constitutive model of the ECC material is used to simulate the flexural behaviors of beams by the finite element analysis （FEA）. The results show a good agreement between the simulation and test results. The crack width of the steel reinforced ECC beam can be limited to 0.4 mm under the service load conditions. The application of ductile ECC can significantly increase the flexural performance in terms of flexural strength, deformation capacity and ductility of the beams.

Development of engineered cementitious composites with local ingredients

In order to reduce the cost of high performance polyvinyl alcohol（PVA） fiber reinforced cementitious material（called engineered cementitious composites,ECC）,a ductile ECC material is developed using domestic PVA fibers along with other local ingredients,such as fly ash,cement and sand.In addition to the economic analysis of ECC,the four-point bending test and the optical microscope are employed to investigate the deflection capacity of ECC,its crack width and the occurrence of the self-healing phenomenon.The experimental results suggest that ECC made with domestic ingredients exhibits larger deformability and the average crack width is controlled around 60 μm.Furthermore,the self-healing behavior is observed in cracks of the specimens after cycles of wet and dry curing.The economic analysis shows that the cost of ECC can be greatly reduced via employing domestic PVA fibers.It is,therefore,feasible to produce low cost ECC material employing domestic PVA fibers,while simultaneously retaining high material ductility.

Impact Properties of Engineered Cementitious Composites with High Volume Fly Ash Using SHPB Test

The split Hopkinson pressure bar （SHPB） testing with diameter 40 mm was used to investigate the dynamic mechanical properties of engineered cementitious composites （ECCs） with different fly ash content. The basic properties including deformation, energy absorption capacity, strain-stress relationship and failure patterns were discussed. The ECCs showed strain-rate dependency and kept better plastic flow during impact process compared with reactive powder concrete （RPC） and concrete, but the critical compressive strength was lower than that of RPC and concrete. The bridging effect of PVA fiber and addition of fly ash can significantly improve the deformation and energy absorption capacities of ECCs. With the increase of fly ash content in ECCs, the static and dynamic compressive strength lowered and the dynamic increase factor enhanced. Therefore, to meet different engineering needs, the content of fly ash can be an important index to control the static and dynamic mechanical properties of ECCs.

Mechanical properties of polyvinyl alcohol-basalt hybrid fiber engineered cementitious composites with impact of elevated temperatures

In the present study,the mechanical properties of polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)-basalt hybrid fiber reinforced engineered cementitious composites(ECC)after exposure to elevated temperatures were experimentally investigated.Five temperatures of 20,50,100,200 and 400℃ were set to evaluate the residual compressive,tensile and flexural behaviors of hybrid and mono fiber ECC.It was shown that partial replacement of PVA fibers with basalt fibers endowed ECC with improved residual compressive toughness,compared to brittle failure of mono fiber ECC heated to 400℃.The tension tests indicated that the presence of basalt fibers benefited the tensile strength up to 200℃,and delayed the sharp reduction of strength to 400℃.Under flexural load,the peak deflections corresponding to flexural strengths of hybrid fiber ECC were found to be less vulnerable ranging from 20 to 100℃.Further,the scanning electron microscopy(SEM)results uncovered that the rupture of basalt fiber at moderate temperature and its pullout mechanism at high temperature was responsible for the mechanical evolution of hybrid fiber ECC.This work develops a better understanding of elevated temperature and basalt fiber impact on the residual mechanical properties and further provides guideline for tailoring ECC for improved fire resistance.

Flexural behavior of steel reinforced engineered cementitious composite beams

In order to enhance the durability of steel encased concrete beams, a new type of steel reinforced engineered cementitious composite(SRECC) beam composed of steel shapes, steel bars and ECC is proposed. The theoretical analyses of the SRECC beam including crack propagation and stress-strain distributions along the depth of the composite beam in different loading stages are conducted. A theoretical model and simplified design method are proposed to calculate the load carrying capacity. Based on the proposed theoretical model, the relationship between the moment and corresponding curvature is derived. The theoretical results are verified with the finite element analysis. Finally, an extensive parametric study is performed to study the effect of the matrix type, steel shape ratio, reinforced bar ratio, ECC compressive strength and ECC tensile ductility on the mechanical behavior of SRECC beams. The results show that substitution concrete with ECC can effectively improve the bearing capacity and ductility of composite beams. The steel shape and longitudinal reinforcement can enhance the loading carrying capacity, while the ductility decreases with the increase of steel shape ratio. ECC compressive strength has significant effects on both load carrying capacity and ductility, and changing the ultimate strain of ECC results in a very limited variation in the mechanical behavior of SRECC beams.

Effects of Water/Binder Ratio on the Properties of Engineered Cementitious Composites

The effects of water/binder ratio （w/b） on the toughness behavior, compressive strength and flexural strength of engineered cementitious composites （ECC） were investigated. The w/b ratios of 0.25, 0.31, 0.33 and 0.37 were selected and the specimens were tested at the ages of 7 d and 28 d. The experimental results showed that there was a corresponding increase in first cracking strength, modulus of rupture, compressive strength and flexural strength with the decrease of w/b. Within the w/b range of 0.25-0.37, higher w/b was found to have improved effects on deflection, strain hardening index and toughness index of ECC. In the permission of meeting the requirement of compressive strength grade, selecting higher w/b in mix design will help to obtain robust ECC.

High Temperature Flexural Deformation Properties of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) with Hybrid Fiber Reinforcement

Engineered Cementitious Composites(ECC)is a class of high-performance fiber reinforced composites with ultra-ductility designed based on micromechanics,and it has been developed for increasing application in the construction industry during recent decades.The properties of ECC at room temperature have been tested and studied in depth,however,few studies focus on its performance after high temperature that is one of the worst conditions to ECC.To investigate the change tendency and mechanism for the high temperature flexural properties of hybrid fiber reinforced ECC and the feasibility of calcium carbonate whisker to reduce the cost of ECC materials,polyvinyl alcohol fiber(PVA)reinforced strain hardening cementitious composites(PVA-ECC),steel fiber+PVA fiber reinforced ECC(defined as HyFRECC-A)and steel fiber+PVA fiber+CaCO3 whisker reinforced ECC(defined as HyFRECC-B)subject to room temperature and 200℃,400℃,600℃,800℃elevated temperature exposure were experimentally compared.The results indicate that equally replacing PVA fibers by steel fibers degraded the flexural hardening ability of PVA-ECC at room temperature,while the addition of appropriate amount of CaCO3 whisker improved the flexural strength,toughness and flexural hardening behavior.The elevated temperature posed a significant effect on the flexural strength and toughness of the three types of ECCs.Flexural deflection hardening behavior of the three types of ECCs was eliminated after high temperature exposure.Flexural strength and toughness of PVA-ECC presented an exponential decay along with the increase of temperature.The addition of steel fiber slowed down the decay rate.Although the use of CaCO3 whisker increased the post-temperature flexural strength and toughness of HyFRECC-B,the decay rate was not further decreased.

Influence of Thickeners on Cement Paste Structure and Performance of Engineered Cementitious Composites

Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose （HPMC） and amphoteric polyacrylamide （ACPAM） were respectively used to prepare engineered cementitious composite （ECC） which exhibits strain-hardening behavior under uniaxial tension. The connections between cement paste structure and the performance of the composite in fresh and hardened state were investigated, aiming at achieving the desirable workability at a given solids concentration. The experimental results of viscosity and miCrostructure of cement pastes show that the intimate connections between flocculation groups lead to the growing increase in viscosity. The results of deformability and fiber dispersion demonstrate that fiber dispersion coefficient is a comprehensive index which can reflect the performance of deformability as well as uniformity. And the desirable fresh mixture can be achieved by optimizing the viscosity of cement paste. At last, the ductile strain-hardening performance of the ECC prepared with HPMC or ACPAM was investigated through uniaxial tensile test.

Revolutionizing engineered cementitious composite materials(ECC):the impact of XGBoost-SHAP analysis on polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)based ECC predictions

This study integrates previous experimental data and employs machine learning(ML)methods,including Random Forest(RF),Support Vector Machine(SVM),Artificial Neural Network(ANN),and eXtreme Gradient Boosting(XGBoost),to predict the compressive strength(CS)and tensile strength(TS)of engineered cementitious composites(ECC).XGBoost emerged as the superior model among the four ML models,providing an interpretable and highly accurate predictive framework.To optimize the model performance,hyperparameter tuning using a fivefold cross-validation approach with the data divided into 80%training and 20%testing subsets.The Shapley Additive Explanations(SHAP)algorithm was also employed to reveal the impact of important features,such as the water/binder ratio,fly ash content,and water reducer dosage,on the model’s predictions and their interrelationships.The XGBoost demonstrates the most exemplary performance,as reflected in the R^(2)values of 0.92 and 0.97 for CS and TS testing,respectively.The SHAP analysis provided insights into the impact of individual features on CS and TS,shedding light on how specific characteristics influence the predictive accuracy of these properties.This highly accurate prediction model uncovers insights into correlated features,aids in creating new mix designs of ECC,and supports global efforts toward a low-carbon future in the construction industry by reducing carbon emissions.

Prediction of the mechanical performance of polyethylene fiber-based engineered cementitious composite(PE-ECC)

In recent years,extensive research has focused on applying machine learning(ML)techniques to predict the properties of engineered cementitious composites(ECCs).ECCs exhibit crucial characteristics such as compressive strength(CS),tensile strength(TS),and tensile strain(TSt).Accurate forecasting of these critical properties can reduce material waste,lower construction expenses,and expedite project timelines for engineers and designers.This study investigates mixture design components and corresponding strengths of ECCs based on only polyethylene fiber drawing from existing literatures.Artificial neural network(ANN)models are developed to predict CS,TS,and TSt using a dataset of 339 experimental results with twelve input variables.The ANN models,implemented in MATLAB,consider various hidden layers and neurons to optimize accuracy and validation metrics demonstrate the model’s high accuracy.Sensitivity analysis explores individual parameter impacts.Drawing inspiration from this study,it would be advantageous to enhance the predictive modeling toolkit by leveraging the progress made in existing technologies,thereby driving the green and low-carbon development of civil engineering.This approach not only improves the efficiency and sustainability of construction practices but also aligns with global environmental goals by reducing the carbon footprint associated with civil engineering projects.

Numerical study on flexural behaviors of steel reinforced engineered cementitious composite(ECC) and ECC/concrete composite beams

Engineered cementitious composite(ECC)is a class of high performance cementitious composites with pseudo strain-hardening behavior and excellent crack control capacity.Substitution of concrete with ECC can largely reduce the cracking and durability problems associated with brittleness of concrete.In this paper,a simplified constitutive model of the ECC material was applied to simulate the flexural behaviors of the steel reinforced ECC and ECC/concrete composite beams with finite element method.The simulation results are found to be in good agreement with test results,indicating that the finite element model is reasonably accurate in simulating the flexural behaviors of the steel reinforced ECC flexural members.The effects of the ECC modulus,ECC tensile ductility,ECC thickness and ECC position on flexural behaviors in terms of ultimate moment,deflection and the maximum crack width of the steel reinforced ECC or ECC/concrete composite beam are hence evaluated.

Seismic behavior of precast concrete coupled shear walls with engineered cementitious composite (ECC) in the critical cast-in-place regions

The seismic performance of precast reinforced concrete （RC） coupled shear walls is significantly influenced by coupling beams and the beam-to-wall joints during large deformations into plastic ranges. This study investigated the use of engineered cementitious composite （ECC） in the cast-in-place beam-to-wall joints and the upper regions of the composite coupling beams as an innovative method to improve the seismic performance ofprecast RQ coupled shear walls. Two 1/2-scale precast coupled shear walls were tested under reversed cyclic loading and seismic behavior in terms of failure characteristic, mechanical characteristic value, load-displacement hysteresis curves, load-displacement envelope relationship, stiffness degradation, ductility and energy dissipation capacity were evaluated. Research results show that the substitution of concrete with ECC in the critical cast-in-place regions proved to be an effective method to improve the seismic performance of the two-story spatial of precast RC coupled shear walls.

Effect of natural pozzolan content on the properties o engineered cementitious composites as repair material

In order to determine the effect of Natural Pozzolan （NP） content on the mechanical properties and durability characteristics on Engineered Cementitious Composites （ECC） as repair material. This study focused on the evaluation of the most factors influencing compatibility between the repair material and the base concrete including mechanicals properties such as, compressive and flexural strengths, elastic modulus, capillary absorption and drying shrinkage. The experimental results showed that natural pozzolan reduces the compressive strength and the flexuraI strength of ECC at all ages. The elastic modulus of ECC was remarkably lower than that of normal-strength concrete. This lower ~oung＇s modulus is desirable for repair concrete, because it prevents the stresses induced by restrained shrinkage. In addition, the incorporation of high-volume natural pozzolan decreases significantly the coefficient of capillary absorption at long term and increases the drying shrinkage. Generally, based on the results obtained in the present experimental investigation, ECC can be used effectively as an overlay material over existing parent concrete.

Deformation behavior of high performance fiber reinforced cementitious composite prepared with asphalt emulsion

A novel engineered cementitious composite(ECC) was prepared with the complex binder of Portland cement and asphalt emulsion.By adjusting the amount of asphalt emulsion,different mixture proportions were adopted in experiments,including four-point bending test,compressive test,and scanning electric microscopy(SEM).The SEM observation was conducted to evaluate the contribution of polyvinyl alcohol(PVA) fiber and asphalt emulsion to the composite toughening mechanism.The tests results show that the most remarkable deflection-hardening behavior and saturated multiple cracking are achieved when the content of asphalt emulsion is 10%.However,excessive content of asphalt emulsion causes severe damages on the deformation behavior as well as loss in compressive strength of the mixture.SEM observation indicates that the influence of asphalt emulsion on the fiber/matrix interfacial property changes the dominant fiber failure type from rupture into pull-out mode,and thus causes beneficial effects for strain-hardening behavior.

Shrinkage Reducing Measures for Engineering Cementitious Composites

Inhibition measurement of shrinkage of engineering cementitious composites （ECC） was investigated due to typical ECC with higher free drying shrinkage.The effects of expanded admixture （EA）,shrinkage reducing admixture （SRA）,coarse sand＋stone powder （CS＋SP） and superabsorbent polymer （SAP） on drying shrinkage and mechanical properties were studied.The experimental results show that ECC incorporating EA,SRA and coarse sand can retain around 60% of the typical ECC＇s free drying shrinkage.Superabsorbent polymerl（SAP） can delay the development of free drying shrinkage of ECC at different ages,and the effect of SAP is not distinct like the actions of EA,superabsorbent polymer（SRA） and coarse sand.Significantly,SAP may act as artificial flaw to form a more homogeneous defect system that increases the potential of saturated multiple cracking,hence the ductility of ECC will be improved greatly.

Flexural behaviors of steel reinforced ECC/concrete composite beams

An engineered cementitious composite （ECC） is introduced to partially substitute concrete in the tension zone of a reinforced concrete beam to form an ECC/reinforced concrete （RC） composite beam, which can increase the ductility and crack resisting ability of the beam. Based on the assumption of the plane remaining plane and the simplified constitutive models of materials, the stress and strain distributions along the depth of the composite beam in different loading stages are comprehensively investigated to obtain calculation methods of the load-carrying capacities for different stages. Also, a simplified formula for the ultimate load carrying capacity is proposed according to the Chinese code for the design of concrete structures. The relationship between the moment and curvature for the composite beam is also proposed together with a simplified calculation method for ductility of the ECC/RC composite beam. Finally, the calculation method is demonstrated with the test results of a composite beam. Comparison results show that the calculation results have good consistency with the test results, proving that the proposed calculation methods are reliable with a certain theoretical significance and reference value.

Mechanical behaviors of steel reinforced ECC / concrete composite columns under combined vertical and horizontal loading

In order to improve the load capacity, seismic performance and performance-cost ratio of the columns, the concrete at the base of reinforced concrete （RC） columns is substituted with engineered cementitious composites （ECC） to form ECC/RC composite columns. Based on the existing material properties, the mechanical behaviors of the ECC columns, ECC/RC composite columns and RC columns were numerically studied under combined vertical and horizontal loading with the software of ATENA. Then, the failure mechanism of ECC columns and ECC/RC composite columns were comprehensively studied and compared with that of the RC columns. Then, the effects of the height of the ECC, the axial compression ratio, and the transverse reinforcement ratio on the mechanical behaviors of the composite or the ECC column are studied. The calculation results show that the ultimate load capacity, ductility and crack resistance of the ECC or ECC/RC composite columns are superior to those of the RC columns. The ECC/RC composite column with a height of the ECC layer of 1.2h （ h is the height of the cross section） can achieve similar mechanical properties of a full ECC column. With high shear strength, ECC can undertake the shear force and significantly reduce the amount of stirrups, avoiding construction issues and promoting its engineering application.

Seismic behaviors of steel reinforced ECC/RC composite columns under low-cyclic loading

To improve the seismic performance of columns, engineered cementitious composite （ECC） is introduced to partially substitute concrete at the base of the columns to form ECC,/reinforced concrete （ RC） composite columns. The mechanical behaviors of the ECC/RC composite columns are numerically studied under low-cyclic loading with the finite element analysis softwareof MSC. MARC. It is found that the ECC/RC composite columns can significantly enhance the load capacity, the ductility ad energy dissipation of columns. Then, the effects of the height of the ECC, the axial compression ratio and the longitudinal reinforcement ratio on the seismic behaviors of the composite columns are parametrically studied. The results show that the ECC/RC composite column with a height of the ECC layer of 0. Sh（h is the height to the cross-section） can achieve similar seismic performance of a full ECC column. The peak load of the composite column increases significantly while the ductility decreases with the increase of the axial compression ratio. Increasing the longitudinal reinforcement ratio within a certain range can improve the ductility and energy dissipation capacity and almost has no effect on load capacity. The aalysis results ae instructive and valuable for reference in designing ECC structures.

Mechanical Behavior of Rectangular Steel-Reinforced ECC/Concrete Composite Column under Eccentric Compression

In order to improve the seismic performance, deformation ability and ultimate load-carrying capacity of columns with rectangular cross section, engineered cementitious composite （ECC） is introduced to partially substitute concrete in the edge zone of reinforced concrete columns and form reinforced ECC/concrete composite columns. Firstly, based on the assumption of plane remaining plane and the simplified constitutive models, the calculation method of the load-carrying capacity of reinforced ECC/concrete columns is proposed. The stress and strain distribu- tions and crack propagation of the composite columns in different states of eccentric compressive loading are ana- lyzed. Then, nonlinear finite element analysis is conducted to study the mechanical performance of reinforced ECC/concrete composite columns with rectangular cross section. It is found that the simulation results are in good agreement with the theoretical results, indicating that the proposed method for calculating the load-carrying capacity of concrete/ECC composite columns is valid. Finally, based on the proposed method, the effects of ECC thickness, com- pressive strength of concrete and longitudinal reinforcement ratio on the mechanical performance of reinforced ECC/ concrete composite columns are analyzed. Calculation results indicate that increasing the thickness of ECC layer or longitudinal reinforcement ratio can effectively increase the ultimate load-carrying capacity of the composite column with both small and large eccentricity, but increasing the strength of concrete can only increase the ultimate Ioad- carrying capacity of the composite column with small eccentricity.