Engineered Cementitious Composite as a cover concrete against chloride ingress

Author(s): Y. Lin, L. Wotherspoon, J.M. Ingham
Paper category: Conference
Book title: Concrete Repair, Rehabilitation and Retrofitting III (ICCRRR)
Editor(s): M.G. Alexander, H.-D. Beushausen, F. Dehn, P. Moyo
Print ISBN: 978-0-415-89952-9
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Pages: 92 – 93
Total Pages: 2
Language: English

Abstract: 
Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) is a cement composite reinforced with synthetic fibres. When loaded in tension, ECC exhibits a pseudo strain-hardening characteristic through the process of micro-cracking. The ductile behaviour of ECC makes it an ideal material for remediation of concrete structures, as the differential volume change due to thermal expansion of the original concrete structure and the applied ECC layer can be accommodated. Reinforcement corrosion due to insufficient cover thickness and degradation of concrete is an ongoing issue for concrete structures exposed to marine environments. This study investigates the effectiveness of ECC as a cover concrete for existing concrete structures to delay chloride ingress to the reinforcement and therefore extend the structure’s service life.
Six ECC mixes were tested and compared with a 40 MPa concrete mix using three different test methods, namely the ASTM C642 void test, ASTM 1556 bulk diffusion test and AC resistivity. Additionally, the effect of different curing regimes (sealed, water, 3.5% NaCl solution) was investigated on the standard ECC mix. The test results indicated that the best ECC mix could reduce the diffusion coefficient by approximately an order of magnitude compared to a 40 MPa concrete mix subjected to the same environment. It was also determined that the three selected curing options had little effect on the performance of ECC specimens.

Online publication: 2014
Publication Type: abstract_only
Public price (Euros): 0.00