Effect of Portland Limestone Cement (Type IL) Combined with Bagasse Ash on the Compressive Strength and Setting Time of Engineered Cementitious Composites

This study investigates the influence of using Portland limestone cement (PLC), also referred to as Type IL cement, as a complete substitution for ordinary Portland Cement Type I in engineered cementitious composites (ECC). ECC mixtures with two different replacement levels of ordinary Portland cement with PLC were produced (i.e., 0% and 100% by mass). In addition, both ECC mixtures were produced using fly ash as supplementary cementitious materials, sugarcane bagasse ash as fine sand, and polyvinyl alcohol fiber at a 1.5% volume fraction. The compressive strength of the produced ECC mixtures was evaluated at 28 days of curing. The setting time of each ECC mixture was evaluated by following the guidelines of ASTM C403. Experimental results demonstrated that the mixture using PLC as a binder improved the compressive strength by 7.16% compared to the mixture utilizing Portland cement. The setting time results indicated that PLC used as a binder decreased the initial setting time by 18.73% and decreased the final setting time by 11.59% compared to using Portland cement.

Automated summary

This study investigates the influence of using Portland limestone cement (PLC) on the performance of engineered cementitious composites (ECC). The experimental results indicate that using PLC can enhance the compressive strength of the mixture and shorten the setting time.