Strength and Durability of High Volume Fly Ash in Engineered Cementitious Composites

Engineered cementitious composite (ECC) is known for its high tensile ductility, strain hardening property and high performance both in strength and durability properties due to hybridization of fibers. This study is focused on the strength and durability of high volume fly ash in engineered cementitious composites. The cement content in ECC is more than the normal or conventional concrete. This experimental investigation is aimed to reduce cement content in ECC by replacing it with high volume Class F fly ash in the range of 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%. The tests for mechanical properties such as compressive strength, flexural strength, splitting tensile strength and modulus of elasticity were performed. To determine the durability properties water absorption and rapid chloride ion permeability tests were also performed. The high volume fly ash in ECC increased the mechanical properties as the percentage of replacement of fly ash increased up to 60% beyond which the strength decreased. The water absorption of high volume fly ash exhibited lesser than 5% compared to control mixture. Similarly, the chloride ion penetration of high volume fly ash in ECC exhibited from moderate to very low chloride ion penetration as the percentage of fly ash increased from 40% to 100%. This study clearly shows that hybridization of steel and polypropylene fibers in high volume fly ash engineered cementitious composites not only improved the strength but also enhanced the durability properties when the curing period is increased. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and/or Peer-review under responsibility of International Conference on Advances in Materials and Manufacturing Applications [IConAMMA 2017].