Effects of water/binder ratio on the properties of engineered cementitious composites

Abstract

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.

Keywords

engineered cementitious composites (ECC) / toughness / water/binder ratio / compressive strength

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