EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON BENDABLE CONCRETE (ECC) FOR M-25 GRADE

Abstract

Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC), also known as bendable concrete, is a type of mortar-based composite material that
incorporates specially chosen short, randomly distributed fibers—typically polymer fibers—for reinforcement. Unlike traditional concrete, which is brittle and has a very low strain capacity of about 0.01%, ECC can undergo strains of around 3% to 7%, making it behave more like a ductile metal than fragile glass. This unique property makes ECC highly suitable for a wide range of structural and repair applications. In this study, one standard concrete mix was prepared using 70% cement, 30% fly ash, 100% fine aggregate (FA), and 100% coarse aggregate (CA), resulting in a total of 36 samples. Alongside this, three modified ECC mixes were produced by partially replacing components— specifically using 68.5% to 67.5% cement, 30% fly ash, 1.5% to 2.5% alkali-resistant glass fibers (ARGF), 100% fine aggregate, and eliminating coarse aggregate entirely—yielding 108 samples. Each mix consisted of 27 cube specimens (150×150×150 mm), 27 beam specimens (100×100×500 mm), and 27 cylinder specimens (150×300 mm). Additionally, 9 more samples of each type were prepared for durability testing, enabling performance comparisons across different ECC compositions.