A comparative study on the flexural behaviour of RCC and R/ECC beams

Engineered cementitious composite (ECC) is a unique type of high performance fiber reinforced concrete possessing high ductility by significant strain hardening property under tension with steady state multiple cracking behaviour. It was basically developed for applications in seismic resistant structures, energy absorption devices, repairing and retrofitting of concrete structural elements, as it attains adequate strength, deformation capacity and damage tolerance. The ductile property of ECC is in contrast to that of normal and high strength concrete, which are brittle in nature. The ingredients used for preparing ECC are cement, sand, fibers, mineral admixtures, chemical admixtures and water. In the present study, ECC is developed using Recron 3s polyester fibers, M sand passing through 300μ and retained on 150μ sieve and 53 grade cement 30% of which is replaced by fly ash thus promoting sustainability. Fly ash, an air pollutant is a waste product generated by thermal power plants where coal is used as fuel. The performance of R/ECC and RCC control beams in flexure under two point loading is compared in the present work. Cracking pattern, characteristics of the cracks developed, load deformation characteristics, first crack load, ultimate load and corresponding displacements are taken into account for analysis and comparison. From the study, performance of R/ECC beams is better than that of RCC beams and the ultimate load and deformation of R/ECC beams are greater than that of RCC control beams under flexural load.