Experimental Study on Toughness of Engineered Cementitious Composites with Desert Sand

Abstract

In this paper, engineered cementitious composites (ECCs) were prepared with desert sand instead of ordinary sand, and the toughness properties of the ECCs were studied. The particle size of the desert sand was 0.075–0.3 mm, which is defined as ultrafine sand. The ordinary sand was sieved into one control group with a size of 0.075–0.3 mm and three other reference groups. Together with the desert sand group, a total of five groups of ECC specimens were created. Through a uniaxial tensile test, three-point bending test and single-seam tensile test on the ECC specimens, the influence of aggregate particle size and sand type on the ECC tensile strength, deformation capacity, initial crack strength, cement-matrix-fracture toughness, multiple cracking characteristics and strain-hardening properties were studied. The experimental results show that the 28d tensile strain of the four groups of the ordinary sand specimens was 8.13%, 4.37%, 4.51% and 4.23%, respectively, which exceeded 2% and satisfied the requirements for the minimum strain of the ECCs. It is easier to achieve the ECC strain hardening with sand with a fine particle size; thus, a particle size below 0.3 mm is preferred when preparing the ECCs to achieve a high toughness. The multiple cracking performance (MCP) and the pseudostrain hardening (PSH) of desert sand and ordinary sand with a 0.075–0.3 mm grain size were 2.88 and 2.33, and 8.76 and 8.17, respectively, all of which meet the strength criteria and energy criteria and have similar properties. The tensile strength and tensile deformation of the desert sand group were 4.97 MPa and 6.78%, respectively, and the deformation capacity and strain–strengthening performance were outstanding. It is verified that it is feasible to use desert sand instead of ordinary sand to prepare the ECCs.

Effect of PVA Fiber on the Mechanical Properties of Seawater Coral Sand Engineered Cementitious Composites

“…Due to the finite nature of this resource and its environmental impact, the urgent need for alternative materials is particularly prominent. Research has been conducted to explore the use of local materials in preparing ECC [ 28 , 29 ]. Using seawater and coral sand as the primary components of SCECC materials can fully leverage the advantages of ECC, including high ductility, durability, blast, and impact resistance while fully using marine resources.…”

Special Issue “Advanced Engineering Cementitious Composites and Concrete Sustainability”

“…In total, eleven research papers and six reviews have been collected. Considering the high interest in this field for finding alternatives for virgin raw materials, in the research article conducted by Lv, Z. et al [ 1 ], an interesting experimental study was conducted on the effect of replacing ordinary sand with desert sand on the obtainment and characterization of engineered cementitious materials. Additionally, A. İ. Çelik et al [ 2 ] observed that a 20% replacement of fine aggregates and coarse aggregates with recycled crushed glass resulted in a significant increase in the mechanical properties of concrete.…”