Numerical and Parametric Studies on Flexural Behavior of ECC Beams by Considering the Effect of Fly-Ash and Micro-PVA Fiber

Abstract

Engineered cementitious composite (ECC) refers to the group of cementitious mixtures possessing the strain-hardening and crack control abilities. The mechanical performance of ECC beams will be investigated with respect to the effect of aggregate size and amount, by using nonlinear finite element method and nonlinear parametric study. The comparative analysis showed that an increase in the total size and quantity, there was observed no particular change in flexural strength, while the ductility of ECC had a negative influence. Besides, the ECC beams were observed to cause significant improvements in flexural stress, strain, and midspan deflection when measured against the reference beam (microsilica MSC), i.e. the average improvement percentages were 70.33%, 1116.67%, and 1256.78%, respectively. These results are quite similar to that of the experimental results, which provides that the finite element model is in accordance with the desirable flexural behaviour of the ECC beams.