Diverse Application of ECC Designed with Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag

Abstract

In the recent design of high ductile engineered cementitious composites (ECC), optimizing both processing and mechanical properties for specific applications is critical. This study employs a method to develop useful ECC produced with slag particles (slag-ECC) in the field, which possesses different fluid properties to facilitate diverse types of processing (i.e., self-consolidating or spray processing). Control of rheological modulation was regarded as a key factor to allow the performance of the desired processing while retaining the ductile material properties. To control the rheological properties of the composite, the basic slag-ECC composition was initially obtained, determined based on micromechanics and steady-state cracking theory. The stability and consequent viscosity of the suspensions were then mediated by optimizing the dosage of the chemical and mineral admixtures. The rheological properties altered through this approach were revealed to be effective in obtaining ECC-hardened properties, represented by pseudo strain-hardening behavior in uniaxial tension, allowing the readily achievement of the desired function of the fresh ECC.