Experimental investigation on engineered cementitious composites (ECC) with different types of fibers

Engineered cementitious composite (ECC) is a special type of fiber-reinforced cementitious material that is gaining popularity in the building sector due to its exceptional mechanical properties. ECC is well-known for its superior tensile behavior in addition to its role in green building field owing to incorporating large content of fly ash instead of cement. This study aims to investigate the mechanical properties of (ECC) containing different types of fibers, different fiber volumes and different lengths. Taguchi Orthogonal Array (TOA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) approaches were used to design reduced test matrix and determine the influence of different factors on compressive strength and tensile strength of (ECC). Sixteen mix proportions were designed for this investigation. Test results demonstrate that the most influential factor on compressive strength is fiber volume with contribution percentage of 64%. Similar results were obtained for tensile strength wherein, fiber volume yielded most impact with contribution percentage of 84%. Type of fibers and length of fibers yielded lower influence on mechanical properties of (ECC). (TOA) and (ANOVA) proved good performance in test matrix design and analyzing test results.