1. Dan Meng, C.K. Lee, Y.X. Zhang*
Flexural and Shear Behaviors of Plain and Reinforced Polyvinyl Alcohol-Engineered Cementitious Composite Beams
Dan Meng, C.K. Lee, Y.X. Zhang*
*Corresponding author
Senior Lecturer, Civil Engineering Discipline Coordinator
School of Engineering and Information Technology
The University of New South Wales, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
Tel:

2. Highlights
An experimental investigation on the flexural and shear behaviours of PVA-ECC beams using a recently developed PVA-ECC
Comparison between the structural behaviour of steel reinforced PVA-ECC beams and RC beams
Comparison between the structural behaviour of steel reinforced PVA-ECC beams with and without stirrups
Demonstrated the high shear resistance of the PVA-ECC beam, and suggested that shear reinforcement could be reduced when the concrete matrix was replaced by the PVA-ECC

3. A recently developed PVA-ECC
PVA-ECC is known for its significantly improved tensile strain hardening behaviour and multiple microcrackings.
Problems and challenges for large-scale applications of PVA-ECC
Microsilica sand is more expensive and difficult to obtain compared with local sand
Complex social and environmental problems caused by the production of construction materials.
Solution: Use of local sand would be preferred
A PVA-ECC was developed by the authors using local sand to reduce cost [1] and had a tensile strain capability typically ranging from %.
[1] Dan Meng, Ting Huang, Y.X. Zhang, C.K. Lee. Mechanical behaviour of a polyvinyl alcohol fibre reinforced engineered cementitious composite (PVA-ECC) using local ingredients. Construction and Building Materials. 2017; 141:

4. Mix design and material properties of the PVA-ECC
Table 1 Mix proportions of the developed PVA-ECC
Cement
Fly ash
Sand/Binder
Water/Binder
HRWR
Fibre (vol. %)
1.0
1.2
0.36
0.3
0.01
2.2
Tensile stress-strain relationship
Compressive stress-strain relationship
Young’s modulus: 18.1 Gpa
Compressive strength and corresponding strain: 48.4 MPa and 0.55%
Tensile peak strength and corresponding strain: 4.8 MPa and 0.65%

5. Matrix strain at peak load (%)
Experimental program
Beam details
Beam designation
Matrix type
Shear reinforcement
bar
Matrix E (GPa)
Matrix fc (MPa)
Matrix strain at peak load (%)
Design capacity (kN) RC
Normal concrete mm
31.0
45.2
0.28
52.5
RECC
PVA-ECC
17.1
47.1
0.58
67.6
RC-NS __
30.9
49.8
0.30
39.4
RECC-NS
18.6
51.9
0.55
PECC
18.5
46.2
0.51
9.1
Test setup

6. Experimental results
Beams after failure

7. Experimental results
RC beams versus RECC beams

8. Experimental results
RC-NS beams versus RECC-NS beams

9. Experimental results
RECC beams versus RECC-NS beams

10. Conclusions
The flexural behaviour of the RECC beams was significantly improved when compared with the RC beams, with a 14.8% higher load-carrying capacity and an improvement of 103.6% in the corresponding mid-span deflection.
RECC-NS beams failed in flexure rather than in shear, exhibiting remarkable shear resistance.
The RECC-NS beams showed similar load-deflection behaviour and crack pattern to those of the RECC beams.
It is suggested that the number of stirrups could be reduced when the concrete matrix is replaced by the PVA-ECC.