Two-way bending properties of engineered cementitious composite reinforced by high-strength steel wire rope meshes

High-strength steel wire rope meshes reinforced engineering cementitious composites (HSSWM-ECC) promise to be a more appropriate material for two-way slabs, owing to its excellent strength and ductility. However, the bending properties of HSSWM-ECC two-way slabs remain unclear. Experimental and theoretical analysis were conducted to examine the mechanical properties of the HSSWM-ECC two-way slab under bending. The test results suggest that the wire rope meshes and PVA fiber could work together to make the HSSWM-ECC two-way slabs exhibit high flexural capacity, ultrahigh ductility and stiffness, and good crack control capacity. The crush of ECC in the compressive zone leads to the failure of the HSSWM-ECC slabs under two-way bending. The cracking resistance, bending properties, and deformation capacity of HSSWM-ECC two-way slabs increased as the cross-section or the reinforcement ratio increased, but decreased as the HSSWM diameter increased. Based on the virtual-work method, an analytical calculation method was suggested for predicting the bending capacity and deflection of HSSWM-ECC slabs under two-way bending. The comparison between test results and calculated results revealed that the suggested analytical calculation method could be acceptable to characterize the flexural properties of HSSWM-ECC two-way slabs.