Self-healing of Engineered Cementitious Composites in the Natural Environment

This research investigates the self-healing behavior of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) in the natural environment. ECC specimens were damaged to 0.5% tensile strain and allowed to heal outdoors, under random and sometimes extreme environmental conditions. Resonant frequency measurements and uniaxial tensile tests were used to quantify the rate and robustness of self-healing, while photo documentation was used to obtain visual evidence of self-healing products. It was found that there was a significant recovery of resonant frequency and stiffness in the damaged specimens after they were exposed to the natural environment. Specimens were able to recover up to 90% of their original, pre-damaged, resonant frequency values and up to 31% and 68% of their initial stiffness after one and three months of exposure. Photo documentation also showed self-healing in cracks up to 20 gm in width. This suggests that ECC is not only capable of self-healing in controlled laboratory conditions, but also in the natural environment.