Evaluation of Cementitious Matrices for the Development of Ultra-High Performance Engineered Cementitious Composites

The objective this study was to evaluate the compositional space of high-performance cementitious matrices using mostly readily available ingredients in region 6 for the development of ultra-high performance engineered cementitious composites (UHP-ECCs). Specifically, the present study evaluated the effects of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) to cement ratio (i.e., SCMs/C), silica fume to fly ash ratio (i.e., SF/FA), and ordinary sand to microsilica sand ratio (i.e., OS/MS) on the compressive strength (f'c) of cementitious matrices reinforced with 1 vol.% ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber. The ratios of water to binder and sand to binder were kept constant at 0.24 and 0.3, respectively. A total of 36 mixtures were evaluated by compressive strength test. Experimental results showed that: (1) the increase in SF/FA enhanced f'c and SF/FA had the greatest impact on f'c; (2) the increase in SCMs/C produced a decrease in f'c; (3) the increase in OS/MS had a minor negative impact in f'c and OS/MS had the least impact in f'c from the variables studied.