Bendable Concrete – State of the art

Abstract

Bendable concrete also known as Engineered Cementitious Composites abbreviated as ECC is class of ultra-ductile fibres reinforced Cementitious composites, characterized by high ductility and tight crack width control. This material is capable to exhibit considerably enhanced flexibility. An ECC has a strain capacity of more than 3% and thus acts more like a ductile metal rather than like a brittle glass. A bendable concrete is reinforced with micromechanically designed polymer fibres. Conventional concretes are almost un-bendable and have a strain capacity of only 0.1 percent making them highly brittle and rigid. This lack of bendability is a major cause of failure under strain and has been a pushing factor in the development of an elegant material namely, bendable concrete. Bendable concrete is an easily moulded mortar-based composite reinforced with specially selected short random fibres, usually polymer fibres. Unlike regular concrete, bendable concrete has a strain capacity in the range of 3–7%, compared to 0.01% for ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Bendable concrete therefore acts more like a ductile metal than a brittle glass (as does OPC concrete), leading to a wide variety of applications.