Creep and Shrinkage of High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious Composites

The authors studied engineered cementitious composites (ECC), a class of high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites, for its time-dependent properties. A pseudo strain-hardening response was exhibited by the material with multiple fine cracking in uniaxial tension. Information on creep recovery, drying creep, basic creep, and shrinkage of the material was obtained through a series of experiments on ECC specimens and similar fiberless specimens. Established predictive concrete shrinkage and creep models were compared to the ECC data. Greater creep strain development occurred in ECC material than in a similar fiber unreinforced cementitious mixture. Material shrinkage behavior estimates and shrinkage strain measurements were effected by surface cracking. While not developed for such material, a reasonable creep and shrinkage behavior estimate can be obtained through existing predictive models.