Effect of Cement Composite’s Ductility on the Flexural and Cracking Behavior of Reinforced Cement Composite Beams

Fiber-reinforced strain-hardening cement composite (SHCC) shows multiple cracking, higher tensile strain capacity and tensile strength than conventional concrete and fiber-reinforced cement composite (FRCC). These characteristics of SHCC materials improve crack-damage mitigation. Current application of SHCC materials includes bridge decks, building dampers, retaining wall, and irrigation channels. During SHCC’s hardening, higher shrinkage occurred because SHCC’s mixture is richer than conventional cement composite. In this study, an expansive admixture was utilized for SHCC mixture to control the shrinkage of SHCC materials. The objective of the study is to investigate the effect of cement composite’s ductility and shrinkage on the flexural and cracking behaviors of reinforced cement composite beams. Test result indicates that cement matrix’s ductility has a significant effect on the flexural and cracking behavior of reinforced cement composite beams and the phenomenon is remarkable for a beam with shrinkage-compensating SHCC replaced a part of cement by expansive admixture.