Development of low-cost engineered cementitious composites using Yellow River silt and unoiled PVA fiber

One of the main problems for restricting the extensive practical application of Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) is its expensive price due to the incorporation of high-price fine quartz sand and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers. To address this defect, the replacement with solid waste fine aggregate and locally produced PVA fiber has been proved to be a good choice. This work aims to develop low-cost green ECC using Yellow River silt as fine aggregate and locally produced unoiled PVA fiber. The effects of water-binder ratio, sand-binder ratio, and PVA fiber content on the mechanical characteristics of as-prepared ECC were evaluated by a comparative experiment. It has been indicated that the mechanical characteristics of as-prepared low-cost ECC are significantly affected by water-binder ratio, sand-binder ratio, and PVA fiber content. As the water-binder ratio rises, the tensile ductility of as-prepared low-cost ECC gradually increases, but the tensile strength, compressive strength, and flexural strength all decrease. The compressive strength and flexural strength exhibit a positive correlation with the sand-binder ratio, albeit with a minimal impact. Too low or high sand-binder ratio leads to a decrease in strain-hardening ability. Moreover, the as-prepared ECC exhibits a comparatively reduced tensile strain capacity when using locally produced unoiled PVA fiber as opposed to imported oiled PVA fiber. Finally, the environmental impact and economic benefits of the as-prepared low-cost ECC and Typical ECC are compared. The as-prepared low-cost ECC has good strain-hardening ability and low cost, indicating a potential application in real engineering. •Yellow River silt and locally produced unoiled PVA fibers are used to develop low-cost ECC.•Tensile strain capacity of as-prepared ECC exhibits good strain-hardening ability.•Mechanical properties of ECC with Yellow River silt are comparable to that with quartz sand.