Drying shringkage and crack width of engineered cementitious composites (ECC)

From a durability point of view the composite can be considered as an effectively uncracked material. A physical model for the drying shrinkage deformation will be described. It will be demonstrated that at 50% relative humidity or below, the use of a Portland cement with a low alkali content for the ECC matrix reduces the drying shrinkage deformation and the crack width in comparison to an ECC with a normal alkali content cement matrix.