a b s t r a c tThe presence of deleterious substances and their transport are among the most important factors controlling the durability of cementitious composites. The present paper studies the relationship among the applied mechanical deterioration in terms of splitting tensile deformation, curing conditions and chloride ion permeability of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECCs) that contain different supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). Three SCMs, representing a wide range of compositions, were used in the study. The splitting tensile deformations are introduced to generate microcracks in ECC specimens, where cylindrical specimens were pre-loaded to different deformation levels. After that, the mechanically pre-cracked and pristine ECC specimens were exposed to three different curing conditions (continuous wet, continuous air, and freeze-thaw cycle) for up to 2 months. Rapid chloride permeability test (RCPT), microscopic observation and microstructural analysis were used to assess the rate and extent of selfhealing. Test results indicate that the SCM type greatly affects the self-healing capability of cementitious composites as measured by chloride ion permeability. Although ECC samples with fly ash have more unhydrated cementitious materials, and therefore, expectedly, a higher capacity for self-healing, more evident self-healing product was observed from the ECC mixture incorporating slag. Therefore, in addition to the crack width distribution and curing condition, the reaction products associated with SCMs have a great impact on the self-healing capability of cementitious composites.
The effects of natural zeolite on the rheological and workability properties of the grout mixtures were studied. Setting times of grouts were also determined as part of the experimental study. For comparison, grout mixtures were also prepared with a commercially available viscosity modifying admixture (VMA). The experimental results show that addition of natural zeolite modifies both the rheological and workability properties of grouts. For a constant superplasticizer (SP) content, an increase in the zeolite amount significantly increases the yield stress, the apparent and plastic viscosity, and reduces the fluidity and deformability. Moreover, an increase in the amount of SP causes a significant reduction in both the yield stress and plastic viscosity of the grouts. It was also observed that, grouts prepared with natural zeolite addition have a pseudo-plastic behavior, and shear-thinning behavior increases with an increase in the zeolite amount. Therefore, it has been shown that using natural zeolite as a VMA it is possible to obtain grouts that have satisfactory rheological properties, especially if natural zeolite is used in combination with a superplasticizer.
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