Development of Sustainable Engineered Cementitious Composites by Incorporating Local Recycled Fine Aggregate

In this study, sustainable engineered cementitious composites (ECC) exhibiting high tensile strength as well as high tensile strain capacity were successfully developed by incorporating polyethylene (PE) fiber, local recycled fine aggregate (RFA), and limestone calcined clay cement (LC³). The improvement in tensile strength and tensile ductility was attributed to the self-cementing properties of RFA as well as the pozzolanic reaction between calcined clay and cement. Carbonate aluminates were also generated owing to the reaction between calcium carbonate in limestone and the aluminates in both calcined clay and cement. The bond strength between fiber and matrix was also enhanced. At the age of 150 days, the tensile stress-strain curves of ECC containing LC³ and RFA shifted from a bilinear model to a trilinear model, and the hydrophobic PE fiber exhibited hydrophilic bonding performance when embedded in RFA-LC³-ECC matrix, which could be explained by the densified cementitious matrix as well as the refined pore structure of ECC. Moreover, the substitution of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) by LC³ resulted in energy consumption and equivalent CO₂ emission reduction ratios of 13.61% and 30.34%, respectively, when the replacement ratio of LC³ is 35%. Therefore, PE fiber-reinforced RFA-LC³-ECC demonstrates excellent mechanical performance as well as considerable environmental benefits.