Effects of Quartz Powder on the Compressive

Strength of High Performance Engineered

Cementitious Composites

M. S. Liew1, Bashar S. Mohammed1,

Kamaluddeen Usman Danyaro2(&), A. M. Al-Yacouby1,
and Sani Haruna1
1
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Teknologi
PETRONAS, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
{shahir_liew,bashar.mohammed,ahmad.alyacouby,
sani_17000823}@utp.edu.my
2
Offshore Engineering Centre, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS,
32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
[email protected]

Abstract. This study presents an experimental investigation on the effect of

quartz powder on the compressive strength of high performance engineered
cementitious composites (HP-ECC). Four different HP-ECC mixtures were
considered ECC mixture with PVA fibres and zero quartz powder, ECC made
with PVA fibres and quartz powder, ECC made with steel fibres and zero quartz
powder, ECC made with steel fibres and quartz powder respectively. Different
percentages of steel and PVA fibres were investigated at 0 to 2%. The com-
pressive strength of HP-ECC was examined for 1, 7, 14, and 28 days. Based on
the experimental results, it was found that the inclusion of quartz powder leads
to enhancement in the compressive strength. Compressive strength of more than
100 MPa was obtained for both ECC made with quartz powder. On the other
hand, the fibres type has a negligible effect on the performance of HP-ECC.

Keywords: Quartz powder effects
Compressive strength
Engineered

Cementitious Composites (ECC)

1 Introduction

Engineered cementitious composite (ECC) are special type of high performance concrete
designed based on micromechanical design approach which deals with high toughness,
pseudo strain hardening behaviour with many cracks [1]. Lecture [1]. Cementitious
materials are the most ordinarily and broadly utilized development materials for different
kinds of infrastructure. In any case, the brittleness behaviour of cementitious materials are
portrayed by low elasticity and low strain to failure ratio [2]. Engineered cementitious
composites (ECC) are often been used for civil infrastructure applications such as bridges,
buildings, foundations, and pavements. ECC displays numerous cracks developed evenly
over the specimen’s length and the opening of each crack is mainly controlled to be less
than 100 lm, after which the ultimate tensile strain can reach more than 2.0%. ECC’s

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
B. S. Mohammed et al. (Eds.): ICCOEE2020, LNCE 132, pp. 677–684, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6311-3_77
678 M. S. Liew et al.

tensile strength threshold is around N/mm2–6 N/mm2, with a compressive strength of

about 30 N/mm2–80 N/mm2 depending on mix design and 0.4% to 0.65% compressive
strain capability [1, 3]. It has a tensile strain ability of 3–7% opposed to 0.01% of standard
concrete. Victor Li invented ECC in early 90’s and stated that “ECC is a tremendous
damage control material that remains ductile under extreme shear loading conditions [4].
Researches have reported that the high performance of ECC makes it suitable as a
substitute to normal concrete in certain infrastructures exposed to fatigue loading
because ECC possesses higher fatigue life in comparison to conventional concrete [5].
The inherently narrow crack width feature of less than 100 lm is another benefit of
ECC over conventional concrete kinds unlike in normal concrete where localized
cracks are progressively spreading. The narrow crack widths developed during the
ECC stress-hardening phase make it extremely durable under various adverse cir-
cumstances [4]. ECC has an exceptional property for saturating tiny vacuums in
buildings; it can therefore also be used to repair old deteriorated structures (e.g. houses
and dams) and to retain walls by filling the extreme large cracks. ECC’s strain-
hardening systems can limit cracks from spreading and decrease harmful liquid infil-
tration from penetrating buildings, thereby protecting the steel bars from corrosion. The
application of ECC is considered appropriate for buildings usually subjected to seismic
loading. However, the development and preparation of ECC components is compar-
atively costly; it can therefore be put solely in the key area of a structure [3].
Pan et al. [6] study the possibility of utilizing unoiled and hybrid fibres in ECC.
They discovered that cementitious composites made with unoiled PVA fibres have a
considerably greater tensile strain ability than that of plain concrete. This type of
cementitious composites, however, is hard to showcase various cracking of the
sustained-state. Besides steel fibres, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyethylene, and
polypropylene fibres are common types of polymeric fibres used in ECC. The prop-
erties of the ECC depend on the type, geometry and volume of the component sub-
strates in the mixtures [7]. Due to its better hydrophilic behaviour, various scientists
utilized PVA fibres in ECC. PVA develop powerful chemical bond with the cement
matrix in ECC [8]. ECC made with various sizes of PVA and steel fibre aid to arrest
micro and macro cracks along with enhanced dynamic characteristics [9]. The high-
performance ECC could be used in multiple infrastructures to complement ordinary
concrete. Mohammed et al. [10] discovered that NS-modified SC-ECC demonstrate
enhanced hardening characteristics such as compressive strength, elasticity module,
and flexural strength without jeopardizing ductility or strain-hardening characteristics.
This study primarily focused on investigating the effect of quartz powder in
improving the properties of high performance ECC mixtures. Experimental results of
the effect of quartz powder and type of fibre on the compressive strength of high
performance engineered cementitious composites are reported.
 Effects of Quartz Powder on the Compressive Strength of High Performance 679

2 Materials and Methods

2.1 Materials
The cementitious materials utilized in this work are ordinary Portland cement, fly ash,
undensified silica fume, quartz powder. The chemical components of the cement, fly
ash, and silica fume used were detected by X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) and presented in
Table 1. The fly ash was acquired from the Manjung Power Plant in Perak, Malaysia as
a source of aluminosilicate materials. Combination of fine grain sand and micro silica
sand were used as fine aggregate. Modified carboxylic-based high-range water reducer
with a specific gravity of 1.09, tap water obtained in the laboratory, PVA and short
steel fibers (0.16 mm in diameter, 13 mm in length, and 2600 MPa in tensile strength)
were utilized in the composition of modified high strength engineered cementitious
composites.

Table 1. Chemical Composition of the materials (percentage by weight).

Chemical oxide Cement Fly ash Silica fume
SiO2 20.74 37.3 95.5
Al2O3 5.56 14.90 0.30
Fe2O3 3.32 16.5 0.205
CaO 61.7 17.9 0.587
MgO 2.48 2.08 –
SO3 – 0.7 0.985
K2O 0.78 2.8 0.342
Na2O 0.19 0.26 –
TiO2 – 1.07 –
MnO – 0.13 –
P2O5 – – 1.99
LOI 2.2 0.17 –
Specific gravity 3.15 2.35 2.38
Blaine fineness(m2/Kg) 325 386

2.2 Experimental Work

The experimental program is divided into four stages. In the first stage, the properties of
ECC made with PVA fiber and zero quartz powder is studied. In the second stage,
quartz powder was added in the first ECC and examined its behaviour. The third ECC
was produced with steel fiber instead of PVA. In the fourth stage, the properties of ECC
made with steel fiber and quartz powder was investigated. The fibres added to the
matrix were used at 0.5%, 1%. 1.5% and 2% respectively out of the total composite
volume of the cementitious material.
680 M. S. Liew et al.

2.3 Mixing Procedure and Specimen Preparations

Initially, the solid ingredients comprising of cement, fly ash, silica fume and aggregate
was mixed in a dry state for about 3 min. Water and superplasticizer were then added to
the dry mixture and further mixed for another 2–3 min to a rotating mixer until the
blend became consistent and homogeneous. Immediately a consistent mixture was
achieved, PVA fibres were gradually introduced to the mortar mixture while the mixer
was still rotating until all the fibres in the cement paste were fairly distributed. This
phase spanned for another 2–5 min till the fibres were adequately distributed in the
mixture. The entire mixing process usually took for about 10 to 15 min. The fresh
mixture was cast in 50 mm  50 mm  50 mm cube moulds. After 24 h, the speci-
mens were dislodged from the moulds and stored in a curing vessel at ambient tem-
perature (25–27 °C) with a relative humidity of approximately 75% until testing.
Table 2 and Table 3 shows the mixture proportion of high performance ECC produced
with PVA and steel fibre respectively.

Table 2. Mixture proportions of HPPVA-ECC.

Mix OPC Fly Ash Silica Water Fine Microsilica SP Quartz PVA
(g) (g) Fume (g) (g) sand (g) Sand (g) (g) powder (g) fiber (g)
A0 761.25 532.88 97.06 200.59 182.70 426.30 29.76 – –
A1 746.03 522.22 95.12 196.58 179.05 417.77 29.80 – 8.36
A2 730.80 511.56 93.18 192.57 175.39 409.25 29.82 – 16.38
A3 724.28 506.99 92.35 190.85 173.83 405.59 30.17 – 24.35
A4 717.75 502.43 91.51 189.13 172.26 401.94 30.50 – 32.18
B0 761.25 532.88 97.06 200.59 182.70 426.30 29.76 32.35 –
B1 746.03 522.22 95.12 196.58 179.05 417.77 29.80 31.71 8.36
B2 730.80 511.56 93.18 192.57 175.39 409.25 29.82 31.06 16.38
B3 724.28 506.99 92.35 190.85 173.83 405.59 30.17 30.78 24.35
B4 717.75 502.43 91.51 189.13 172.26 401.94 30.50 30.50 32.18

Table 3. Mixture proportions of HP Steel-ECC.

Mix OPC Fly ash Silica Water Fine Microsilica SP Quartz Steel
(g) (g) fume (g) (g) sand (g) Sand (g) (g) powder (g) fiber (g)
C0 761.25 532.88 97.06 200.59 182.70 426.30 29.76 – –
C1 746.03 522.22 95.12 196.58 179.05 417.77 29.80 – 50.54
C2 730.80 511.56 93.18 192.57 175.39 409.25 29.82 – 99.04
C3 724.28 506.99 92.35 190.85 173.83 405.59 30.17 – 147.2
C4 717.75 502.43 91.51 189.13 172.26 401.94 30.50 – 194.54
D0 761.25 532.88 97.06 200.59 182.70 426.30 29.76 32.35 –
D1 746.03 522.22 95.12 196.58 179.05 417.77 29.80 31.71 50.54
D2 730.80 511.56 93.18 192.57 175.39 409.25 29.82 31.06 99.04
D3 724.28 506.99 92.35 190.85 173.83 405.59 30.17 30.78 147.2
D4 717.75 502.43 91.51 189.13 172.26 401.94 30.50 30.50 194.54
 Effects of Quartz Powder on the Compressive Strength of High Performance 681

2.4 Mixing Procedure and Specimen Preparations

In this study, a digital compressive strength testing machine with a load capacity of
3000 kN was used to measure the compressive strength high performance engineered
cementitious composite. Each test cube was exposed to a force at a load rate of 0.9 kN/s
until it failed. The cubes specimens were weighed to obtain their densities at the date of
testing. The compressive strength of the specimens was evaluated at 1, 7, 14 and 28
days in accordance with ASTM C109/109 M [11]. At each testing age, three sets of the
specimens were used to conduct the compressive strength test.

3 Result and Discussion

3.1 Compressive Strength of PVA Fibre-Based ECC
The compressive strength of the modified high performance ECC mixtures without
quartz powder measured at 1 to 28 days and shown in Fig. 1. A0 is controlled mixed
without PVA fibre. The compressive strength of the ECC mixture gradually increased
with the addition of PVA fibres. The significant early strength of 50 MPa was achieved
within 1 day of casting. It has been observed that the compressive strength increases
with a higher proportion of PVA fibre. This is as a result of the ability of PVA fibre to
control inner micro-cracks [3, 10]. In ECC, the fibre volume fraction is kept at an
optimized level of not more than 2% [10]. Due to the complication of polyethylene
fibres to disperse during the mixing method, compressive strength reduces when the
fibre dosage or reinforcing index increased. It is interesting to note that the compressive
strength of A3 and A4 is almost the same at 28 days curing. The highest strength was
obtained at 1.5% PVA fibre. As shown in Fig. 2, the addition of quartz powder sig-
nificantly enhanced the compressive strength of BO samples by 17.2%. This might be
attributed to the higher cohesive force within the quartz powder, which later con-
tributed to strength improvement. However, it is worth to mention that PVA fibre has
little influence on the strength behaviour of B1 and B2 samples. Compressive strength
of more than 100 MPa was obtained when 1.5% PVA fibre and 2.6% quartz powder
was used. The formation of chemical bonding between PVA fibres and cementitious
products is attributed to the existence of hydroxyl groups in their chemical composi-
tion. This powerful chemical bonding may trigger PVA fibre rupture rather than fibre
pull-out during load bearing, which tends to restrict ECC’s various cracking impact and
stress ability in the post-cracking zone [8, 12].
682 M. S. Liew et al.

Fig. 1. Compressive strength of PVA Fig. 2. Compressive strength of PVA

fibre ECC without quartz powder fibre ECC with quartz powder

3.2 Compressive Strength of Steel Fibre-Based ECC

The compressive strength of all the mixtures was increased with the age as anticipated.
The strengths were evaluated at laboratory temperature at the age of 1, 7, 14, and 28
days. The steel fibre based ECC results without and quartz powder are shown in Fig. 3
and Fig. 4. Steel fibres have usually led to the development of greater strength than
PVA fibres. This is due to the higher porosity of PVA fibres [9, 13]. As shown in
Fig. 4, the compressive strength of C3 suddenly decrease from 1 day to 7 days and
subsequently increased at later ages. This behaviour is associated with the improper
distribution of the fibres in the mixtures. The addition of quartz powder enhanced the
compressive strength of steel fibre ECC by about 13%. The optimum compressive
strength was found to be at 1.5% steel fibre for both mixtures. All specimens have a
mean compressive strength between 80 MPa and 115 MPa.

Fig. 3. Compressive strength of steel fibre Fig. 4. Compressive strength of steel

ECC without quartz powder fibre ECC with quartz powder
 Effects of Quartz Powder on the Compressive Strength of High Performance 683

4 Conclusions

In this study, effect of quartz powder on the compressive strength of high performance
engineered cementitious composites was evaluated. Based on the outcome of this
findings the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. Addition of quartz powder improved the compressive strength of engineered
cementitious composites regardless of the type of fibre used.
2. Addition of quartz powder significantly enhanced the compressive strength of PVA-
ECC samples by 17.2% and steel-fibre ECC by 13% respectively. Therefore quartz
powder has more effect on PVA-based ECC.
3. Both PVA and steel fibre achieved higher compressive strength of more than
100 MPa.

Acknowledgment. This research was funded by Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS),
with Reference Code: FRGS/1/2016/TK01/UTP/02/5. The authors would like to acknowledge
the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia (MOHE) through FRGS and Universiti
Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) for their support.

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