Utilization and selection of proper fly ash in cost effective green HTPP-ECC design

The inherent requirement of high cement content in Strain Hardening Cementitious Composite (SHCC) causes increase in cost, high environmental pollution and unsustainability problems. There is a growing trend to use fly ashes as mineral admixture in matrix phases of composites to solve these problems. In this study, special types of environmentally friendly SHCCs known as High Tenacity PolypropyleneEngineered Cementitious Composites (HTPP-ECC) have been prepared by using two distinct type of fly ashes (FA) (Class C and Class F). Detailed micro-structural characterizations of these fly ashes have been performed before composite preparation. The effects of fly ash type, fly ash/cement (FA/C) ratio and water/cement (W/C) ratio on fresh and hardened properties of HTPP-ECCs have been investigated by using different matrix combinations. The flexural performances of these composites have been compared under four-point loading conditions.