DAMAGE CHARACTERISTICS AND MICROMECHANICS OF IMPACT RESISTANT ENGINEERED CEMENTITIOUS COMPOSITES

This paper presents results of deliberate tailoring of Engineered Cementitious Composites for impact resistance. Microstructure control involving fiber, matrix and fiber/matrix interface was based on steady state dynamic crack growth analyses accounting for rate dependencies of composite phases. Uniaxial tensile stress-strain curves of the resulting impact resistant ECCs were experimentally determined for strain rates ranging from 10-5 to 10-1 s-1. Drop weight tower test on impact resistant ECC panels and beams were also conducted. Damage characteristics, load and energy absorption capacities, and response to repeated impacts, were studied