Engineered Cementitious Composites

Session A5 

Paper #3204 

ENGINEERED CEMENTITIOUS COMPOSITES: APPLICATIONS AND 

IMPACT OF HIGH TENSILE, SELF-HEALING CONCRETE 

Jayne Marks (jam347@pitt.edu, Vidic 2:00), Jon Conklin (jjc105@pitt.edu, Vidic 2:00) 

Abstract— Engineered Cementitious Composite, or ECC, is 

a unique type of cement mixture that was initially developed 

by Victor Li at the University of Michigan in 2001 [1]. It 

improves upon current concrete mixes and Fiber Reinforced 

Concrete (FRC) types due to its “unique composition of low 

volume fibers and variable composites,” that give it a high 

tensile strength and the ability to repair itself [2]. The 

concrete mix was created based mainly on the interactions 

between the microfibers included in the mixture and the 

other materials present (the matrix). These interactions 

create flat steady state cracking of the concrete when under 

stress [3]. This type of cracking better protects the concrete 

from the introduction of solvents and corrosive elements 

while also promoting the reactions that cause self-healing, 

and these properties are what set Engineered Cementitious 

Composite apart from the concrete currently in use today. 

The improvement to concrete Engineered Cementitious 

Composite displays has many societal applications that can 

help improve the current state of the world’s structures 

including longer lasting infrastructure, less repair costs, and 

more versatile physical properties of structures it is used in 

[4]. 

This paper will discuss experiments performed to test 

tensile strength, compression resistance, and shrinkage of 

Engineered Cementitious Composite concrete based on 

variations in the composite make up of Engineered 

Cementitious Composite that cause it to differ from other 

concretes and Fiber Reinforced Concretes in the areas of 

ductility, durability, permeability, and other important 

properties. It will also explore the benefits of application to 

society and economic advantages while also taking into 

account environmental impacts and cost by citing specific 

examples of Engineered Cementitious Composite use in 

society today; such as seismic dampening support columns 

in skyscrapers of Japan, or dam overlay repair. 

Key Words— Cement, Concrete, ECC, Engineered 

Cementitious Composite, Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Victor 

Li 

CONCRETE AS IT STANDS 

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in 

the world [5]. Not only is it used on highways and 

buildings, concrete is a vital component of many other 

structures necessary for the function of society such as 

underground transit, wastewater treatment, marine 

structures, and bridges. Every year, the use of concrete for 

construction projects globally exceeds 12 billion tons [2]. To 

put that into perspective, there are roughly 7 billion people 

on the planet, averaging out to 1.7 tons of concrete per 

person used each year Concrete is one of the most 

prominently used construction resources, yet the main types 

of concrete in use tend to have major issues that hinder their 

performance. Concrete is fundamentally a mixture of 

aggregates and paste. The aggregates are sand and gravel or 

crushed stone; the paste is water and Standard Portland 

cement. When the average person thinks of concrete, this 

basic mixture is typically what they are thinking of. 

However, this particular type of concrete has drawbacks that 

make it a less than ideal choice for such an important 

resource. This traditional concrete may be strong initially, 

but it tends to be very brittle and cracks easily under 

mechanical and environmental loads [5]. The cracks that 

develop tend to be very large, allowing sulfates and 

corrosive agents to permeate through and damage any inner 

steel structures the concrete may be covering. In the event 

of a catastrophe such as an earthquake, a damaged section of 

concrete could be the difference between a building standing 

or collapsing. 

For this reason, it is necessary to consider an ideal 

concrete mixture that would retain the strength of basic 

concrete, while better handling the stresses of the 

environment that these types of structures experience on a 

daily basis. This ideal concrete would need to be ductile, or 

able to deform under tensile stress, so it would not crack and 

crumble under mechanical loads, but it would have to retain 

a large tensile (or bending) strength. The concrete should not 

be easily permeated so the infrastructure is kept away from 

harmful chemicals, and it should also be easily repaired if 

damage is sustained. 

One improvement that has been used commercially since 

the 1900s is the addition of small fibers, usually made of 

steel or glass, to the concrete mixture. This addition 

increases the bending strength of the material due to the 

flexible nature of the fibers. These concretes are known as 

Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC), and while this does solve 

some of the problems presented by regular concrete, it was 

not until 2001 that an ideal concrete solution was developed. 

This new MIXTURE incorporates the strength of regular 

concrete with the flexibility of Fiber Reinforced Concrete. It 

also exhibits a rather useful quality that far exceeded the 

ability of the other two options. This concrete mixture is 

called Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC): the 

strong, flexible, and self-healing concrete [3]. 

WHAT IS ENGINEERED CEMENTITIOUS 

COMPOSITE? 

University of Pittsburgh 

Swanson School of Engineering March 7, 2013 

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Jayne Marks 

Jon Conklin 

According to a research article published by the 

University of Michigan Transportation Research Record, 

“Engineered Cementitious Composite is “a special type of 

high performance fiber reinforced concrete containing a 

small amount of short random fibers micromechanically 

designed… to achieve high damage tolerance under severe 

loading and high durability under normal service conditions” 

[5]. It was developed in 2001 by Dr. Victor Li at the 

University of Michigan. However, Engineered Cementitious 

Composite is no longer confined to the academic research 

laboratory; it is finding its way into precast plants, 

construction sites, and repair and retrofitting jobs in 

countries including Japan, South Korea, Australia, 

Switzerland, Canada, and the United States [4]. What 

makes Engineered Cementitious Composite different from 

other regular and fiber reinforced concretes are the unique 

properties associated with its specially tailored composites. 

These properties include a smaller crack width, superior 

tensile strength, significantly higher ductility, self-healing 

properties, and low fiber volume [5]. All of these properties 

contribute to improving the safety, strength, and 

sustainability of the structures it’s implemented into. 

CHARACTERISTICS AND PROPERTIES 

OF ENGINEERED CEMENTITIOUS 

COMPOSITE 

The introduction and application of Engineered 

Cementitious Composite would be pointless without the very 

specific qualities and strengths that it exhibits. These special 

qualities are based upon its material make up and the 

interactions with the surrounding environment it 

experiences. The characteristics break down into the 

physical strength and interactions that Engineered 

Cementitious Composite undergoes, along with the chemical 

reactions and properties that allow the process of selfhealing 

to occur. These physical properties include 

remarkable tensile (or bending) strength and ductility, which 

allow for one of the more important interactions in the 

concrete itself: micro-cracking. The process of microcracking 

exponentially increases the tensile strength and 

remains within a low degree of permeability. This low 

permeability reduces the effects associated with the 

absorption of chemicals which include the weakening of any 

underlying support structures and erosion of the concrete 

itself [4]. This increases the lifespan and repair cycle of the 

concrete and the structure as a whole, while also creating the 

conditions that allow specific chemical reactions to occur 

that help to fill in the cracks of the concrete. 

Physical Properties and Stress Interactions of 

Engineered Cementitious Composite 

Engineered Cementitious Composite concrete exhibits 

many natural, physical qualities that allow it to be applied in 

place of standard fiber reinforced concrete as a more 

dependable, long-term replacement. These characteristics 

include its low permeability along with high tensile strength, 

flexibility, and resistance to corrosion and spalling, or the 

fragmentation of the concrete under stress [3]. 

When stress is introduced to a sample of Engineered 

Cementitious Composite, the major transfer of this stress is 

through the formation of micro-cracks in response to a 

tensile strain. The nature of these cracks is different from 

that of the cracks seen on other fiber reinforced concretes 

due to the fact that flat steady state micro-cracks are formed 

as opposed to localized Griffith crack propagation [3]. The 

former of the stress responses is ideal because when this 

type of micro-cracking occurs, it forms multiple, uniform 

cracks over a small area, whereas Griffith crack propagation 

forms large jagged cracks that are localized and harmful to 

the strength and permeability of the concrete. Under the 

conditions of steady state flat crack propagation, a process 

known as plasticity occurs where the material strength is 

higher after the first crack is formed and increases linearly to 

the final tensile strength factor. These cracks in Engineered 

Cementitious Composite then follow simple formulae of 

crack potential and width that allows Engineered 

Cementitious Composite to form smaller crack widths. 

These equations used to predict things such as crack width, 

strength, length, and flexibility can be found below. 

P=(ε sh -(ε e +ε cp +ε i )) (1)[3] 

This equation demonstrates that as the sum of the elastic 

tensile strain capacity (ε e ), tensile creep strain (ε cp ), and 

strain capacity (ε i ) increase or decrease relative to the 

shrinkage strain (ε sh ), the cracking potential (P) will increase 

or decrease respectively. 

L ch =EG f /σ t 

2 

(2)[3] 

This equation demonstrates that as the tensile strength (σ t ) 

increases or decreases relative to the product of the Young’s 

modulus (E) and the fracture energy (G f ), the Hillerborg’s 

material characteristic length (L ch ) will decrease or increase 

respectively. 

W=L(P/(1-L/2L ch ) (3)[3] 

In equation 3, crack width (W) is proportional to the 

product of the crack length (L) and the crack potential 

divided by the crack length minus one divided by the 

Hillerborg’s material characteristic length. This relates that a 

larger cracking potential will result in a greater crack width 

which is shown to be the opposite for Engineered 

Cementitious Composites. 



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Jayne Marks 

Jon Conklin 

These equations also show that when cracking potential 

(P) is greater than or equal to zero, a single crack forms in 

the concrete with a proportional width (W) and the material 

will have a larger strain capacity as the number of cracks 

increases until the strain capacity value reaches an ultimate 

tensile strength. Engineered Cementitious Composite has a 

large strain capacity of about five percent (500 times that of 

standard concrete), and an extremely low chance of the 

formation of localized fracture damage [3]. 

The formation of these micro-cracks creates a unique 

resistance to the absorption of water and chloride ions which 

pose the greatest threat to the underlying structure of any 

reinforced concrete. Through experimentation and analysis, 

it was determined that Engineered Cementitious Composite 

exhibits crack width well under the threshold of permeability 

for water and chloride ions under accelerated corrosion 

testing. When compared to that of normal concrete over a 14 

week freeze thaw cycle, the traditional concrete was 

deteriorated at such a rapid rate, that it was removed from 

testing after five weeks. The Engineered Cementitious 

Composite sample went on to complete the 14 weeks with 

no degradation of the surface or strength. Similarly, a 26 

week test of Engineered Cementitious Composite was 

conducted in a high temperature and alkaline environment, 

which, when complete, showed that the Engineered 

Cementitious Composite dropped in tensile strain from 4.5% 

to 2.75%. While this seems to show a significant degradation 

in the concrete, similar traditional concretes are still 250 

times weaker in comparison [6]. 

Material makeup of Engineered Cementitious Composite 

also plays a part in the properties of strength and 

micromechanical interactions. The introduction of certain 

composites to the mix of Engineered Cementitious 

Composite results in a greater compressive and tensile 

strength, while also increasing the bond strength between the 

underlying structure and the concrete [4]. The increase in 

compressive and tensile strength means that Engineered 

Cementitious Composite is able to experience large axially 

directed pushing forces and lateral stretching or pulling 

forces without showing serious deformation or sharp breaks. 

This ductility is similar to that seen in metals. The flexibility 

of the material can be seen in Figure 1 below. 

FIGURE 1 

Engineered Cementitious Composite’s flexibility 

exemplified [7] 

This has been experimented on multiple times and has 

reached a point of customization to the project that would 

allow a longer period between repairs than is already 

expected for similar applications of Engineered 

Cementitious Composite. One such experiment consisted of 

the addition and substitution of different proportion of glass 

beads to specifically form a lightweight, coarse aggregate 

that would lower the density in a uniform manner. This 

customized, lightweight version of Engineered Cementitious 

Composite showed significant improvement in tensile and 

compressive strength, while allowing for a product that 

provided 40 MPa (mega-Pascal) of compressive strength and 

4MPa of tensile strength on average (much higher than other 

concretes) [8]. However, the cost and practicality of certain 

mixtures is regarded as a serious factor to consider when 

application of Engineered Cementitious Composite is 

compared to that of standard fiber reinforced concretes. 

Along with this same experiment, a sample that had a 

density of .93 g/cm 3 , less than that of water, was deemed 

acceptable for application in seismic dampeners with a 

tensile strength of 2.85MPa and a compressive strength of 

28.1MPa [8]. This relationship shows that at a certain point, 

the relationship between density and the strength of 

Engineered Cementitious Composite will drop to a point that 

resembles the compressive strength of standard concrete 

while retaining the tensile properties that makeup the major 

benefits of the application of Engineered Cementitious 

Composite. 

Chemical Interactions of Self-Healing Engineered 

Cementitious Composite 

While the durability of Engineered Cementitious 

Composite is due to a low permeability and diffusion rate, 

along with a high tensile and compressive strength, the long 

lifespan is also due to a chemical process of self-healing that 

occurs inside the micro-cracks of the concrete. During the 

early stages of cracking (fewer than fifty micrometers), the 

concrete will engage automatically in a self-healing reaction 



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Jayne Marks 

Jon Conklin 

that will mechanically fill in the micro-cracks. It takes place 

directly in the crack and under a multitude of environmental 

conditions ranging from freezing-thawing cycles to chloride 

submersion which allows the self-healing to be dependable 

in real life applications. This process of self-healing stems 

from the carbonation of the calcium in the cement matrix, 

but only occurs in the presence of specific acidity levels of 

the water and calcium ion concentration at the crack surface. 

As water moves more slowly through cracks of a smaller 

width, as opposed to quickly through larger cracks in regular 

Fiber Reinforced Concretes, pH levels will rise as carbonate 

precipitation occurs. This reaction is shown in equation 

number 4 below [3]. 

Ca2 + + HCO 3 

- 

CaCO 3 +H + (7.58) (4)[3] 

As the water, which contains carbon dioxide, penetrates 

the pores of hardened cement paste even deeper, it dissolves 

additional calcium ions from the calcium hydroxide. This 

then raises the pH value of the solution even more towards 

the ideal pH creating a more favorable environment for the 

self-healing process. The formation of CaCO 3 is the 

compound that will ultimately fill in the micro-cracks in 

which the reaction is occurring.[3] 

Experimentation has shown that a sample of Engineered 

Cementitious Composite put under tensile strain and then 

subject to three wet dry cycles, will successfully fill a one 

hundred micrometer crack with calcium carbonate crystals. 

Additional testing in this experiment also showed that the 

introduction of fly ash to the Engineered Cementitious 

Composite mixture would decrease average crack width to 

around ten micrometers, thus promoting a quicker and more 

filled self-healing sample [9]. The results of this experiment 

can be seen in Figure 2. 

FIGURE 2 

The process of self-healing that Engineered Cementitious 

Composite undergoes during this time has little effect on the 

tensile strength of the concrete: lowering the overall strength 

from 4.5% to 3%, a value well beyond that of standard fiber 

reinforced concrete [3]. Along with this, the introduction of 

additives such as fly ash (an industrial waste resulting from 

coal-fired thermoelectric power generation) to Engineered 

Cementitious Composite would allow it to be applied to 

situations where a more consistent self-healing process 

would be observed. Certain other additives create different 

customized properties of Engineered Cementitious 

Composite, including the ability to be sprayed as a much 

lighter material, higher tensile strength, or higher 

compressive strength. These various forms of Engineered 

Cementitious Composite make it much more applicable to 

various commercial needs. 

APPLICATIONS OF ENGINEERED 

CEMENTITIOUS COMPOSITE AND ITS 

AFFECTS ON SOCIETY 

The many positive qualities of Engineered Cementitious 

Composite have been repeatedly exemplified in a laboratory 

setting, but the superior physical characteristics also pose 

many benefits to society through application. Engineered 

Cementitious Composites pave the way for many possible 

improvements to the current standing of concrete, and in 

some cases, Engineered Cementitious Composite has already 

been implemented in construction projects. These cases 

exhibit structures that are more resilient and less susceptible 

to damages. Because sustainability is the capacity to endure, 

the more durable and longer lasting structures associated 

with the use of Engineered Cementitious Composite 

contribute not only to the sustainability of the world’s 

infrastructure, but also to a reduction in maintenance and 

repair costs, a better environmental impact, and an overall 

improvement of the safety of structures constructed with 

concrete. 

Engineered Cementitious Composite a) before healing and 

b) after healing [9] 

Cost/Benefit Analysis 

When comparing costs of Engineered Cementitious 

Composite and regular concrete, it is important to not only 

look at the initial manufacturing cost of the product, but to 

also consider the cost over the span of the concrete’s 

lifetime. If the initial costs are compared, regular concrete 

does exhibit a lower starting value (about three times less 

than Engineered Cementitious Composite), but this initial 

benefit comes at the price of quality [7]. The prices may 

differ in favor of regular concrete, but the long term 

financial benefits are substantial enough to drive the market 

in favor of Engineered Cementitious Composite. The reason 

for the gap in startup price arises from the composition of 

Engineered Cementitious Composite. Unlike regular cement, 



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Jayne Marks 

Jon Conklin 

Engineered Cementitious Composite contains tiny fibers that 

drive up the price of production, and while other Fiber 

Reinforced Concrete’s use steel fibers, Engineered 

Cementitious Composite typically uses more expensive 

poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers. These are fibers made from 

poly-vinyl alcohol or a type of plastic [3]. These PVA fibers 

are more expensive to use, but they weigh considerably less 

than the steel or glass fibers used in ordinary Fiber 

Reinforced Concrete Similarly, Engineered Cementitious 

Composite has an extremely low fiber volume compared 

with other Fiber Reinforced Concrete. Both of these factors 

reduce the weight of Engineered Cementitious Composite 

compare to other Fiber Reinforced Concrete, and because it 

is typical to price concrete based on mass, it is possible that 

using Engineered Cementitious Composite could be cheaper 

than Fiber Reinforce Concrete. However both are still 

considerably more expensive than basic concrete which 

includes no fibers. In order to lower the cost of Engineered 

Cementitious composite, the expensive cement that is used 

in the mixture to make the paste component of the concrete 

can easily be replaced with a less expensive alternative such 

as fly ash. This substitution would cause no drastic changes 

in function [10, 2]. The practice of adding fly ash has 

already been implemented and has been shown to include 

benefits other than cost reduction such as less environmental 

pollution. The cost of manufacturing Engineered 

Cementitious Composite may be high, but in the long term, 

the concrete proves to help reduce expenses. 

The main long term financial benefit of using Engineered 

Cementitious Composite is the reduction of the maintenance 

costs when compared to regular concrete. Because 

Engineered Cementitious Composite is much more sturdy, 

less brittle, more flexible, and self-healing, it requires repairs 

less frequently than other concretes. The brittle nature of 

regular concretes leads to “repeated cycles of short-term 

repair scenarios which result in increased consumption of 

repair materials and fuels”[10]. Dr. Victor Li stated that “a 

bridge built with traditional concrete will average $350,000 

a year in maintenance, user, and environmental costs –its so 

called “life-cycle cost”—over 60 years. The same bridge, if 

built with [Engineered Cementitious Composite], ought to 

have a 50% lower life-cycle cost. That would add up to a 

savings of $11 million, potentially justifying the much 

higher initial price tag.”[7]. Similarly, structures in better 

condition mean less financial repercussions for those using 

them. Currently 32% of US major roads are in poor or 

mediocre condition [2]. Driving on these roads costs drivers 

an average of $22 extra per driver in vehicle operating costs 

each year totaling $41.5 billion. The implementation of 

Engineered Cementitious Composite would save money in 

the long term, and that compensates for any discrepancy 

between initial manufacturing costs of Engineered 

Cementitious Composite, Fiber Reinforced Concrete, and 

regular concrete. 

Practical Applications of Engineered Cementitious 

Composite 

The superiority of Engineered Cementitious Composite 

not only financially, but in overall quality and performance, 

has caused the beginnings of implementation to the 

commercial concrete business. Engineered Cementitious 

Composite has been used in a skyscraper in Japan, a mall in 

Canada, and a bridge in Michigan. In the specific case of the 

bridge, Engineered Cementitious Composite was used as a 

link slab to connect portions of the bridge deck as seen in 

Figure 3. 

FIGURE 3 

Section of Michigan bridge replaced by Engineered 

Cementitious Composite [6] 

Bridges experience necessary movement such as 

expansion and contraction due to temperature, vehicle loads, 

and settlement. It must be able to withstand all of these 

stresses, while also exhibiting good riding quality and 

minimal noise. Normally, sections of the bridge deck are 

connected using mechanical expansion joints, however, 

these metal joints can easily fall into disrepair and begin to 

deteriorate the bridge structure itself. In the case of the 

bridge in Michigan, the four span simply supported steel 

girder bridge with a nine-inch thick reinforced concrete deck 

constructed in 1976 underwent construction to replace the 

deck and include an Engineered Cementitious Composite 

slab. This was the initial implementation of Engineered 

Cementitious Composite. Two days after patching, the 

Engineered Cementitious Composite showed no visible 

cracking, yet the concrete patch had a clearly visible crack 

approximately 300mm wide. Ten months after patching, the 

maximum Engineered Cementitious Composite crack width 

was 50μm while the section of concrete was described as 

“severely deteriorating.” Five winters after installation, the 

concrete needed re-repaired, but the Engineered 

Cementitious Composite still only showed small cracks [10]. 

The reason for this difference in performance is due to the 

flexibility of the Engineered Cementitious Composite. It is 

better able to handle the thermal expansion and contraction 

of the bridge. Also, the micro-cracks that do develop are 

either self-healed or small enough to not affect the 

functioning of the bridge. 



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Jayne Marks 

Jon Conklin 

This unique outperformance is the case for all examples 

of Engineered Cementitious Composite application. Because 

it can be cast, extruded (pushed through a die of desired 

shape and cross sectional area), or sprayed, and has unique 

self-healing capabilities, Engineered Cementitious 

Composite is a good choice for a long lasting repair material. 

In an experiment involving damaged concrete beams that 

were repaired with Engineered Cementitious Composite, it 

was found that Engineered Cementitious Composite actually 

increased the tensile strength of the beam to levels higher 

than the original, undamaged beam [11]. This can be seen in 

Figure 4 below. 

from Portland cement, and hot mixed asphalt (HMA) on 

important environmental statistics. 

FIGURE 5 

FIGURE 4 

Energy use for regular concrete, Engineered Cementitious 

Composite, and HMA (hot mix asphalt) compared [2] 

FIGURE 6 

Regular concrete beam (left) compared to Engineered 

Cementitious Composite beam (right) during a strength 

loading experiment [4] 

Although Engineered Cementitious Composite has a 

higher price than regular concrete, using even small amounts 

to repair beams, dams, bridges, and other construction 

projects or to coat undamaged structures is an investment in 

the stability of the structure. This creates a more sustainable 

building material, reduces the price of repairs and the 

amount of materials used for repairs, and helps to lower the 

negative impact on the environment 

Sustainability and Environmental Impact of Engineered 

Cementitious Composites 

“Cement is responsible for 3% of global greenhouse gas 

emissions.” Every time 1 ton of cement is produced, 1 ton 

of CO 2 is released as well [2]. When structures like roads are 

built with regular cement, they need to be repaired more 

frequently. This uses more cement which releases more 

greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. While a road is being 

repaired, the traffic in that area increases due to 

constructions and road closings. This congestion leads to 

increased fuel use and emissions [2]. Using Engineered 

Cementitious Composite can help to slightly decrease this 

environmental impact which improves the overall 

sustainability of the project. Figures 5 and 6 compare 

Engineered Cementitious Composite, concrete made only 

Carbon Dioxide production due to concrete, Engineered 

Cementitious Composite, and HMA (hot mix asphalt 

compared) [2] 

These figures demonstrate the decrease in energy use and 

CO 2 emissions that can be achieved by using Engineered 

Cementitious Composite, however, there is still room for 

improvement. 

The current accepted mixture of Engineered 

Cementitious Composite includes a significant amount of 

cement so the adverse environmental effects associated with 

this material are still present in Engineered Cementitious 

Composite. However, by substituting this with industrial 

waste such as sands, kiln dust, and fly ash, the 

environmental effects of the cement production would be 

reduced while also disposing of waste. “70% of Engineered 

Cementitious Composite’s composites may be replaced 

without reducing critical mechanical performance 

characteristics [10].” Also, as stated previously, the fly ash 

would not only lessen the negative environmental impacts of 

Engineered Cementitious Composite manufacturing, it may 

also help to facilitate self-healing reactions better than in 

regular Engineered Cementitious Composite mixtures. 

Because sustainability is the ability of a process, 

method, or structure to endure over time and to support the 

endurance of society, the reduction of negative 



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Jayne Marks 

Jon Conklin 

environmental impacts, the increase in the life-span of 

structures using Engineered Cementitious Composite, and 

the decrease in the amount of resources needed to repair 

these structures all show that Engineered Cementitious 

Composite is a sustainable alternative to regular concrete 

Using Engineered Cementitious Composite as a commercial 

replacement for cement and Fiber Reinforced Concretes 

would lessen the environmental footprint of the cement 

industry through not only the reduction of emissions during 

manufacturing, but also through the reduction of repair 

materials necessary to keep structural conditions safe. 

The Ethics Behind Engineered Cementitious Composite 

The most important aspect of any new building material is 

its safety. If Engineered Cementitious Composite was not 

safe, all of the previously stated characteristics would be 

irrelevant. In the American Society of Civil Engineers 

(ASCE) code of ethics, Canon #1 states that “engineers shall 

hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public” 

[12]. When using concrete, especially for load bearing 

structures such as buildings and bridges, it is absolutely 

essential that the concrete be able to hold up the weight of 

that structure. If the concrete cracks and crumbles under 

stress lower than the stress expected to be experienced 

during use, the possibility of structural failure could result. 

This can cause increased repair costs, malfunctions of 

essential societal systems like dams and water treatment 

plants, injury, or even death. Engineered Cementitious 

Concrete has been experimentally proven multiple times to 

perform exceptionally well under many different types of 

loads, stresses, strains, and forces. The strain capacity for 

Engineered Cementitious Composite is high enough to be 

deemed safe for public use. Similarly, Engineered 

Cementitious Composite is able to withstand damage caused 

by factors experienced in society such as varying weather 

conditions, wear, friction and grinding, corrosion, and many 

other environmental elements. Engineered Cementitious 

Composite has an exceptionally long lifetime, and is able to 

not only withstand these conditions (as proven by multiple 

freeze-thaw, wet-dry tests mentioned above), in the case of 

weather patterns, precipitation actually increases Engineered 

Cementitious Composite’s ability to function. The water 

better facilitates the self-healing processes creating a 

stronger concrete structure. 

In the code of ethics from the American Society of Civil 

Engineers, it is also stated in Canon #1, part D that 

“Engineers should seek opportunities to be of constructive 

service in civic affairs and work for the advancement of the 

safety, health and well-being of their communities…” [12]. 

The use of Engineered Cementitious Composite rather than 

regular concrete would not only be a viable replacement, it 

would be a definite advancement of the current cement 

technology. It is becoming clear that Engineered 

Cementitious Composite is a better alternative to regular 

concrete. For all aspects of safety involved in the use of 

cement and concrete, Engineered Cementitious Composite 

meets the requirements set by the American Society of Civil 

Engineers code of ethics and exceeds the performance of the 

current material majority. 

RECOUNTING ENGINEERING 

CEMENTITOUS COMPOSITE 

Concrete is an extremely vital component of today’s 

society and is used in many different structures that are 

critical to the function of the world. Due to the strong yet 

comparably brittle nature of current Fiber Reinforced 

Concrete, very little can be done in terms of high tensile 

strains and load bearing applications. Engineered 

Cementitious Composite solves these problems and provides 

even greater advantages in application through its distinctive 

and unique properties of self-healing, high ductility, and 

tensile strength that is 500 times that of standard concretes. 

Application on the commercial level benefits many, based 

on the fact that the standard life cycle of repair is increased 

dramatically, the superior strength of the concrete can 

possibly increase the structural integrity of the projects it’s 

used in, and average maintenance time and cost as a whole is 

decreased. This not only improves safety, but also cuts down 

on materials used for maintenance which decrease negative 

environmental impact. The initial starting cost may propose 

a deterrent to the use of Engineered Cementitious 

Composite, however the long term savings from its 

application, will out weight the initial expense. 

Experimentation with Engineered Cementitious Composite 

is ongoing, and the fields of application are forever 

expanding for Engineered Cementitious Composite. The 

seemingly unbelievable characteristics of this bendable, selfrepairing 

concrete are being proven more and more 

applicable to society as testing and application continues, 

and in the future, it should be expected that Engineered 

Cementitious Composite becomes more prevalent in 

commercial concrete projects. 

REFERENCES 

[1] Li-li Kan, Hui-sheng Shi. (2012). “Investigation of Self- 

Healing Behavior of Engineered Cementitious 

Composites(Engineered Cementitious Composite).” 

Construction and Building Materials. (Online Journal). 

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-284323187.html 

[2] V. Li, M. Lepech, S. Wang, M. Weimann, G. Keoleian. 

(2007). “Development of Green Engineered Cementitious 

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librarians who speak to our class about sources, Ms. Galle, 

John Broscious and Benjamin Hunter our chairs, and Agatha 

Carlin our co-chair. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

We would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Vidic, 

Nancy Koerbel, Dr. Budny, Beth Bateman-Newborg, the 



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