Polyethylene-steel fibre engineered cementitious composites for bridge link slab application

Abstract Link slabs have been introduced for many years for the construction of jointless bridges. However, conventional concrete as a main material for link slabs construction has demonstrated insufficient strength and ductility. Hence, new high performance material like engineered cementitious composite (ECC) with superior performances in both strength and ductility may able to replace conventional concrete and enhance the performance of link slabs. This research provided a derivation of some required material properties’ ranges needed for link slab fabrication by translating the requirements of link slab’s performance into material properties requirements. Firstly, according to a set of commonly used design parameters, the required ranges of material properties were determined. A graphical approach was then employed to determine the required material properties at different reinforcement ratios. Three mix designs for polyethylene and steel fibre ECC (PE-ST-ECC) which could meet the requirements were then proposed. Their material properties were validated by a series of standard mechanical tests and the best mix design among the three proposed was identified.