Construction and Building Materials 366 (2023) 130278

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Durability evaluation of PP-ECC with local superfine sand (SSPP-ECC)

serviced in seasonal frozen region
Guojin Tan a, Zhiqing Zhu a, Wensheng Wang a, *, Xin He a, Sufeng Zhang b, Xueliang Wei c,
Feihong Wan a
a
College of Transportation, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China
b
Heilongjiang Highway Construction Center, Harbin 150081, China
c
No.3 Engineering Company Ltd. of CCCC First Harbor Engineering Company, Dalian 116083, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The recently developed engineered cementitious composites with local superfine sand and polypropylene fiber
Engineered cementitious composites (SSPP-ECC) has been proved to be a kind of high ductility and toughness material with wide applicability. In
Durability view of the durability challenges to concrete structures serviced in seasonal frozen region, a series of experiments
Evaluation
including the carbonation, freeze–thaw, coupling of carbonation and freeze–thaw, coupling of salt solution and
Seasonal frozen region
freeze–thaw, chloride ion penetration resistance and impact resistance tests of SSPP-ECC and normal concrete
Local ingredients
were carried out to fully evaluate their durability and environmental adaptability. The test results showed that
SSPP-ECC is significantly superior to normal concrete in frost resistance, and can more effectively resist the
coupling effects of carbonation and salt solution on freeze–thaw, so that the specimens can maintain higher levels
of integrity, dynamic elastic modulus and flexural strength. The resistances of SSPP-ECC to carbonation and
chloride ion are also better than that of normal concrete, and the SSPP-ECC specimens showed ultra-high
toughness under repeated impact load, while the normal concrete specimens showed obvious brittle failure.
Furthermore, the comprehensive evaluations on durability of SSPP-ECC and normal concrete were in terms of
fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, and it was concluded that SSPP-ECC is more durable than normal concrete
suffered to multiple adverse environments, especially when serviced in seasonal frozen region.

1. Introduction
Unlike conventional concrete or fiber reinforced concrete, engi­
neered cementitious composites (ECCs) have been known as anti-crack
materials possessing superior ductility, strain-hardening properties,
which have desirable potential in improving the performance and
durability of many concrete facilities [1–3]. Deficiencies of concrete on
deformation and crack resistance are expected to be solved through the
application of ECCs, and thus to improve the service performance of
infrastructure. To enforce this, the durability of ECCs serviced in various
environments should be tested and evaluated, as well as mastering the
production technology and mechanical properties.
During the practical engineering applications of ECCs in recent years,
it has become a key principle that the green and economic local in­
gredients should be used as much as possible [4,5], and ECC with local
superfine sand and polypropylene fiber (SSPP-ECC) emerged as the
times require. Actually, the superfine silica sand and PVA fiber with
technically surface coating are commonly used for the classical PVA-
ECC, which is costly or unavailable in many areas of developing coun­
tries [6]. To solve these constraints, the research team made utilization
of local superfine river sand resources in Songhua River basin in Jilin
Province of China to develop the SSPP-ECC, which is more economical
and convenient than traditional ECC (54 % lower cost than classical
PVA-ECC), being conducive to the promotion in local engineering con­
struction [7]. Although the tensile strain capacity of SSPP-ECC is about
70 % of that of the classic PVA-ECC, SSPP-ECC still exhibits dozens of
times deformation and cracking control capacity than concrete in the
four-point bending test, which is also classified as high ductility and
toughness materials, meeting the needs of most concrete structures in
terms of deformation and crack resistance [8]. Tan et al. [7,9] tested the
flexural properties of SSPP-ECC with different mix proportions, veri­
fying the high ductility and multiple cracking characteristic of this
material, then evaluated and identified the whole cracking process of
SSPP-ECC based on acoustic emission technology and fractal theory.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: wangws@jlu.edu.cn (W. Wang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.130278
Received 5 October 2022; Received in revised form 7 December 2022; Accepted 29 December 2022
Available online 4 January 2023
0950-0618/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
G. Tan et al.
With proper interface treatment, the bond strength of SSPPECC/old
concrete interface is >60 % higher than that of new concrete/old con­
crete interface, proving that SSPP-ECC is compatible in concrete com­
posite structures [10]. However, in the seasonal frozen region where the
authors located, the durability of concrete structures faces severe chal­
lenges every year, including carbonation, freeze–thaw cycles and impact
of traffic. In addition, the deicing salt is unavoidable for traffic main­
tenance in winter, which brings chloride ion erosion and extra salt-frost
cycles, resulting in short service life of concrete infrastructure [11,12].
At present, there is no test data on the durability of SSPP-ECC in the
seasonal frozen area environment, and its environmental adaptability is
also lack of scientific evaluation. Therefore, before putting into engi­
neering application, it is necessary to carry out targeted inspection on
durability of SSPP-ECC.
Some studies have tested the durability of ECCs in various environ­
ments, which can be referential for preliminary evaluation of environ­
mental adaptability of SSPP-ECC. The test results of Lee et al. [13]
showed that the carbonation depth of ECC is about 6 % lower than that
of concrete under the same conditions. Interestingly, some studies also
concluded that carbonation is conducive to the self-healing of cracked
ECC to some extent [14–16]. Wu et al. [17] believe that ECC with 50 %
fly ash can achieve an ideal balance in material mechanical properties
and carbonation resistance. It is worth noting that the change of
aggregate type or mix proportion has a certain impact on the carbon­
ation resistance of ECC [18–20], so it is still necessary to test the
carbonation resistance of SSPP-ECC. In term of frost resistance, ECCs are
generally considered to show gratifying performance [21]. Due to the
reinforcement of fibers, ECCs always showed excellent spalling resis­
tance under freeze–thaw cycles [22]. In the test of Şahmaran et al. [23],
ECC still maintained the ultimate tensile strain of >2 % after 300
freeze–thaw cycles. Similarly, ECCs have also been proved to have
effective fatigue resistance and self-healing performance in freeze–thaw
environment [24,25]. It is well known that the salt frost attack on
cement-based materials lead to more serious impact on durability
[26,27]. Some test results confirmed that ECCs remain durable despite
exposure to freeze–thaw cycles in the presence of de-icing salts [23].
Nevertheless, Wu et al. [28] examined the interface fracture properties
between ECC and concrete under salt freeze–thaw cycles, concluding
that the salt freeze–thaw erosion had a very negative effect on their
fracture parameters. The fact that large volumes of fly ash are contained
in mix proportions of many ECCs, which would reduce their resistance to
chloride ion penetration to a certain extent [29]. Of course, there are
different views. The research of Liu et al. [30] demonstrated that ECC
remains durable and maintains high mechanical performance even after
200 days of exposure to concentrated chloride environments. The high-
toughness ECCs are suitable for absorbing impact energy as well, whose
impact resistance are significantly better than that of conventional
cement-based materials [31,32]. The test results of Yıldırım et al. [33]
revealed that fiber addition significantly elevated the impact perfor­
mance of reference mixtures without fibers regardless of the fiber type.
Zhang et al. [34] conducted drop weight impact test of ECCs, and
confirmed the significant improvement of fibers to the impact damage
tolerance of mixtures, featuring a crack width control capacity. From the
above research status, it can be found that ECCs presented desirable
durability on the whole, but it cannot represent the real durability of
SSPP-ECC. Compared with traditional ECCs, SSPP-ECC adopted PP fiber,
local aggregates and unique mix proportion, which created unpredict­
able impacts on its comprehensive durability [35–37]. Apart from that,
concrete facilities expected to be reinforced with SSPP-ECC, suffer from
freeze-thaw, carbonation, erosion, traffic and their coupling effects
every year in the seasonal freezing area where the author located, which
is complex and challenging [38–40]. Only by obtaining the durability
data of SSPP-ECC under these factors, can we provide reference and
decision-making for its local application, thus promoting the improve­
ment of the functionality and durability of concrete structures. There­
fore, it is necessary to conduct a reasonable assessment on the
2
Construction and Building Materials 366 (2023) 130278
environmental adaptability of SSPP-ECC in seasonal frozen region based
on accurate data.
In order to further verify the feasibility of local SSPP-ECC applied to
concrete facilities, a series of durability tests of SSPP-ECC under envi­
ronment of seasonal freezing region were carried out in this paper.
Firstly, the carbonation and freeze–thaw tests of SSPP-ECC and normal
concrete were conducted. On these bases, the coupling effects of
carbonation and salt solution on freeze–thaw were analyzed through
carbonation freeze–thaw coupling and salt freeze–thaw coupling tests.
Further, the chloride ion penetration resistance and impact resistance of
SSPP-ECC and normal concrete were also tested. Finally, the durability
of SSPP-ECC and normal concrete were comprehensively evaluated
through fuzzy analytic hierarchy process.
2. Methodology
2.1. Raw materials and specimen preparations
According to the existing research basis, the SSPP-ECC specimens
were prepared with the optimized mix proportion [7–10]. Raw materials
mainly include cement, fly ash, superfine river sand, polypropylene
fiber, water and high range water reducer (HRWRA), in which the
cement is the ordinary Portland cement 52.5R produced by China Jilin
Yatai Group, and the fly ash was provided by Jilin thermal power plant.
The main components and properties of cementitious binders were
illustrated in Table 1. The superfine river sand with fineness modulus of
1.1, maximum particle size of 0.6 mm, average particle size of 0.25 mm,
and mud content of 0.95 %, was collected from Yitong River of Jilin
Province, whose grading curve is shown in Fig. 1. The polypropylene
fiber was produced by Beijing CTA Fiber Co. ltd, and its main parameters
were shown in Table 2. The normal concrete specimens with design
strength of C50 were also prepared as a control, whose aggregates
grading curve were illustrated in Fig. 1. The flowability of all mixtures
were controlled by HRWRA made in Shanghai Chenqi Co. ltd to keep
their slumps at 160–180 mm.
The mix proportions of SSPP-ECC and control concrete were shown
in Table 3. And the SSPP-ECC was mixed by a planetary type motar
mixer referring to the process in literature [8], while the concrete was
mixed by a forced mixer referring to the Chinese specification GB/T
50081-2002 [41]. The fresh mixtures were poured into the 150 mm ×
150 mm × 150 mm moulds for compressive strength test, into the 150
mm × 150 mm × 300 mm moulds for elastic modulus test, into the 100
mm × 100 mm × 400 mm moulds for flexural strength, carbonization
and freeze thaw tests, into the diameter 100 mm and height 50 mm
moulds for chloride ion penetration test, into the diameter 150 mm and
height 63.5 mm moulds for chloride ion penetration test. Demoulding
after 24 h, the specimens were cured in standard conditions (relative
humidity>95 %, temperature 23 ◦ C ± 2 ◦ C) [42].
2.2. Test program
2.2.1. Fundamental mechanical properties tests
Fig. 2 illustrates the overview of the test items in this research. Before
Table 1
Main components and properties of cement and fly ash.
Properties Cement Fly Ash
Specific gravity 3.10 2.13
Surface area ratio(m2/kg) 370 420
CaO (%) 60.38 3.01
SiO2 (%) 21.11 50.37
Al2O3 (%) 6.04 27.62
Fe2O3 (%) 2.56 7.83
MgO (%) 1.08 1.85
Loss on ignition (%) 1.02 7.23
Water ratio (%) 0.11 0.81
G. Tan et al. Construction and Building Materials 366 (2023) 130278

carbonation and deicing salt. Therefore, freeze–thaw, coupling of

carbonation and freeze–thaw, coupling of salt solution and freeze–thaw
tests were set up to evaluate the frost resistance of SSPP-ECC and control
concrete in this paper. The freeze–thaw test machine from Tianjin
Gangyuan Co. ltd was used for rapid freeze–thaw cycle control, as shown
in Fig. 2, setting the minimum and maximum temperature of the center
of the test piece at − 17 ± 2 ◦ C and 8 ± 2 ◦ C respectively. According to
the specification GB/T 50082–2009 [43], each freeze–thaw cycle should
be completed within 2–4 h, and the thawing time of each cycle shall not
be<1/4 of the whole freeze–thaw time.
In term of the freeze–thaw test, the specimens with size of 100 mm ×
100 mm × 400 mm were immersed in the elastic rubber test box con­
taining water, while in the coupling of salt solution and freeze–thaw test,
the specimens were immersed in the rubber box containing NaCl solu­
tion with a mass concentration of 3.0 %. After 25 cycles, the specimens
were taken out and wiped off the water on the surface, weighing their
mass, and calculating the mass loss rate according to Eq. (1), so as to
evaluate the spalling resistance, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Then, the ZBL-
U5200 non-metallic ultrasonic tester produced by ZBL SCI & TECH
Fig. 1. Grading curves of aggregates. Co. ltd was used to measure the change of ultrasonic propagation ve­
locity inside the specimens. And the relative dynamic elastic modulus of
the specimens can be calculated according to Eq. (2) [44,45]. Finally,
Table 2 three parallel specimens were selected to test their average flexural
Properties of polypropylene fiber. strength. Thereafter, repeat the above test items every 25 cycles until the
Diameter Length Density Young’s Nominal Elongation mass loss rate of the specimens exceeding 5 %.
(μm) (mm) (g/cm3) Modulus Strength (%) In term of the coupling of carbonation and freeze–thaw test, the
(GPa) (MPa)
specimens were exposed to the accelerated carbonization for 7 days
30 12 0.91 3.5 500 20 before being immersed in the rubber box containing water. After 25
cycles, the parallel specimens were taken out, testing the mass loss rate,
relative dynamic elastic modulus and flexural strength. The rest of the
the durability tests, the compressive strength, flexural strength and
specimens were dried and exposed to the accelerated carbonization for
elastic modulus of SSPP-ECC and reference concrete at different curing
next 7 days, and then subjected to the next 25 freeze–thaw cycles.
ages (7 d, 28 d, 60 d, 90 d) were tested to exhibit their fundamental
Thereafter, repeat the above test items until the total number of
mechanical properties, as shown in Fig. 2. The specific test processes
freeze–thaw cycles reaches 200.
were implemented according to the concrete mechanical performance
test specification [10,41], which is in routine way and not be detailed G0 − Gn
W= × 100% (1)
here. In each test, the average results of three samples were taken as the G0
final test results.
where W is the mass loss rate of specimen after n times of freeze–thaw
2.2.2. Carbonation test cycles (%), G0 is the mass of specimen before the freeze–thaw test (g), Gn
The carbonation tests were carried out in accordance with the Chi­ is the mass specimen after n times of freeze–thaw cycles (g).
nese specification GB/T 50082-2009 [43], and the curing age of the
fn2 v2n
specimens are 28 days. The specimens with size of 100 mm × 100 mm × E = = (2)
f02 v20
400 mm were dried at 60 ◦ C for 48 h, and then put into the accelerated
carbonation test chamber, as shown in Fig. 2. Specimens were exposed where E is the relative dynamic elastic modulus of specimen after n times
at the 20 ± 3 % of CO2, the 70 ± 5 % of relative humidity, and the 20 ± of freeze–thaw cycles (%), v0 is the ultrasonic propagation velocity of
2 ◦ C of temperature. After 3d, 7d, 14d and 28d accelerated carbonation specimen before the freeze–thaw test (km/s), vn is the ultrasonic prop­
period, specimens were taken out and split for their internal cross sec­ agation velocity of specimen after n times of freeze–thaw cycles (km/s).
tions, treating the broken surfaces with the PH indicator that was 1 %
phenolphthalein solution in alcohol. Then the colorless part of the 2.2.4. Chloride ion penetration resistance test
broken surface was considered to be the carbonation area, and the The chloride salt is considered to be the main component of the local
carbonation depth was measured with a steel ruler of 1 mm sensitivity. deicing salt distributed on the road in winter [46]. Therefore, the
The reported result was the average carbonation depth at 10 different chloride ion penetration resistance of normal concrete and SSPP-ECC
measuring locations on each broken surface. were tested with an electric flux method according to the standard
GBT 50082–2009 [43] and ASTMC1202 [47]. The specimens are 100 ±
2.2.3. Freeze-thaw tests 1 mm in diameter and 50 ± 2 mm in height, and their curing ages are 7d
Except for the effect of freeze–thaw cycle, the frost resistance of and 28d. Before the test, the circle side of the specimen shall be sealed
concrete facilities in seasonally frozen areas is also interfered by with epoxy resin, and then a Model BSJ-A full-automatic vacuum water

Table 3
Mix proportions of SSPP-ECC and control concrete.
Type Mix proportion (kg/m3)

Cement Fly ash Superfine river sand Sand Coarse aggregate PP fiber Water HRWRA

Concrete 445 — — 630 1220 — 150 7

SSPP-ECC 520 520 520 — — 18.2 312 10

3
G. Tan et al.
Fig. 2. Main test items in this research.
saturation machine was used for vacuum water saturation of specimens
for about 24 h, as shown in Fig. 2. Next, the specimens were installed in
the test tank of the electric flux measuring instrument, in which the
cathode used is NaCl solution with a mass concentration of 3.0 %, and
the anode is NaOH solution with a molar concentration of 0.3 mol/L.
Applying 60 ± 0.1 V DC constant voltage to the specimens and keep it
for 6 h, the electric flux was automatically collected by the instrument
4
Construction and Building Materials 366 (2023) 130278
illustrated in Fig. 2. During the test, the chloride ions were forced to
migrate through the specimens from the NaCl solution with negative
charge to the NaOH solution with positive potential, which can reflect
the efficiency of chloride ion penetration [48,49]. The recorded result is
the average value of 6 parallel specimens.
G. Tan et al.
2.2.5. Impact resistance test
Considering that the repeated impact of live load caused by traffic
would challenge the durability of concrete facilities, the impact resis­
tance tests of normal concrete and SSPP-ECC were conducted, following
the test procedure in the report of American Concrete Institute (ACI)
Committee 544, ACI 544.9R-17 [50]. The specimens are 150 mm in
diameter and 63.5 mm in height, and their curing ages are 28d. As
shown in Fig. 2, a standard dense steel ball was placed on the upper
surface of the specimen, and then a drop hammer with mass of 4.5 kg
was freely falling to impact the specimen from 470 mm directly above.
The corresponding numbers of impact times of the specimens at the
moments of initial cracking and final failure were recorded, which can
evaluate their energy absorption capacity, thus reflecting the impact
toughness of the materials.
3. Results and discussions
3.1. Fundamental mechanical properties
The test results of fundamental mechanical properties are illustrated
in Fig. 3. It can be seen from Fig. 3(a) that the compressive strengths of
SSPP-ECC at different curing age are slightly lower than that of control
concrete, and the difference decreases with curing age. The compressive
strength of SSPP-ECC is 47.7 MPa at 28d, while that of concrete is 52.5
MPa. The explanation is that the activity of high-volume fly ash inside
SSPP-ECC is low in the early curing stage. As the curing age increases to
90 days, the compressive strength of SSPP-ECC has increased by 40.1 %,
which is very close to the strength of concrete. This considerable in­
crease in strength gives the credit to the long-term volcanic ash reaction
of fly ash in SSPP-ECC. In terms of elastic modulus at different curing
age, as illustrated in Fig. 3(b), the elastic modulus values of concretes are
31-36GPa, while that of SSPP-ECC are much lower than that of normal
Fig. 3. Results of fundamental mechanical properties.
5
Construction and Building Materials 366 (2023) 130278
concrete, which are 15-28GPa, reflecting the greater deformation
tolerance of SSPP-ECC. It is predictable that the elastic modulus of the
matrix will inevitably decrease due to smaller volume of aggregates and
larger volume of fly ash in SSPP-ECC. A few studies also show that the
use of PP fiber will further reduce the elastic modulus of the matrix [51],
which might be related to the increase of air void content caused by the
fibers. In terms of flexural strength at different curing age, as shown in
Fig. 3(c), SSPP-ECC is more impressive than control concrete. The
flexural strengths of concrete are concentrated at about 4–5 MPa at 28d
to 90d, while that of SSPP-ECC are about 6–7 MPa. It indicates that the
fibers have made a major contribution to the matrix, making the flexural
and tensile resistance of SSPP-ECC stronger. Incidentally, it should be
noted that the advantages of SSPP-ECC lie in ductility and crack resis­
tance, and it is not necessary to replace the load bearing function of
concrete in application, but to reasonably combine concrete structure
with SSPP-ECC to improve the ultimate function of composite structures.
3.2. Test results of durability in seasonal frozen region
In order to comprehensively evaluate the durability of SSPP-ECC
serviced in the seasonal frozen region, the accelerated carbonization
and freeze–thaw cycle tests of SSPP-ECC and normal concrete were
tested separately at first. Then the coupling effects of carbonization and
salt solution on the frost resistance were considered, thus the coupling of
carbonation and freeze–thaw, coupling of salt solution and freeze–thaw
tests were carried out. Finally, the chloride ion penetration and drop
weight impact tests were conducted to exhibit the chloride ion pene­
tration resistance and impact resistance of SSPP-ECC. Combined with
the test results, the durability of SSPP-ECC in in the seasonal frozen
region was reported from various aspects.
G. Tan et al. Construction and Building Materials 366 (2023) 130278

3.2.1. Carbonation SSPP-ECC SSPP-ECC SSPP-ECC

It is clear from the results in Fig. 4 that the carbonation depth of Concrete Concrete Concrete
SSPP-ECC is always lower than that of concrete. At the early stage of
accelerated carbonation from 3 to 7 days, the carbonation depths of two
materials both increase slowly. With the gradual destruction of their
inner alkaline environment, the carbonation depths of both materials
illustrate the rapid development trend from 7 to 21 days. After 21 days,
the carbonation speed of SSPP-ECC obviously slows down, while the
carbonation depth of concrete still has a certain growth. The carbon­
ation rate coefficient can be obtained with a carbonation prediction
equation [13], as shown in Eq. (3). The calculations are shown in Fig. 4,
in which the carbonation coefficient of concrete at 28d is 2.93, and that
of SSPP-ECC is 2.32. It indicates a better carbonation resistance of SSPP-
ECC than that of concrete. The carbonation speed is closely related to the
alkaline environment inside the cement-based materials, and the high
content of fly ash will reduce the internal alkalinity of matrix [13,52].
Although fly ash is used to replace 50 % of cement in the SSPP-ECC mix
proportion, the cement content per unit volume is still 520 kg/m3, which
can still maintain high internal alkalinity. The research of Bilim [53]
shows that the complex internal pore structure is conducive to
improving the carbonization resistance. On the one hand, the three-
dimensional randomly distributed fibers in SSPP-ECC will lead to Fig. 5. Results of freeze–thaw cycle in pure water.
more complex air void distribution. On the other hand, the long-term
volcanic ash reaction products would also make the internal structure retains 89.6 %, while that of concrete is<80 %. We can speculate that
of SSPP-ECC more compact. Therefore, the carbonization depth of SSPP- the randomly distributed short fibers bring more small-scale air voids
ECC was limited to a lower level during the test. inside SSPP-ECC, which is similar to the effect of air entraining agent.
√̅ Therefore, it can be concluded that SSPP-ECC has better frost resistance
C=A t (3)
when immersed in pure water. The size and distribution of voids have a
decisive influence on frost resistance, which is why air entraining agent
where C is the depth of carbonation (mm). A is the carbonation rate
is widely used in concretes to improve frost resistance. For other kinds of
coefficient. t is the elapsed time (day).
ECC materials, they generally present prime frost resistance [35,54],
and the air voids caused by these fibers do not seem to cause obvious
3.2.2. Freeze-thaw cycle
negative effects. For the relationship between the air voids and dura­
Comparing the test results of frost resistance indexes for SSPP-ECC
bility of ECCs, this is a problem worthy of further testing.
and concrete under freeze–thaw cycle in pure water, as shown in
Fig. 6(a) and (b) show the appearance of the two materials under
Fig. 5. It is found that the mass loss of concrete after 300 cycles is>5 %,
different number of cycles. With the progress of freeze–thaw cycles, the
while the mass loss of SSPP-ECC after 400 cycles is only 4.7 %. As the
surfaces of the specimens gradually became rough. After 100 cycles, the
number of cycles increases, the flexural strengths of SSPP-ECCs are al­
skin of the normal concretes became crisp and the fine aggregates were
ways obviously higher than that of concrete, and it still retains>80 % of
exposed, while the SSPP-ECCs started to expose the end of fibers in the
the initial strength after 250 cycles, while the residual flexural strength
very shallow layer of the surface. After 200 cycles, the concrete speci­
of concrete after 150 cycles is<80 %. The relative dynamic elastic
mens appeared obvious spalling, local corner missing and coarse
modulus of SSPP-ECCs are also slightly higher than that of concrete.
aggregate exposing, while the SSPP-ECCs still retain impressive integ­
After 300 cycles, the relative dynamic elastic modulus of SSPP-ECC still
rity, though more fine aggregate and fibers were exposed on the surface.
After 300 cycles, the concrete specimens were obviously damaged, and
the test was stopped due to excessive mass loss, while a large number of
fibers were exposed on the surface of SSPP-ECC specimens. After 400
cycles, the SSPP-ECC specimens were hairy, and the fine aggregates on
the surface were scoured severely. Generally, it is believed that cement-
based materials containing large volume of fly ash perform poorly in
frost resistance, while SSPP-ECC shows gratifying freeze–thaw resis­
tance without air entraining agent. This is because the fibers inside
SSPP-ECC can effectively limit the micro cracking caused by freeze­
–thaw cycles, preventing the rapid failure of cementitious materials,
thus reducing the scaling damage. In fact, many reports of different
types of ECCs concluded that these materials generally show optimistic
freeze–thaw resistance due to the bridging effect of fibers [24,55–57].
Furthermore, due to the properties of high ductility, cracking control
ability and certain self-healing, the ECCs always show admirable
adaptability to freeze–thaw cycle [23,25].

3.2.3. Coupling of carbonation and freeze–thaw cycle

Under the combined effect of freeze–thaw and carbonization, the test
results of frost resistance indexes of the two materials are shown in
Fig. 7. In terms of mass loss rate, it can be seen that the freeze–thaw and
carbonization cycles caused rapid increases on the mass loss rate of the
Fig. 4. Results of carbonization depth and carbonation rate coefficient.

6
G. Tan et al. Construction and Building Materials 366 (2023) 130278

Fig. 6. Appearances of SSPP-ECC and concrete after freeze–thaw cycles.

of SSPP-ECC is lower than 3 %. In terms of relative dynamic elastic

modulus, the downtrends of relative dynamic elastic modulus of the two
materials became sharper after 50 cycles, and the loss rate of relative
dynamic elastic modulus of concrete is faster than that of SSPP-ECC.
After 200 cycles, the relative dynamic elastic modulus of concrete has
decreased to 82 %, while that of SSPP-ECC remains at about 90 %. In
terms of flexural strength, the SSPP-ECC has almost no loss of flexural
strength in the first 50 cycles, while the flexural strength of concrete
decreases obviously with the increase of the number of cycles. After 200
cycles, the flexural strength of concrete has decreased by 62.2 %, while
the flexural strength of SSPP-ECC has decreased by 27.8 %. Fig. 8 shows
the appearance of the two materials after 200 freeze–thaw and

Fig. 7. Results of coupling of carbonation and freeze–thaw tests.

two materials after 50 cycles, in which the mass loss rate of SSPP-ECC is
significantly lower than that of the control concrete. After 200 cycles,
the mass loss rate of concrete has exceeded 5 %, while the mass loss rate Fig. 8. Appearances of SSPP-ECC and concrete after 200 times of carbonation
and freeze–thaw cycles.

7
G. Tan et al.
carbonization cycles. It can be seen that the concrete has obvious large-
area spalling, exposing coarse aggregate, while SSPP-ECC retains good
integrity with mild surface spalling of fine aggregate. which indicates
that the resistance on coupling of freeze–thaw and carbonization of
SSPP-ECC is much better than that of concrete.
It can be seen from Figs. 5 and 7 that the decay of frost resistance
indexes of the two materials is getting worse with the increase of
carbonation and freeze–thaw cycles, comparing with the situation of
freeze–thaw cycle in pure water. This is because the frost resistance of
material would be negatively affected with the grudually growth of
carbonization depth, which has a deep impact on the distribution of
harmful pores inside the material [58]. Therefore, the decay percentages
of frost resistance indexes of the two materials relative to the results of
freeze–thaw cycle in pure water were calculated to analyze the coupling
effect of carbonation and freeze–thaw cycle, that is the increase per­
centage of mass loss rates, the decrease percentage of relative dynamic
elastic modulus and the decrease percentage of flexural strengths, and
the results are shown in Fig. 9. It can be seen that the mass loss rate of the
two materials increases greatly under the coupling of carbonization and
freeze–thaw, in which the growth percentage of concrete fluctuates
between 140 % − 220 %, and that of SSPP-ECC fluctuates between 100
% − 150 %, indicating that the spalling resistance of SSPP-ECC is better
than that of concrete. The decrease percentage of the relative dynamic
elastic modulus of concrete and SSPP-ECC are both stable within 10 %,
revealing a limited impact of coupling effect on the internal integrity of
two materials. The decrease percentage of the flexural strength of con­
crete gradually increases to>29 % with the increase of the number of
cycles, while that of SSPP-ECC is always within 17 %, which indicates a
more reliablable strength guarantee rate of SSPP-ECC.
Fig. 9. The decay percentages of frost resistance indexes of concrete and SSPP-ECC under coupling of carbonation and freeze–thaw cycles.
8
Construction and Building Materials 366 (2023) 130278
If we linearly fit the relationships between the change percentages of
the above frost resistance indexes and the number of cycles, we can
obtain the expression shown in Eq. (4), and the specific fitting results are
shown in Fig. 9.
y = kT + c (4)
where y is the change percentage of the frost resistance index, T is the
number of cycles, k and c are coefficients.
From the relationship between Eq. (4) and Fig. 9, it can be found that
the coefficient k reflects the decay rate of the indexes with the increase
of the number of cycles. Therefore, k was defined as the quantitative
characterization coefficient of coupling effect. Fig. 10 illustrates the k
values of frost resistance indexes of concrete and SSPP-ECC. It can be
seen that the coupling effect coefficients of mass loss rates, relative
dynamic elastic modulus and flexural strengths of concrete are larger
than those of SSPP-ECC, indicating the better frost and carbonation
resistance of SSPP-ECC. In particular, the coupling effect coefficient for
mass loss of concrete is 1.7 times that of SSPP-ECC, which reflects the
excellent spalling resistance of SSPP-ECC.
3.2.4. Coupling of salt solution and freeze–thaw cycle
Under the combined effect of freeze–thaw and salt solution, the test
results of frost resistance indexes of the two materials are shown in
Fig. 11. In terms of mass loss rate, it can be seen that the freeze–thaw and
salt solution cycles caused a continuation in the upward trend on the
mass loss rates of the two materials, in which the mass loss rate of SSPP-
ECC is significantly lower than that of the control concrete. After 250
cycles, the mass loss rate of concrete has exceeded 5 %, while the mass
loss rate of SSPP-ECC is lower than 5 % at 300 cycles. In terms of relative
G. Tan et al. Construction and Building Materials 366 (2023) 130278

dynamic elastic modulus, the downtrends of relative dynamic elastic

Fig. 10. Results of the coupling effect coefficients under carbonation and
freeze–thaw cycles.
Fig. 11. Results of coupling of salt solution and freeze–thaw tests.
modulus of the two materials became sharper after 50 cycles, and the
loss rate of relative dynamic elastic modulus of concrete is faster than
that of SSPP-ECC. After 250 cycles, the relative dynamic elastic modulus
of concrete has decreased to 70 %, while that of SSPP-ECC remains at
about 88 %. In terms of flexural strength, the SSPP-ECC has almost no
loss of flexural strength in the first 50 cycles, while the flexural strength
of concrete decreases obviously with the increase of the number of cy­
cles. After 250 cycles, the flexural strength of concrete has decreased by
66.7 %, while the flexural strength of SSPP-ECC has decreased by 31.7
%. Fig. 12 shows the appearance of the two materials when the mass loss
rates reache 5 %. It can be seen that the concrete has obvious large-area
spalling, exposing coarse aggregate, while SSPP-ECC is hairy and in
good integrity, but the surface spalling of fine aggregate is severe.
Overall, the resistance on coupling of freeze–thaw and salt solution of
SSPP-ECC is better than that of concrete.
It can be seen from Figs. 5 and 11 that the decay of frost resistance
indexes of the two materials is getting worse with the increase of salt
solution and freeze–thaw cycles, comparing with the situation of
freeze–thaw cycle in pure water. Similarly, the decay percentages of
frost resistance indexes of the two materials relative to the results of
freeze–thaw cycle in pure water were calculated to analyze the coupling
effect of salt solution and freeze–thaw cycle, that is the increase per­
centage of mass loss rates, the decrease percentage of relative dynamic
elastic modulus and the decrease percentage of flexural strengths, and
the results are shown in Fig. 13. It can be seen that the mass loss rate of
the two materials increases greatly under the coupling of salt solution
and freeze–thaw cycles, fluctuating within 130 %, and the growth per­
centage of concrete are always greater than that of SSPP-ECC, which
indicates that the spalling resistance of SSPP-ECC is better than that of
concrete. The decrease percentage of the relative dynamic elastic
modulus of concrete is in rapid growth trend, reaching nearly 20 % at
the highest, while that of SSPP-ECC is stable within 7 %, revealing a
better internal integrity of SSPP-ECC under the coupling of salt solution
and freeze–thaw cycles. The decrease percentage of the flexural strength
of concrete gradually increases to >40 % with the increase of the
number of cycles, while that of SSPP-ECC is always within 30 %, which
indicates a more reliablable strength guarantee rate of SSPP-ECC.
Similarly, the relationships between the change percentages of the
above frost resistance indexes and the number of cycles were linearly
fitted, and the specific fitting results are shown in Fig. 13. From the
relationship between Eq. (4) and Fig. 13, the coefficientk. can be defined
as the quantitative characterization coefficient of coupling effect. Fig. 14
illustrates the k values of frost resistance indexes of concrete and SSPP-
ECC. It can be seen that the coupling effect coefficients of mass loss rates,
relative dynamic elastic modulus and flexural strengths of concrete are
larger than those of SSPP-ECC, indicating the better frost and salt

Fig. 12. Appearances of SSPP-ECC and concrete after coupling of salt solution and freeze–thaw cycles.

9
G. Tan et al. Construction and Building Materials 366 (2023) 130278

Fig. 13. The decay percentages of frost resistance indexes of concrete and SSPP-ECC under coupling of salt solution and freeze–thaw cycles.

3.2.5. Chloride ion penetration resistance

The electric fluxes of concrete and SSPP-ECC were measured to
evaluate their permeability of chloride ions, and the chloride ion
permeability of materials can be evaluated according to the provisions in
Table 4. The electric fluxes of concrete and SSPP-ECC at 28d are 2551.3C
and 3211.5C respectively, as illustrated in Fig. 15, which indicates that
the two materials are both in the range of moderate chloride ion
permeability, and the chloride ion permeability resistance of SSPP-ECC
is slightly better than that of control concrete. One interesting note is
that the electric flux of SSPP-ECC is higher at 7d than that of concrete,
which is blamed on the high volume of fly ash in SSPP-ECC. It has been
reported that there are a large number of unhydrated fly ash particles
inside the SSPP-ECC at the early curing stage, thus the internal structure
is not dense enough, showing a large electric flux value [29]. Due to the
low water binder ratio and the growing curing time, the pozzolanic ef­
fect and filling effect of fly ash in SSPP-ECC are gradually worked, and
the capillary pore diameter would be refined, improving the chloride ion
permeability [59,60]. From 7 d to 28d, it can be found that the electrical
flux of concrete decreased by 28.8 %, while that of SSPP-ECC decreased
by 45.8 %, revealing that SSPP-ECC has more advantages in long-term

Fig. 14. Results of the coupling effect coefficients under salt solution and
freeze–thaw cycles. Table 4
Chloride ion permeability according to electric flux (ASTM C 1202
[47]).
solution resistance of SSPP-ECC. In particular, the coupling effect co­
efficients for relative dynamic elastic modulus and flexural strengths of Electric flux/C Chloride ion permeability
concrete are 3.5 times and 2.5 times those of SSPP-ECC respectively, ＞4000 High
which reflects the excellent bearing capability security of SSPP-ECC 2000–4000 Moderate
under the coupling of salt solution and freeze–thaw cycles. 1000–2000 Low
100–1000 Very low
＜100 Negligible

10
G. Tan et al.
Fig. 15. Results of electric fluxes.
chloride ion penetration resistance. The compactness of the matrix is the
key of chloride ion penetration resistance. The electrical flux of SSPP-
ECC changes dramatically from 7 to 28 days, reflecting that the matrix
is becoming more compact and the size of internal air voids is becoming
smaller due to the filling effect of the pozzolanic reaction products of fly
ash.
3.2.6. Impact resistance
The test results of drop weight impact tests are shown in Fig. 16. The
visible cracks appeared on the concrete specimen after 197 times of
impact, and the brittle fracture of concrete happened after 205 times of
impact, as shown in Fig. 17(a) and (b). By contrast, the initial micro
cracks were caused on the SSPP-ECC specimen after 300 times of impact,
and the test was stopped due to the large width of main crack after 500
times of impact, though the specimen still remained intact, as shown in
Fig. 17(c) and (d). Obviously, the bridging effect of the fibers always
enable the crack width of SSPP-ECC to be kept in a small range, and the
fibers link the internal damaged parts together to maintain the integrity
even in a case of severe damage [33].
To further compare the impact toughness of SSPP-ECC and concrete,
the impact ductility index (IDI) of the materials can be calculated ac­
cording to Eqs. (5) and (6) [61]. The calculation results are shown in
Fig. 16. Results of drop weight impact tests.
11
Construction and Building Materials 366 (2023) 130278
Fig. 17. Appearance of specimens.
Fig. 16, and the IDI values of SSPP-ECC and concrete are 1.67 and 1.04
respectively. The IDI of concrete is very close to 1.0, which indicates that
the initial crack developed rapidly, resulting in complete fracture of the
specimen. The IDI of SSPP-ECC is 60.6 % higher than that of control
concrete, showing superior energy dissipation capacity and impact
toughness.
Impact energy = n × m × g × h (5)
where n is the number of impacts, m is the mass of drop hammer, h is
the falling height, g is the gravitational acceleration.
Failure impact energy
IDI = (6)
First crack impact energy
4. Comprehensive evaluation of durability
Generally, there are many factors involved in the durability of ma­
terials, and the corresponding assessments are often fuzzy with unclear
boundary conditions. In this paper, the durability of SSPP-ECC and
concrete are determined by factors such as frost resistance indexes,
carbonation depth, electric flux and impact resistance indexes. And it is
difficult to quantitatively define the contribution of the above factors to
the comprehensive durability of the two materials. In this situation, the
fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is typically recommended by
scholars [62]. The specific steps are as follows:
(1) Establishment of factor sets and evaluation sets. It is assumed that
the comprehensive durability (i.e. U) of materials in the season­
ally frozen area is determined by 6 factors, as shown in Eq. (7), in
which the ‘freeze-thaw’ is abbreviated as ‘FT’. And each factor (i.
e. Ui ) is determined by several subfactors, as shown in Eqs. (8a)–
(8f), in which the ‘mass loss rate’ is abbreviated as ‘MLR’, the
‘relative dynamic elastic modulus’ is abbreviated as ‘RDEM’,. and
the ‘residual flexural strength’ is abbreviated as ‘RFS’. As a result,
the durability evaluation model is divided into 3 levels based on
the AHP method, that isU, Ui and ui [63]. Then the set of evalu­
ation levels of objectives was established as 4 levels, and the
comprehensive evaluation set is{V}, as shown in Eq. (9). In view
of the relationships between the above subfactors and the
G. Tan et al. Construction and Building Materials 366 (2023) 130278

evaluation levels of the seasonally frozen area, combining rele­

vant literatures [63–67], local specifications [43,68] and engi­
neers’ experience, the standard evaluation levels of each (2) Calculating the membership degree. Based on the standard evalua­
subfactor were graded as shown in Table 5. tion levels of each subfactor in Table 5, the fuzzy concept can be

{U} = {U1 , U2 , U3 , U4 , U5 , U6 } = {FT, salt solution and FT, carbonation and FT,
(7)
carbonation, chloride ion penetration, impact}

described quantitatively by utilizing the membership function.

{U1 } = {u11 , u12 , u13 } = {Number of cycles when MLR reaches 5%, Since the gradation of each subfactor is determined by the range
RDEM at 200 cycles, RFS at 200 cycles} in Table 5, the parabola-based membership function can be used,
(8a) as shown in Fig. 18, taking u11 as an example [69]. And the
parabolic shape control function is shown in Eq. (10). The results
{U2 } = {u21 , u22 , u23 } of each subfactor were input into the membership functions to
= {MLR at 200 cycles, RDEM at 200 cycles, RFS at 200 cycles} obtain the quantitative membership values corresponding to each
assessment grade.
(8b)
1
Parabola(x; a, b, c) = ( x− c)2b (10)
{U3 } = {u31 , u32 , u33 } 1+ a
= {MLR at 200 cycles, RDEM at 200 cycles, RFS at 200 cycles}
(8c) wherea, b and c are the constants representing the range of the input
variablex, which are used to control the parabola shape.
{U4 } = {u4 } = {carbonation depth at 28 days} (8d) The membership degree of each subfactor of SSPP-ECC and concrete
were calculated according to Table 5 and Eq. (10). And the results were
{U5 } = {u5 } = {electric fluxat 28 days} (8e) normalized, taking subfactors of {U1 } of SSPP-ECC as an example, as
shown in Eq. (11). Th membership degrees of other subfactors were
{U6 } = {u61 , u62 } = {fracture impact numbers, impact ductility index} treated similarly.
(8f) ⎡ ⎤
0.345 0.302 0.201 0.151
{V} = {V1 , V2 , V3 , V4 } = { Excellent, Good, General, Poor} (9) RU1SSPP− ECC = ⎣ 0.489 0.279 0.139 0.093 ⎦ (11)
0.415 0.270 0.180 0.135

Table 5 (3) Determination of weights. The relative two subfactors was quoted
Standard evaluation levels of subfactors. by the numbers 1–9 and their reciprocal. For example, the
importance of ui relative to uj is scale 3, indicating that ui is
Grade classification of U1 Assessment
grades slightly more important thanuj , and the importance of uj relative
u11 u12 (%) u13 (%)
to ui is 1/3. And the two factors are of equal importance if the
>400 [90, 100) >80 Excellent importance of ui relative to uj is scale 1. Scale 5 indicates that one
[300, 400) [80, 90) [70, 80) Good
factor is significantly more important than the other. Scale 7 in­
[200, 300) [70, 80) [60, 70) General
<200 <70 <60 Poor dicates that one factor is strongly more important than the other.
Scale 9 indicates that one factor is extreme more important than
Grade classification of U2
u21 (%) u22 (%) u23 (%)
<2 >90 >80 Excellent
[2, 3) [80, 90) [70, 80) Good
[3, 4) [70, 80) [60, 70) General
>4 <70 <60 Poor

Grade classification of U3
u31 (%) u32 (%) u33 (%)
<2 >90 >80 Excellent
[2, 3) [80, 90) [70, 80) Good
[3, 4) [70, 80) [60, 70) General
>4 <70 <60 Poor

Grade Grade Grade classification

classification of classification of U5 of U6
U4
u4 (mm) u5 (C) u61 u62
<10 <1000 >400 >1.50 Excellent
[10, 15) [1000, 2000) [300, [1.25, Good
400) 1.50)
[15, 20) [2000, 4000) [200, [1.00, General
300) 1.25)
>20 >4000 <200 =1.00 Poor
Fig. 18. Membership function ofu11 .

12
G. Tan et al. Construction and Building Materials 366 (2023) 130278

the other [67]. According to literatures [64–67], local specifica­ ⎡ ⎤

tions [43,68] and engineers’ experience, the evaluation results of 1 1
⎢1 5 5 1⎥
relative importance of each two subfactors were collected, and ⎢
⎢
7 7 ⎥
⎥
the pairwise comparison matrix can be obtained, taking sub­ ⎢
⎢7 1
1
8 8 3⎥
⎥
factors of {U1 } as an example, as shown in Eq. (12). The pairwise ⎢
⎢ 3 ⎥
⎥
⎢7 3⎥
comparison matrix of other subfactors were treated similarly. ⎢ 3 1 8 8 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎡ ⎤ A = ⎢1 1 1 1⎥ (18)
1 ⎢ 1 1 ⎥
1 3 ⎢5 8 8 5⎥
⎢ 3⎥ ⎢ ⎥
⎢ ⎥ ⎢1 1 1 1⎥
⎢ ⎢ ⎥
AU1 = ⎢1 1⎥⎥ (12) ⎢ 1 1 ⎥
⎢ 1 ⎥ ⎢5 8 8 5⎥
⎣3 5⎦ ⎢ ⎥
⎣ 1 1 ⎦
3 5 1 1 5 5 1
3 3
Then the pairwise comparison matrix was normalized by column
Then the pairwise comparison matrix was normalized by column
vector, calculating its eigenvector to obtainα =
T
vector, calculating its eigenvector to obtainα =
[ 0.261 0.106 0.633 ] . Thus the maximum eigenvalue can be
[ 0.106 0.288 0.413 0.032 0.032 0.128 ]T . Thus the maximum
calculated:
eigenvalue can be calculated:
1∑ n
(Aα)i
(13) 1∑ n
λmax = = 3.04 (Aα)i
n i=1 αi λmax = = 6.49 (19)
n i=1 αi
To check the consistency of the pairwise comparison matrix, the
To check the consistency of the pairwise comparison matrix, the
consistency ratio was calculated by Eq. (14).
consistency ratio was calculated by Eq. (14). That isCR = RCII =
CR =
CI
(14) 0.079 < 0.1, so the judgment matrix has satisfactory consistency, which
RI proves that the weight distribution is reasonable. Therefore, the weight
where CI is consistency indicator andCI = λmax − n
, RI is the average of {U} isW = [ 0.106 0.288 0.413 0.032 0.032 0.128 ].
n− 1
Repeat the steps in Eq. (15), the final result of the fuzzy compre­
consistency indicator, the RI corresponding to n (n is the order of the
hensive assessment of the {U} can be calculated byB = W ∗ R, and the
judgment matrix, n = 1–9) is 0.00, 0.00, 0.58, 0.90, 1.12, 1.24, 1.32,
results are as follows:
1.41, and 1.45. When RI is equal to 0, CR defaults to 0, which means it
BSSPP− ECC = [ 0.322 0.292 0.222 0.164 ], BConcrete =
passes the consistency check [67]. Substituting the relevant data into the
[ 0.178 0.214 0.260 0.343 ]. According to the principle of
Eq. (14) yieldsCR = 0.034＜0.10, so the judgment matrix has satisfac­
maximum membership degree, it can be found that the maximum
tory consistency, which proves that the weight distribution is reason­
membership degree of SSPP-ECC is 0.322, corresponding to the 1st level
able. Therefore, the weight of {U1 } isW1 = [ 0.261 0.106 0.633 ]. The
of the standard evaluation levels, and the maximum membership degree
weight matrices of other subfactors can be obtained similarly.
of concrete is 0.343, corresponding to the 4th level of the standard
evaluation levels. That is, the comprehensive durability evaluation of
(4) Comprehensive fuzzy evaluation. Based on the weight matrices of
SSPP-ECC in the seasonal frozen region is “excellent”, while that of
above subfactors, the membership degrees of each factor were
control concrete is “poor”.
calculated according to Eq. (15). For example, the membership
degree of U1 of SSPP-ECC can be obtained asBU1SSPP− ECC = W1 ∗
5. Conclusions
RU1SSPP− ECC = ( 0.405 0.279 0.181 0.135 ). The results were
normalized and arrayed to form the evaluation matrix of the
As a new member of the ECC family, SSPP-ECC is a kind of
factor set, as shown in Eqs. (16) and (17).
economical ECC based on local materials, which has practical signifi­
Bi = Wi ∗ Ri = (bi1 , bi2 , ..., bim ) (15) cance in engineering promotion. In order to evaluate the durability of
⎡ ⎤ SSPP-ECC serviced in seasonal frozen region, the influences of freeze­
0.405 0.279 0.181 0.135 –thaw cycle, carbonation, salt solution, chloride ion and impact on
⎢ 0.332 0.314 0.203 0.151 ⎥ SSPP-ECC and control concrete were tested and analyzed. Based on the
⎢ ⎥
⎢ 0.263 0.189 ⎥
RSSPP− =⎢
0.296 0.252 ⎥ (16) test results, the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process was used to compre­
ECC ⎢ 0.268 0.302 0.246 0.185 ⎥
⎢
⎣ 0.200
⎥ hensively evaluate the durability of SSPP-ECC under the complex
0.266 0.326 0.208 ⎦
environment of seasonal frozen region. The main conclusions are as
0.463 0.248 0.165 0.124
follows:
⎡ ⎤
0.226 0.259 0.262 0.253
⎢ 0.188 0.225 0.257 0.310 ⎥ (1) The three-dimensional randomly distributed fibers might cause
⎢ ⎥
⎢ 0.172 0.200 0.224 0.404 ⎥ more complex air void distribution inside SSPP-ECC, and the
RConcrete =⎢
⎢ 0.209
⎥ (17) filling effects from pozzolanic reaction of high-volume fly ash
⎢ 0.279 0.288 0.224 ⎥
⎥
⎣ 0.157 0.209 0.351 0.282 ⎦ further reduce its permeability, leading to higher carbonation
0.130 0.179 0.349 0.342 resistance of SSPP-ECC than normal concrete.
(2) SSPP-ECC always performs much better frost resistance than
Similar to step (3), the evaluation results of relative importance of
normal concrete when subjected to freeze–thaw cycles, and the
factor set was collected according to literatures [64–67], local specifi­
same is true when subjected to freeze–thaw cycles coupled with
cations [43,68] and local engineers’ experience, obtaining the pairwise
carbonation or salt solution. The advantages of SSPP-ECC under
comparison matrix, that is the judgment matrix, as shown in Eq. (18).
freeze–thaw cycles are high spalling resistance and reliable flex­
ural strength, which is mainly due to the bridging effect of fibers.
(3) The coupling effect coefficient can be calculated according to the
decay percentages of frost resistance indexes under the multi
factors relative to the single factor (i.e. freeze–thaw cycles in pure

13
G. Tan et al.
water), so as to measure the coupling effect on each index
quantitatively.
(4) Owing to the filling effects from pozzolanic reaction of fly ash and
the complex air void distribution derived from fibers, SSPP-ECC
presents an advantage in long-term chloride ion penetration
resistance. Moreover, SSPP-ECC shows more than twice the
impact resistance of the control concrete, which obviously gives
the credit to the strengthening and toughening effects of fibers.
(5) Taking all durability indexes into account based on the fuzzy
analytic hierarchy process, it is concluded that the comprehen­
sive durability of SSPP-ECC in the seasonal frozen region is
assessed as “excellent”, while that of control concrete is assessed
as “poor”.
This study evaluated the durability of a new kind of ECC (SSPP-ECC)
through a series of tests as comprehensive as possible, which is a
necessary supplement to the basic data of ECC family. Although the
findings of this study suggest that the properties of SSPP-ECC are du­
rable for its application in complex environment of seasonal frozen re­
gion. However, some important issues of remain need to be verified,
especially the effect of PP fibers on the air void distribution of SSPP-ECC,
as well as the relationship of air void and durability performance, are
concerns for this material and worthy of further exploration.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Guojin Tan: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision.
Zhiqing Zhu: Investigation, Data curation, Writing – original draft.
Wensheng Wang: Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing. Xin
He: Formal analysis, Data curation. Sufeng Zhang: Investigation.
Xueliang Wei: Data curation, Supervision. Feihong Wan:
Investigation.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the National Key R&D Program of China
(grant numbers: 2021YFB2600604, 2021YFB2600600), the Key Project
of Department of Transportation of Heilongjiang Province (grant num­
ber: 2022-2), the Scientific and Technological Project of Science and
Technology Department of Jilin Province (grant number:
20210508028RQ), National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant
number: 52208438), and Scientific Research Project of Department of
Education of Jilin Province (grant number: JJKH20221019KJ).
References
[1] D. Shoji, Z. He, D. Zhang, V.C. Li, The greening of engineered cementitious
composites (ECC): a review, Constr. Build. Mater. 327 (2022), 126701.
[2] Y. Zhang, J. Zhang, W. Luo, J. Wang, J. Shi, H. Zhuang, Y. Wang, Effect of
compressive strength and chloride diffusion on life cycle CO2 assessment of
concrete containing supplementary cementitious materials, J. Cleaner Prod. 218
(2019) 450–458.
[3] S.A. Memon, S.F.A. Shah, R.A. Khushnood, W.L. Baloch, Durability of sustainable
concrete subjected to elevated temperature – A review, Constr. Build. Mater. 199
(2019) 435–455.
[4] D. Meng, T. Huang, Y.X. Zhang, C.K. Lee, Mechanical behaviour of a polyvinyl
alcohol fibre reinforced engineered cementitious composite (PVA-ECC) using local
ingredients, Constr. Build. Mater. 141 (2017) 259–270.
14
Construction and Building Materials 366 (2023) 130278
[5] H. Ma, J. Cai, Z. Lin, S. Qian, V.C. Li, CaCO3 whisker modified engineered
cementitious composite with local ingredients, Constr. Build. Mater. 151 (2017)
1–8.
[6] V.C. Li, Engineered cementitious composites (ECC) material structural and
durability performance, in: E. Nawy (Ed.), Concrete Construction Engineering
Handbook, CRC Press, Publisher, 2008. Chapter 24.
[7] G. Tan, Z. Zhu, W. Wang, C. Wu, J. Ou, G. Cui, D. Zhang, Flexural ductility and
crack-controlling capacity of polypropylene fiber reinforced ECC thin sheet with
waste superfine river sand based on acoustic emission analysis, Constr. Build.
Mater. 277 (2021), 122321.
[8] Z. Zhu, G. Tan, W. Zhang, C. Wu, Preliminary analysis of the ductility and crack-
control ability of engineered cementitious composite with superfine sand and
polypropylene fiber (SSPP-ECC), Materials 13 (11) (2020) 2609.
[9] G. Tan, Z. Zhu, W. Wang, X. He, A fractal-based approach for cracking
characterization and whole process prediction exploration of PP fiber reinforced
ECC containing sustainable ingredients, Constr. Build. Mater. 318 (2022), 126015.
[10] F. Wan, Z. Zhu, W. Wang, G. Tan, R. Yang, Z. Zhang, Preliminary exploration of
economic polypropylene-fiber-reinforced ECC with superfine river sand (SSPP-
ECC) applied to a bridge pavement leveling overlay, Materials 15 (7) (2022) 2474.
[11] A. Shen, S. Lin, Y. Guo, T. He, Z. Lyu, Relationship between flexural strength and
pore structure of pavement concrete under fatigue loads and Freeze-thaw
interaction in seasonal frozen regions, Constr. Build. Mater. 174 (2018) 684–692.
[12] C. Zhou, G. Lan, P. Cao, C. Tang, Q. Cao, Y. Xu, D. Feng, Impact of freeze-thaw
environment on concrete materials in two-lift concrete pavement, Constr. Build.
Mater. 262 (2020), 120070.
[13] H.J. Lee, W. Kim, Long-term durability evaluation of fiber-reinforced ECC using
wood-based cellulose nanocrystals, Constr. Build. Mater. 238 (2020), 117754.
[14] D. Zhang, H. Wu, V.C. Li, B.R. Ellis, Autogenous healing of engineered cementitious
composites (ECC) based on MgO-fly ash binary system activated by carbonation
curing, Constr. Build. Mater. 238 (2020), 117672.
[15] J. Qiu, H.S. Tan, E.H. Yang, Coupled effects of crack width, slag content, and
conditioning alkalinity on autogenous healing of engineered cementitious
composites, Cem. Concr. Compos. 73 (2016) 203–212.
[16] D. Zhang, B.R. Ellis, B. Jaworska, W.H. Hu, V.C. Li, Carbonation curing for precast
engineered cementitious composites, Constr. Build. Mater. 313 (2021), 125502.
[17] H.L. Wu, D. Zhang, B.R. Ellis, V.C. Li, Development of reactive MgO-based
engineered cementitious composite (ECC) through accelerated carbonation curing,
Constr. Build. Mater. 191 (2018) 23–31.
[18] K. Turk, E. Oztekin, C. Kina, Self-compacting concrete with blended short and long
fibres: experimental investigation on the role of fibre blend proportion, Eur. J.
Environ. Civ. Eng. 26 (3) (2022) 905–918.
[19] W. Zhang, C. Yin, F. Ma, Z. Huang, Mechanical properties and carbonation
durability of engineered cementitious composites reinforced by polypropylene and
hydrophilic polyvinyl alcohol fibers, Materials 11 (7) (2018) 1147.
[20] S. Ruan, J. Qiu, E.H. Yang, C. Unluer, Fiber-reinforced reactive magnesia-based
tensile strain-hardening composites, Cem. Concr. Compos. 89 (2018) 52–61.
[21] H. Azadmanesh, S.A.H. Hashemi, S.H. Ghasemi, Effect of freeze and thaw cycle on
the mechanical properties of engineered cementitious composites with un-oiled
fibers containing liquid and solid polymers, J. Compos. Mater. 56 (6) (2022)
837–847.
[22] P. Zhang, J.Q. Shang, J.J. Fan, Q.Z. Chen, H. Zhu, D.Y. Gao, S.A. Sheikh,
Experimental study on the bond behavior of the CFRP plate-ECC-concrete
composite interface under freeze–thaw cycles, Constr. Build. Mater. 316 (2022),
125822.
[23] M. Şahmaran, V.C. Li, De-icing salt scaling resistance of mechanically loaded
engineered cementitious composites, Cem. Concr. Res. 37 (7) (2007) 1035–1046.
[24] J. Zhong, J. Shi, J. Shen, G. Zhou, Z. Wang, Investigation on the failure behavior of
engineered cementitious composites under freeze-thaw cycles, Materials 12 (11)
(2019) 1808.
[25] Y. Zhu, Y. Yang, Y. Yao, Autogenous self-healing of engineered cementitious
composites under freeze–thaw cycles, Constr. Build. Mater. 34 (2012) 522–530.
[26] E. Özbay, O. Karahan, M. Lachemi, K.M.A. Hossain, C.D. Atis, Dual effectiveness of
freezing–thawing and sulfate attack on high-volume slag-incorporated ECC,
Compos. Part B- Eng. 45 (1) (2013) 1384–1390.
[27] J. Tian, X. Wu, Y. Zheng, S. Hu, W. Ren, Y. Du, W. Wang, C. Sun, J. Ma, Y. Ye,
Investigation of damage behaviors of ECC-to-concrete interface and damage
prediction model under salt freeze-thaw cycles, Constr. Build. Mater. 226 (2019)
238–249.
[28] X. Wu, J. Tian, H. Ma, Y. Zheng, S. Hu, W. Wang, Y. Du, W. Huang, C. Sun, Z. Zhu,
Investigation on interface fracture properties and nonlinear fracture model
between ECC and concrete subjected to salt freeze-thaw cycles, Constr. Build.
Mater. 259 (2020), 119785.
[29] M. Şahmaran, V.C. Li, Durability properties of micro-cracked ECC containing high
volumes fly ash, Cem. Concr. Res. 39 (11) (2009) 1033–1043.
[30] H. Liu, Q. Zhang, V.C. Li, H. Su, C. Gu, Durability study on engineered cementitious
composites (ECC) under sulfate and chloride environment, Constr. Build. Mater.
133 (2017) 171–181.
[31] E.H. Yang, V.C. Li, Tailoring engineered cementitious composites for impact
resistance, Cem. Concr. Res. 42 (8) (2012) 1066–1071.
[32] H. Ma, Z. Zhang, Paving an engineered cementitious composite (ECC) overlay on
concrete airfield pavement for reflective cracking resistance, Constr. Build. Mater.
252 (2020), 119048.
[33] G. Yıldırım, F.E. Khiavi, Ö. Anıl, O. Şahin, M. Şahmaran, R.T. Erdem, Performance
of engineered cementitious composites under drop-weight impact: effect of
different mixture parameters, Struct, Concrete. 21 (2020) 1051–1070.
G. Tan et al.
[34] Z. Zhang, F. Qin, H. Ma, L. Xu, Tailoring an impact resistant engineered
cementitious composite (ECC) by incorporation of crumb rubber, Constr. Build.
Mater. 262 (2020), 120116.
[35] J. Nam, G. Kim, B. Lee, R. Hasegawa, Y. Hama, Frost resistance of polyvinyl alcohol
fiber and polypropylene fiber reinforced cementitious composites under freeze
thaw cycling, Compos. Part B Eng. 90 (2016) 241–250.
[36] A. Mansoori, K. Behfarnia, Evaluation of mechanical and durability properties of
engineered cementitious composites exposed to sulfate attack and freeze–thaw
cycle, Asian J. Civ. Eng. 22 (2021) 417–429.
[37] H. Ma, C. Yi, C. Wu, Review and outlook on durability of engineered cementitious
composite (ECC), Constr. Build. Mater. 287 (2021), 122719.
[38] L. Tian, D. He, J. Zhao, H. Wang, Durability of geopolymers and geopolymer
concretes: a review, Rev. Adv. Mater. Sci. 60 (1) (2021) 1–14.
[39] J. Shi, Y. Liu, E. Wang, L. Wang, C. Li, H. Xu, X. Zheng, Q. Yuan, Physico-
mechanical, thermal properties and durability of foamed geopolymer concrete
containing cenospheres, Constr. Build. Mater. 325 (2022), 126841.
[40] J. Liu, Y. Wang, Predicting the chloride diffusion in concrete incorporating fly ash
by a multi-scale model, J. Cleaner Prod. 330 (2022), 129767.
[41] GB/T 50081-2002, Standard for test method of mechanical properties on ordinary
concrete, Ministry of Development of the People’s Republic of China, General
Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s
Republic of China, 2003.
[42] ASTM C192/C192M-19, Standard practice for making and curing concrete test
specimens in the laboratory, West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM, 2020.
[43] GB/T 50082-2009, Standard for test methods of long-term mechanical
performance and durability of ordinary concrete, Ministry of Development of the
People’s Republic of China, General Administration of Quality Supervision,
Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China, 2009.
[44] Y. Wang, W. Yang, Y. Ge, P. Liu, A. Zhang, Analysis of freeze-thaw damage and
pore structure deterioration of mortar by low-field NMR, Constr. Build. Mater. 319
(2022), 126097.
[45] X. Li, W. Wang, Z. Zhu, K. Zheng, Investigation on durability behaviour and
optimization of concrete with triple-admixtures subjected to freeze-thaw cycles in
salt solution, Adv. Mater. Sci. Eng. 1–16 (2021).
[46] C. Qiao, X. Chen, P. Suraneni, W.J. Weiss, D. Rothstein, Petrographic anlysis of in-
service cementitious mortar subject to freeze-thaw cycles and deicers, Cem. Concr.
Compos. 122 (2021), 104112.
[47] ASTM C1202, Standard test method for electrical indication of concrete’s ability to
resist chloride ion penetration, West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM, 2019.
[48] L. Tong, J. Zhao, Z. Cheng, Chloride ion binding effect and corrosion resistance of
geopolymer materials prepared with seawater and coral sand, Constr. Build. Mater.
309 (2021), 125126.
[49] C. Pan, N. Chen, J. He, S. Liu, K. Chen, P. Wang, P. Xu, Effects of corrosion inhibitor
and functional components on the electrochemical and mechanical properties of
concrete subject to chloride environment, Constr. Build. Mater. 260 (2020),
119724.
[50] ACI 544.9R-17, Report on measuring mechanical properties of hardened fiber-
reinforced concrete, American Concrete Institute (ACI) Committee 544, ACI 2017.
15
Construction and Building Materials 366 (2023) 130278
[51] J.X. Lin, Y. Song, Z.H. Xie, Y.C. Guo, B. Yuan, J.J. Zeng, X. Wei, Static and dynamic
mechanical behavior of engineered cementitious composites with PP and PVA
fibers, J. Build. Eng. 29 (2020), 101097.
[52] A.N. Junior, J. Dweck, R.D.T. Filho, B. Ellis, V.C. Li, Determination of CO2 capture
during accelerated carbonation of engineered cementitious composite pastes by
thermogravimetry, J. Therm. Anal. Calorim. 138 (2019) 97–109.
[53] C. Bilim, O. Karahan, C.D. Atiş, S. İlkentapar, Influence of admixtures on the
properties of alkali-activated slag mortars subjected to different curing conditions,
Mater. Des. 44 (2013) 540–547.
[54] S. Muzenski, I. Flores-Vivian, K. Sobolev, Hydrophobic engineered cementitious
composites for highway applications, Cem. Concr. Compos. 57 (2015) 68–74.
[55] N. Zhao, S. Wang, C. Wang, X. Quan, Q. Yan, B. Li, Study on the durability of
engineered cementitious composites (ECCs) containing high-volume fly ash and
bentonite against the combined attack of sulfate and freezing-thawing (F-T),
Constr. Build. Mater. 233 (2020), 117313.
[56] M. Pigeon, M. Azzabi, R. Pleau, Can microfibers prevent frost damage? Cem. Concr.
Res. 26 (8) (1996) 1163–1170.
[57] J. Deja, Freezing and de-icing salt resistance of blast furnace slag concretes, Cem.
Concr. Compos. 25 (3) (2003) 357–361.
[58] L. Chai, L. Guo, B. Chen, Y. Cao, Y. Xu, Flexural Behaviors of ecological high
ductility cementitious composites subjected to interaction of freeze-thaw cycles
and carbonation, J. Adv. Concr. Technol. 17 (3) (2019) 126–137.
[59] A.K. Ammasi, Ragul, Strength and durability of high volume fly ash in engineered
cementitious composites, Mater. Today Proc. 5 (11) (2018) 24050–24058.
[60] R. Sun, X. Hu, Y. Ling, Z. Zuo, P. Zhuang, F. Wang, Chloride diffusion behavior of
engineered cementitious composite under dry-wet cycles, Constr. Build. Mater. 260
(2020), 119943.
[61] M.K. Haridharan, S. Matheswaran, G. Murali, S.R. Abid, R. Fediuk, Y.H.M. Amrane,
H.S. Abdelgader, Impact response of two-layered grouted aggregate fibrous
concrete composite under falling mass impact, Constr. Build. Mater. 263 (2020),
120628.
[62] X. Liu, C. Ni, L. Zhang, K. Sheng, B. Hong, Durability assessment of lightweight
cellular concrete in subgrade by the method of analytic hierarchy process
combined with fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, Math. Probl. Eng. 1–10 (2019).
[63] M. Ebrahimi, A.A. Hedayat, H. Fakhrabadi, Selecting optimized concrete structure
by analytic hierarchy process (AHP), Comput. Concr. 22 (3) (2018) 327–336.
[64] S. Yang, J. Huang, Y. Qin, X. Wu, Evaluation of concrete durability based on cloud
model and D-S evidence theory, J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 2148 (2022), 012054.
[65] Z. Li, C.K. Chau, X. Zhou, Accelerated assessment and fuzzy evaluation of concrete
durability, J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 17 (3) (2005) 257–263.
[66] J. Fan, H. Zhu, C. Yi, Z. Li, Research on durability evaluation of concrete in
complex attack environment, AIP Adv. 9 (11) (2019), 115019.
[67] T.Y. Liu, P. Zhang, Q.F. Li, S.W. Hu, Y.F. Ling, Durability assessment of PVA fiber-
reinforced cementitious composite containing Nano-SiO2 using adaptive neuro-
fuzzy inference system, Crystals 10 (5) (2020) 347.
[68] GB 55008, General code for concrete structures, Ministry of Development of the
People’s Republic of China, General Administration of Quality Supervision,
Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China, 2021.
[69] H.C. Cho, D.H. Lee, H. Ju, H.C. Park, H.Y. Kim, K.S. Kim, Fire damage assessment
of reinforced concrete structures using fuzzy theory, Appl. Sci. 7 (5) (2017) 518.