Strain hardening cement-based composites for repair layers on cracked

concrete surfaces
C. Wagner & V. Slowik
Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, Germany

ABSTRACT: Strain hardening cement-based composites (SHCC) have proved to be suitable materials for
covering layers on cracked concrete surfaces. Because of the materials high tensile strain capacity such repair
layers are capable of bridging considerable crack opening displacements in the substrate. In laboratory exper-
iments, mortar with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber reinforcement served as test material. Experimental results
concerning the crack bridging behavior of SHCC repair layers on concrete surfaces are presented. It could be
shown that layers with a thickness of about 30 mm can withstand crack opening displacements of up to
0.6 mm in the concrete substrate. The applicability of SHCC repair layers could also be demonstrated in a pi-
lot application.

1 INTRODUCTION strain of this particular material is reached. Strain

In covering layers on cracked concrete surfaces,
crack opening displacements in the substrate may
lead to local strain concentrations and, eventually, to
the failure of the respective layer. Repair layers
made of strain hardening cement-based composites
(SHCC), however, have proved to be comparatively
resistant to this type of loading. Because of their
high deformability, these materials are capable of
bridging cracks with comparatively high opening
displacements in the substrate.
Strain hardening cement-based materials are
characterized by a high tensile strain capacity when
compared to conventional cement-based materials.
This behavior may be attributed to the formation of
numerous closely spaced cracks. During the for-
mation of these cracks, the tensile stress is increasing
or at least constant. This so-called strain hardening
hardening cement-based composites (SHCC) with
PVA fibers may undergo a maximum tensile strain
of up to 5 %. For the same mortar without PVA fiber
reinforcement, the tensile strain at maximum load
would amount to about 0.01% only.
Figure 1 shows an example of a tensile stress-
strain curve for SHCC. The maximum tensile strain,
i.e., the strain at maximum load, amounts to about
2.5 %. The maximum and average crack widths are
also shown. Because of the high number of individu-
al cracks, their width is comparatively small before
damage localization occurs. This fracture behavior
results in a very good durability of the material.
8 1.0
Stress-strain curve 0.9
7
Maximum crack width
0.8
Crack width [mm]

6 Average crack width

behavior may be achieved by the addition of about 0.7
Stress [MPa]

5 0.6
2 % by volume of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers
having a comparatively high modulus of elasticity 4 0.5
when compared to other synthetic fibers. The fibers 3 0.4

are capable of bridging the cracks. The tensile stress 0.3

2
transferred between the crack surfaces will even in- 0.2
1 0.1
crease while the crack is opening. As a result, new
0 0.0
cracks are formed under increasing total strain. This 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
explains the formation of numerous parallel and Strain [%]
closely spaced cracks in such materials. At a certain
strain level, damage localization occurs, i.e., one of Figure 1. Stress and crack widths versus strain under uniaxial
the cracks continues to open while the other cracks tension.
are being closed, and the tensile stress will start to
decrease. When this happens, the maximum tensile
In several studies conducted worldwide, the applica-
bility of SHCC as a repair material was tested or the
material has already been used in corresponding pi-
lot projects (Rokugo et al. 2005, Kunieda & Rokugo
2006, Wagner et al. 2008). In addition to the high
strain capacity, the cement-based repair layers pro-
vide the advantage of being compatible with the
concrete substrates from the physical point of view.
The authors motivation for the present work was
to quantify the crack bridging capability of repair
layers made of a strain hardening cement-based
composite. The mechanical behavior of such repair
layers does not only depend on the uniaxial fracture
properties of the material but also on the layer thick-
ness and on the interface properties. Because of the
complexity of the problem, experimental methods
had to be applied. Laboratory investigations were
undertaken the results of which will be presented in
the following.
Furthermore, the results of a five-year observation
of SHCC repair layers applied under site conditions
are presented.
2 LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS
2.1 Material
The material optimization was aimed at the highest
possible strain capacity on one hand and at a good
workability under site conditions on the other hand.
In addition, the crack widths had to be small in order
to ensure sufficient durability of the material. Ac-
cording to expert opinions published in the literature,
a critical permeability with respect to concrete dura-
bility is reached when crack widths exceed a thresh-
old value between 50 m and 100 m (Wang et al.
1997, Lepech & Li 2009). It is assumed that through
wider cracks a larger amount of harmful gases and
liquids may penetrate into the material. A review of
SHCC design and testing was published by
Mechtcherine & Schulze (2005).
Table 1 contains the material composition for the
fiber reinforced mortar used in the laboratory exper-
iments. The fiber content was 2.2 % by volume.
PVA fibers from Kuraray, Japan, with a length of 8
mm and a diameter of 0.04 mm were used.
2.2 Uniaxial tension tests
For the determination of the stress-strain curves for
the previously specified material, uniaxial (direct)
tension tests were carried out. Figure 2 shows the
experimental setup for these tests.
Dog-bone shaped specimens with a length of
250 mm and a minimum cross-section of 40 mm
40 mm were glued between steel platens. The in-
ner part with constant cross-section had a length of
100 mm.
Table 1. Material composition for laboratory experiments.
______________________________________________
Material Content by mass
______________________________________________
Cement CEM I 42.5 R 1.00
Fly ash 2.30
Quartz sand (0 .. 0.5 mm) 0.40
Quartz powder (0 .. 0.1 mm) 1.00
Water 1.10
Superplasticizer 0.04
Stabilizer* 0.015
PVA fibers (length 8 mm) 2.20 % by volume
______________________________________________
* Woermann underwater compound
The tests were performed in a comparatively stiff
600 kN loading frame under displacement control. A
more detailed description of the experimental setup
may be found in Wagner (2007).
2.3 Four-point bending tests of reinforced concrete
beams with SHCC repair layer
Steel reinforced beams made of normal concrete
were loaded in four-point bending up to a moment
larger than the cracking moment. In this way, a
cracked concrete surface was created. Then, a SHCC
layer was applied to the cracked surface, i.e., to the
underside of the respective beam, and the beam was
subjected to four-point bending again. During this
repeated loading, the preexisting cracks in the rein-
forced concrete beam were opened and the crack
bridging behavior of the SHCC layer could be stud-
ied.
Of particular interest was the evolution of the
crack widths in the SHCC layer. Multiple cracking
and small crack widths in the repair layer would in-
dicate an improved durability with respect to the un-
treated cracked concrete surface.
Figure 2. Experimental setup for the direct tension tests.
It has to be pointed out that the SHCC repair layers
investigated here are not intended to strengthen or
retrofit concrete members. Because of their com-
paratively low tensile strength, these materials are
not suitable for significantly increasing the load car-
rying capacity of structures. As stated before, the ap-
plication of SHCC layers is aimed at the bridging of
cracks which results in an improved durability of the
concrete structure.
Six reinforced concrete beams with rectangular
cross-section were tested. The length of the beams
amounted to 700 mm, the width to 150 mm, and the
height to 120 mm. In order to obtain large crack
widths during the preloading of the uncoated beams,
only two reinforcement bars with a diameter of
6 mm and a concrete cover of 30 mm were inserted
in the tension zone of each beam. The experimental
setup and a reinforced concrete beam with applied
SHCC repair layer at the bottom are shown in Fig-
ure 3. During the four-point bending tests, the de-
flection of the respective beam and the opening of
three initial cracks resulting from preloading were
measured continuously. Figure 4. Experimental setup for the zero-span elongation tests.

Similar investigations have been performed by Ku-

2.4 Zero-span elongation tests
An alternative way of investigating the crack bridg-
ing effect of SHCC layers are so-called zero-span
elongation tests, see Figure 4. They allow the simu-
lation of the opening of a single crack. The specimen
consists of two concrete cubes (70 x 70 x 75 mm)
placed on top of each other. The joint between the
cubes serves as an artificial crack. The end faces of
the specimen are glued to rotationally rigid steel
platens. By displacing them the artificial crack is
opened or closed. In the experiments reported here,
on two opposite sides faces of the cubes a 2.75 cm
thick SHCC layer was applied, see Figure 4. The
opening of the artificial crack results in stress con-
centrations and cracking in the repair layer.
nieda et al. (2004). They were focused on the influ-
ence of the bond properties on the crack formation in
repair layers.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Strain hardening behavior under uniaxial
tension
Figure 5 shows characteristic stress-strain curves as
determined in uniaxial tension tests for the material
composition specified in Table 1. The first cracks
occurred at a stress of about 2.6 MPa, whereas the
maximum stress was 2.8 MPa at the average.

Figure 3. Four-point bending test of a reinforced concrete beam with SHCC repair layer at the bottom side.
 5
Stress-strain curve, specimen 1
Stress-strain curve, specimen 2
4 Stress-strain curve, specimen 3
Stress-strain curve, specimen 4
Stress [MPa]

0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Strain [%]

Figure 5. Stress-strain curves measured under uniaxial tension. Figure 6. Crack pattern in SHCC under uniaxial tension.

It may be seen that the tensile stress does not de-
crease significantly before a strain of about 2.5 % is
reached. As stated before, the comparatively large
strain capacity is caused by the numerous fine and
closely spaced cracks. The individual crack opening
displacements were not measured in these experi-
ments. However, since the cracks were barely visible
with the unaided eye it is assumed that the majority
of the cracks had widths smaller than 40 m. A
characteristic crack pattern is shown in Figure 6.
3.2 Crack bridging behavior of SHCC layers on
cracked concrete substrate
3.2.1 Crack bridging layers on precracked rein-
forced concrete beams
Figure 7 shows the curve of the total force versus
load-line displacement for a beam with a 40 mm
thick layer of SHCC. Initially, the beam exhibited a
comparatively rigid behavior until the first cracks in
the SHCC layer occurred at a load of about 12 kN.
The distribution angle , see Figure 8, which de-
scribes the fan-out of the crack amounted to 22 on
average.
Figure 7 also shows the crack opening values un-
der increasing load-line displacement. With the help
of the load-displacement curve it is possible to as-
sign crack opening values to certain load levels. The
label "concrete crack" is used for the initial cracks in
the reinforced concrete beam, which existed before
the application of the repair layer, and the term
"SHCC crack" stands for newly formed cracks with-
in the repair layer underneath the initial concrete
crack with the same number. As stated before, the
crack pattern in the SHCC repair layer is rather dif-
fuse. For this reason, only the maximum crack width
underneath the respective concrete crack is shown in
Figure 7.
80 2.0
Load-displacement curve SHCC crack 5

Crack opening in concrete /

70 Concrete crack 1 SHCC crack 1 1.8

Maximum crack width in

Thereafter, the curve was less steep. Crack width 60
Concrete crack 2 SHCC crack 2 1.6
Concrete crack 3 SHCC crack 3
measurements revealed that within this phase most 1.4

SHCC [mm]
50
Load [kN]

of the cracks in the SHCC layer were formed. At 1.2

about 50 kN, the load reached a plateau. Afterwards, 40 1.0
an opening of the previously formed cracks could be 30 0.8
observed. The failure of the beam was caused by 0.6
20
yielding of the longitudinal reinforcement. 0.4
10 0.2
Of particular interest were the crack widths in the
SHCC layer and the corresponding crack spacing 0 0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
which may also be expressed by the crack density. Displacement [mm]
Because of the large number of individual cracks,
Figure 7. Force-displacement curve of a predamaged and re-
the crack patterns were recorded photographically paired reinforced concrete beam (thickness of the repair layer
under monotonically increasing deflection by using 40 mm).
an 8.0 megapixel camera (Nikon Coolpix 8800).
Preferably, images of the regions underneath the The crack pattern shown in Figure 8 belongs to con-
previously formed cracks in the reinforced concrete crete crack 3 and the SHCC layer underneath. A
beam were taken. Figure 8 shows one of these imag- comparison of the crack widths reveals the crack
es. It may be seen that the wide opened crack in the bridging effect of the repair layer. While the discrete
substrate, i.e., in the reinforced concrete beam, did cracks in the concrete beam were opened continu-
not break through the repair layer. The latter is al- ously, numerous small cracks with widths less than
so cracked, but numerous fine cracks were formed 50 m were formed in the SHCC.
rather than a single crack.
 The small crack widths at the SHCC surface will be
advantageous when an additional coating is to be
applied, for instance a polymeric coating. The tech-
nical requirements for such an additional layer
would be less strict as far as its crack bridging capa-
bility is concerned. In addition, an improved durabil-
ity of the repair system is expected.

5 2.4
Stress-crack opening curve, specimen 1
Stress-crack opening curve, specimen 2

Maximum crack width in

4 Stress-crack opening curve, specimen 3 2.0
Maximum crack width, specimen 1
Maximum crack width, specimen 2
1.6

Stress [MPa]

SHCC [mm]
Maximum crack width, specimen 3
3
1.2
2
0.8
1 0.4

0 0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
Figure 8. Crack pattern in the SHCC repair layer underneath a Artifical crack opening [mm]
crack in the concrete beam.
Figure 9. Average stress versus crack opening and maximum
crack width in the SHCC layer, results of three zero-span elon-
The described crack bridging effect could be ob- gation tests.
served up to a crack opening displacement of about
0.6 mm in the reinforced concrete beams, see con-
crete crack 3 in Figure 7. At this crack opening in 4 PILOT APPLICATION
the substrate, a single crack in the repair layer starts
to open significantly as a result of damage localiza- 4.1 Initial situation and repair measure
tion in the SHCC. It could also be observed that with The damaged concrete floor of the petrol filling sta-
increasing displacement new cracks were formed in tion of a construction company has been chosen for a
the reinforced concrete beams. The described four- pilot application of SHCC repair layers. This floor is
point bending tests were performed with repair lay- subjected to high loads due to heavy machinery
ers of thickness 3 cm and 4 cm, respectively. No es- (trucks, tracked vehicles, forklifts, etc.). Especially
sential differences in the cracking behavior were the areas near inspection shafts were damaged many
found. times and conventional repair measures failed re-
peatedly, see Figure 10.
3.2.2 Results of the zero-span elongation tests
The results of the four-point bending tests could be
confirmed by the zero-span elongation tests. It was
found that an SHCC layer of thickness 2.75 cm may
bridge a crack opening displacement of about
0.6 mm without damage localization. Figure 9 shows
for three specimens the average stress in the SHCC
at the joint versus the joint opening, i.e., versus the
artificial crack opening. The maximum crack widths
at the outer faces of the SHCC layer are also shown
in Figure 9. It may be seen that these crack widths
were small (<100 m) up to a joint opening of about
0.6 mm. Then, the crack width in the SHCC in-
creased rapidly as a result of damage localization.
Hence, the results of the three-point bending and ze-
ro-span elongation tests are in good agreement as far
as the crack bridging capability of SHCC repair lay-
ers is concerned. The observed crack patterns were
also consistent. As seen in the four-point bending
tests, the existing discrete crack in the substrate fans Figure 10. Damaged concrete surface in the vicinity of an in-
out into numerous small cracks in the SHCC layer, spection shaft prior to the repair measures.
see Figure 8.
Probably, the damage is caused by both the settle-
ment of the shafts and horizontal displacements due
to temperature changes or braking forces. For this
particular problem, SHCC was considered to be a
suitable repair material. It is characterized by a large
strain capacity and able to bridge comparable large
crack opening displacements.
Three inspection shafts were repaired, i.e., the
upper layer of the concrete floor surrounding these
shafts was replaced by SHCC, see Figure 11. For
one of the shafts (shaft 3), a polymer-modified ce-
ment mortar (PCC) was used as a reference material.
In addition to the inspection shafts, another con-
crete surface had to be repaired, see Figure 12. This
2 m wide and 5 m long area was heavily damaged by
wide opened cracks which were not tolerable for the
floor of a petrol filling station. The surface has been
milled off and, afterwards, a 40 mm thick SHCC
layer was applied.
Figure 11. Inspection shafts prepared for the application of the
repair material.
Table 2 contains the material composition for the
SHCC used as repair material in the present study.
As in the laboratory experiments, PVA fibers from
Kuraray, Japan, with a length of 8 mm were used.
Table 2. Material composition for the pilot application.
______________________________________________
Material Content by mass
______________________________________________
Cement CEM I 42.5 R 1.00
Fly ash 2.00
Quartz sand (0 .. 0.5 mm) 0.60
Water 0.90
Superplasticizer 0.02
Stabilizer* 0.002
PVA fibers (length 8 mm) 2.20 % by volume
______________________________________________
* Methylcellulose
Figure 12. Cracked concrete surface prepared for the applica-
tion of the repair material.
4.2 Results of the long-term observation
When comparing the two repair materials, i.e., the
SHCC and the PCC, the same course of the crack
paths could be observed. In both materials, predomi-
nantly tangential cracks were formed. Regarding the
number of cracks and the crack lengths, however, the
crack patterns differ significantly. Whereas in the
PCC mortar only a single annular crack with com-
paratively large width could be found, in the SHCC
expectedly numerous cracks with small widths oc-
curred. The radial cracks in the PCC were also found
to be wider than those in the SHCC. These differ-
ences in the crack pattern clearly point to a better du-
rability of the SHCC repair layer. The resistance to
the penetration of harmful substances should be sig-
nificantly higher.
Currently, i.e., five years after the repair, only the
area surrounding shaft 2 and the repaired concrete
surface shown in Figure 12 are still existing. The
other two shafts were completely replaced in the
meantime. Therefore, the observations described in
the following were made at the two remaining
patches.
Figure 13 shows the surrounding of shaft 2 two
days and five years, respectively, after the repair.
The closely spaced cracks with small widths are vis-
ible with the unaided eye. However, because of their
blunted edges they appear wider than the actually
are. This could be proved by the inspection of drill
cores. Furthermore, no spalling could be observed at
the SHCC surface and the bond to the surrounding
concrete seemed to be undamaged. It has to be not-
ed, however, that comparatively large air pores are
visible. This may be attributed to imperfect compac-
tion. In future projects, these flaws should be avoid-
ed by improving the material composition and the
application method.
Prior to the documentation of the crack patterns,
the SHCC surfaces were carefully cleaned. During
the drying of the surface, the fine cracks became vis-
ible. Figure 14 shows the ring-shaped cracks around
the shaft. The average crack spacing determined with
the unaided eye amounts to 35 mm. This corre-
sponds to a crack density of approximately
29 cracks/m. For the radial cracks, an average crack
spacing of 27 mm and a crack density of about
37 cracks/m were observed. This means in total
66 cracks/m.
For the photographic documentation of the crack
patterns, a 12 megapixel camera with macro lens
was used, see Figure 15. Unfortunately, the blunted
edges of the cracks did not allow for an exact crack
width determination. In addition, some cracks were
completely filled with dust which also hindered the
measurement of their widths. Although the cracks
could easily be detected in the photographic images,
see Figure 16, an exact crack width measurement
appeared to be impossible.
A resolution of approximately 12 m per Pixel
could be achieved. This allowed the detection of fin-
er cracks than with the unaided eye. For the ring-
shaped cracks, a crack density of 47 cracks/m was
determined on the basis of the photographic images.
Five years after the repair measure, the adhesive Figure 14. Crack pattern in the SHCC repair layer surrounding
shaft 2 five years after the repair.
bond strength between the SHCC layer and the con-
crete substrate was determined. In most pull-off
tests, the concrete failed, although the average bond
strength was only moderate. It amounted to
1.31 N/mm. In addition, drilled cores were taken
from the SHCC repair layer. A dry density of
1570 kg/m and an average compressive strength of
74.5 N/mm could be measured (core diameter
50 mm, height approximately 40 mm). The carbona-
tion depth was less than 1 mm, however slightly
larger at the edges of the cracks.

Figure 13. Repaired concrete surface surrounding an inspection shaft two days (left) and five years (right) after the repair.

Figure 15. Documentation of the crack pattern in a SHCC re-
pair layer.
Figure 16. Images of a SHCC surface used for crack detection.
5 CONCLUSIONS
It was possible to produce a cement-based material
with a tensile strain capacity of about 2.5 %. The
fracture behavior of this strain hardening cement-
based composite (SHCC) is characterized by multi-
ple cracking and small crack widths. Because of the-
se properties, SHCC is a suitable material for crack
bridging repair layers on damaged concrete surfaces.
In order to quantify the crack bridging capability
of SHCC repair layers, two types of laboratory ex-
periments were conducted, on one hand four-point
bending tests of precracked concrete beams with
SHCC layers on the tension face and on the other
hand so-called zero-span elongation tests. Similar
results were achieved. SHCC repair layers of thick-
ness 3 cm may bridge crack opening displacements
of up to 0.6 mm in the substrate. Higher crack open-
ing displacements result in damage localization,
stress relieve, and large crack widths at the surface.
Below the aforementioned limit, discrete crack open-
ing displacements in the substrate result in numerous
fine cracks in the SHCC repair layer. The width of
these fine cracks amounts to only about 50 m. For
this reason, the SHCC repair layers may significantly
improve the durability of concrete structures.
The applicability of SHCC for patch repair has
been proved under site conditions by a pilot applica-
tion. A five-year observation of the patches has
shown that the repair measure was successful.
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