Sustainability of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) Infrastructure

Concrete, representing about 80% of all engineering materials used, plays an important role in the construction of human habitat. The large material flow of concrete coupled with high energy and carbon intensity of cement, however, has drawn increasing scrutiny due to the threat of climate change on urban communities. As a new construction material, ECC must be developed taking into account environmental sustainability. This means that the embodied energy and carbon in ECC must be minimized with judicious choice of material ingredients, preferably incorporating as much materials from industrial waste streams as possible, but without compromising its performance. A particularly important performance is structural durability as this directly impacts on the resource use and emissions during the use phase of ECC structures.