Microwave near-field noninvasive prediction of compressive strength of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECCs)

This paper presents the results of a cross-disciplinary research project work, where microwave near-field noninvasive technique was used for the prediction of compressive strength of the state-of-the-art cementitious material, known as Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECCs). We mixed and cast specimens with water-to-binder ratios of 0.20, 0.255 and 0.30 for both the microwave noninvasive tests and mechanical destructive tests. Our results show that the compressive strength of ECCs at mature age can be determined by using microwave property of ECCs measured on the first day after casting. The inverse linear relations between compressive strength and microwave conductance were attained. The lower bound of microwave conductance in R-band was also established.