Claims
- 1. A concrete construction comprising:
a concrete slab; and a ductile strip adjacent a first side of the slab, the ductile strip comprising an engineered cementitious composite of cementitious material and reinforcing fibers, the ductile strip being directly bonded to the slab.
- 2. The construction of claim 1 wherein hydrophilic fibers comprising polyvinyl alcohol fibers are present in the ductile strip.
- 3. The construction of claim 1 wherein a further concrete slab is present.
- 4. The construction of claim 3 wherein the first concrete slab is adjacent a first side of the ductile strip and the second concrete slab is adjacent a second side of the ductile strip.
- 5. The construction of claim 4 wherein the second side is opposite the first side.
- 6. The construction of claim 1 wherein the concrete slab is made of reinforced concrete.
- 7. The construction of claim 1 wherein the ductile strip has a first crack strength lower than the tensile strength of the concrete slab.
- 8. The construction of claim 7 wherein the tensile strain capacity of the ductile strip is about 1-10%.
- 9. The construction of claim 1 wherein at least one dowel bar is provided that extends between and connects the slab and the ductile strip.
- 10. The construction of claim 1 wherein the ductile strip has a base section having at least one notch.
- 11. The construction of claim 1 wherein the ductile strip has an upper surface generally planar with an upper surface of the slab, the strip further having an interface surface in contacting relation with an interface surface of the slab, the interface surface of the strip being at about 5-90° angle relative to the upper surface of the slab.
- 12. The construction of claim 1 wherein the concrete slab is made of a material having a tensile strain capacity of about 0.01-0.2% and the strip is made of a material having a tensile strain capacity of about 1-10%.
- 13. A method of making or repairing a concrete construction, said method comprising:
providing a ductile strip adjacent a concrete slab, wherein the ductile strip is made of an engineered cementitious composite comprising cementitious material and hydrophilic and/or hydrophobic reinforcing fibers.
- 14. The method of claim 13 wherein the ductile strip is provided between adjacent two slabs of concrete.
- 15. The method of claim 13 wherein the ductile strip is cast prior to being provided adjacent the slab of concrete.
- 16. The method of claim 13 wherein the ductile strip is cast adjacent the slab of concrete.
- 17. The method of claim 13 wherein the concrete slab is made of reinforced concrete.
- 18. The method of claim 13 wherein the ductile strip has a first crack strength lower than the tensile strength of the concrete slab.
- 19. The method of claim 13 wherein hydrophilic fibers comprising polyvinyl acetate are present in the ductile strip.
- 20. The construction of claim 1 wherein hydrophobic fibers comprising polyethylene are present in the ductile strip.
- 21. A roadbed suitable for vehicular traffic, said roadbed comprising a plurality of said slabs and said ductile strips of claim 1.
- 22. The roadbed of claim 21, where each ductile strip separates each slab of each adjacent pair of slabs.
- 23. A floor suitable for a parking structure, said floor comprising a plurality of said slabs and said ductile strips of claim 1, where each ductile strip separates each slab of each adjacent pair of slabs.
- 24. A floor suitable for a flat crack free factory or warehouse floor, said floor comprising a plurality of said slabs and said ductile strips of claim 1, where each ductile strip separates each slab of each adjacent pair of slabs.
- 25. The construction of claim 1, wherein the concrete slab is provided with grooved or stepped surfaces adjacent the ductile strip.
- 26. The method of claim 13, wherein the concrete slab is provided with grooved or stepped surfaces adjacent the ductile strip.
- 27. The construction of claim 1, wherein a second ductile strip is provided adjacent a second side of the slab, opposite the first side of the slab, each ductile strip having a width about 0.01-0.1 times the distance between the ductile strips.
- 28. The method of claim 13, wherein a second ductile strip is provided adjacent a second side of the slab, opposite the first side of the slab, each ductile strip having a width about 0.01-0.1 times the distance between the ductile strips.
- 29. A concrete bridge deck, said bridge deck comprising a plurality of said slabs and said ductile strips of claim 1, where each ductile strip separates each slab of each adjacent pair of slabs.
- 30. A method of repairing concrete structure comprising a plurality of concrete slabs and expansion strips separating the concrete slabs, said method comprising:
providing a ductile strip between the adjacent concrete slabs of the pair of concrete slabs where an expansion strip was, wherein the ductile strip is made of an engineered cementitious composite comprising cementitious material and hydrophilic and/or hydrophobic reinforcing fibers.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/217,008 filed Jul. 10, 2000.
STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT RIGHTS
[0002] The invention was made with government support under Grant No. 9872357 awarded by the NFS. The government has certain rights in this invention.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60217008 |
Jul 2000 |
US |