Mechanical Properties and Durability of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) in Engineered Cementitious Composites LC3-ECC with steel fibers

Mechanical Properties and Durability of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) in Engineered Cementitious Composites LC3-ECC with steel fibers | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Method Article Mechanical Properties and Durability of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) in Engineered Cementitious Composites LC3-ECC with steel fibers Ana Carolini Soato Lins, Otavio Gandolphi, Guilherme Silveira, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4863076/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in Iranian Journal of Science and Technology, Transactions of Civil Engineering → Version 1 posted 3 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigates the mechanical properties and durability of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC 3 ) in Engineered Cementitious Composites (LC 3 -ECC) reinforced with steel fibers, with contents varying from 0 to 2% by volume. The dynamic elastic modulus of the composites was determined using ultrasound and acoustic tests (Sonelastic), and a correlation between both tests was proposed. A 3-point bending test was conducted to determine the flexural strength, toughness, resilience, and ductility of the LC 3 -ECC. The compressive strength at 7 and 28 days was also evaluated. Finally, a durability test through chloride migration and a simplified carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions analysis was performed. Incorporating 2.0% fiber content resulted in increases of 40% in flexural strength, 1270% in toughness, 243% in resilience, and 166% in ductility. This demonstrates the ability of LC 3 -ECC to withstand strain under load without failure and to maintain residual stresses in the post-peak phase. The calculation of CO 2 emissions indicated that incorporating fibers at percentages up to 2.0% increased the eco-efficiency to 7.89 MPa/kg CO 2 compared to 6.78 MPa/kg CO 2 for the composites without fibers in terms of flexural strength. Therefore, the study highlights that steel fibers balance between improving mechanical performance and minimizing environmental impact, particularly in the optimal 2% fiber mix that combines robust structural benefits with a manageable environmental footprint. LC3 metallic fiber modulus of elasticity flexural response CO2 emissions Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in Iranian Journal of Science and Technology, Transactions of Civil Engineering → Version 1 posted Editor assigned by journal 06 Aug, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 06 Aug, 2024 First submitted to journal 05 Aug, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4863076","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Method Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":341254023,"identity":"17ded11d-af90-4755-93e0-37f34f5c5c87","order_by":0,"name":"Ana Carolini Soato Lins","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University of Technology – Paraná (UTFPR)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ana","middleName":"Carolini Soato","lastName":"Lins","suffix":""},{"id":341254024,"identity":"2b84ef0c-1813-45b3-a5ef-0f88107133ca","order_by":1,"name":"Otavio Gandolphi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University of Technology – Paraná (UTFPR)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Otavio","middleName":"","lastName":"Gandolphi","suffix":""},{"id":341254027,"identity":"8e32f7c7-36e0-4099-ac4e-0effdd62fbd2","order_by":2,"name":"Guilherme Silveira","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University of Technology – Paraná (UTFPR)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Guilherme","middleName":"","lastName":"Silveira","suffix":""},{"id":341254028,"identity":"93965dbd-87d2-4398-8bdc-2ad42d921db5","order_by":3,"name":"Laura Silvestro","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University of Technology – Paraná (UTFPR)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Laura","middleName":"","lastName":"Silvestro","suffix":""},{"id":341254029,"identity":"8eecb9ac-81d9-44bd-a568-cd9b6744319b","order_by":4,"name":"Rúbia Mara Bosse","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University of Technology – Paraná (UTFPR)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rúbia","middleName":"Mara","lastName":"Bosse","suffix":""},{"id":341254030,"identity":"73dc7a07-2bef-48d2-825a-eb5f0d93c482","order_by":5,"name":"Rodrigo S. 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The dynamic elastic modulus of the composites was determined using ultrasound and acoustic tests (Sonelastic), and a correlation between both tests was proposed. A 3-point bending test was conducted to determine the flexural strength, toughness, resilience, and ductility of the LC\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e-ECC. The compressive strength at 7 and 28 days was also evaluated. Finally, a durability test through chloride migration and a simplified carbon dioxide (CO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) emissions analysis was performed. Incorporating 2.0% fiber content resulted in increases of 40% in flexural strength, 1270% in toughness, 243% in resilience, and 166% in ductility. This demonstrates the ability of LC\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e-ECC to withstand strain under load without failure and to maintain residual stresses in the post-peak phase. The calculation of CO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e emissions indicated that incorporating fibers at percentages up to 2.0% increased the eco-efficiency to 7.89 MPa/kg CO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e compared to 6.78 MPa/kg CO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e for the composites without fibers in terms of flexural strength. 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