Damage Characteristics of High Temperature Treated PVA-ECC Beam under Impact Loading Using Smart Aggregates

In this paper, the damage characteristics of polyvinyl alcohol fiber-reinforced engineered cementitious composite (PVA-ECC) beams with high temperature damage under low velocity impact load were studied. A series of low speed impact tests were carried out to simulate the impact energy on the beam, and the impact response of the PVA-ECC beam with high temperature damage were compared with that without high temperature damage. The crack evolution and the wave attenuation were detected by the smart aggregate based active sensing method. The crack development was indicated by the energy of the wavelet packet of the received waves. The results showed that the impact resistance of PVA-ECC beam was significantly weakened after exposure to high temperature. The PVA reached its melting point at 230 degrees C and lost its function as reinforcement. Therefore, PVA-ECC lost its strength, toughness, and fatigue resistance after exposure to high temperature damage.