First conceptualized in the 1990s, Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC), or bendable concrete, is almost ready for market, according to researchers at Louisiana State University’s College of Engineering. After testing a range of sands, rubbers, fibers and more, they’ve struck a balance of “the right materials in the right proportions,” said Gabriel Arce, lead investigator on the project.
“Compared to typical concrete, our cost-effective ECC material has about 300 times more deformation capacity, more than two times the flexural strength and a higher compressive strength,” Arce said in a press release.
