A Review: Engineered Cement Composites

The recent technological development made in my field of Civil Engineering I will be discussing is engineered cement composites (ECC). When it comes to being a Civil Engineer, concrete plays a huge role in the development of many structures. These structures are bridges, houses, buildings, skyscrapers and roads. Civil and environmental engineering professor, Victor Li, invented this technological development. From the article "His Flexible Concrete Bends But Doesn't Break" Li quotes, "Concrete is a great construction material, one of the most successful ones man has ever made. That explains its popularity. It is a very good material for constructing bridges, roads, and buildings and many of the things we depend on in our daily life."

Even though concrete is a great invention, it has the negative aspect of being a weaker material when it comes to bending or tension when compared to ECC. This enhanced engineered cement composites is like regular concrete but with enhanced properties, for example, bending without breaking. Instead of ECC cracking or breaking with weather damage or when weight is applied, micro cracks appear that are self-controlled and won’t breakdown like regular concrete. Overall concrete becomes brittle and overtime will need maintenance more frequently then ECC. ECC has a longer life expectancy, because it is made to be flexible and does not break down as concrete would. This technology has changed the field of engineering in many ways and helps my field operate with more productivity. For a civil engineer, if they can get the same job done and have this structure last longer with less maintenance needed in the future, this will increase their work productivity greatly. The durability of engineered cement composites is more reliable then regular concrete. In the article “Engineered Cement Composites: Bendable Concrete” it states, “The 40% lighter ECC is also 500 times more resistant to cracking, 37% less expensive, consumes 40% less energy, and produces 39% less carbon dioxide than regular concrete.” 

This new material has been used in the core of many high-rise buildings. The ECC core is so durable it is used in tall buildings in areas with high risk for earthquakes. (The purpose of this core is to help absorb the energy made from these earthquakes.) Another way ECC has helped my field operate is the safety this material insures when used. Everything a civil engineer builds will be used daily by a human, and our main goal is to build a useable and safe structure. When using ECC there is no new equipment necessary when applying it to the construction site. You would apply ECC as you would regular concrete with the same equipment, therefore the operating cost are the same. Another aspect to look at with this development that changes how my field operates, are the future planned enhancements to ECC. Professor Li has been working on adding to ECC a self-healing function that heals its self after it has been damaged. He also plans on adding a "smart function" where the ECC knows when it has been damaged, and alerts a monitoring system. It’s a civil engineers dream to work with a material that doesn’t crack, break, and requires minimum maintenance. The field of civil engineering is unbelievable and there is always something new being developed. This invention of engineered cement composites discovered by a civil engineer is an amazing technological development. Why wouldn’t you choose a material more durable, safer, cheaper and that requires minimum future maintenance?

An Explanation of my Field: Civil Engineering

In this blog I am going to inform you about my field, Civil Engineering. The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics defines the field of Civil Engineering as "Civil engineers design, construct, supervise, operate, and maintain large construction projects and systems, including roads, buildings, airports, tunnels, dams, bridges, and systems for water supply and sewage treatment." The people who become an engineer are humble and hard working for their job and for the greater good of the people. 

The field of Civil Engineering is very broad, a civil engineer can decide from their interests what they want to specialize in when it comes to their career. There are five sub-field in civil engineering and one may decide to focus on one or even more of the sub-fields. 

The five sub-fields include: 

• Water resources
• Environmental
• Transportation 
• Geotechnical
• Structural Engineering. 

You can learn more about each of these sub-fields in detail on the NDSU: Civil Engineering website. 

Civil Engineering is my field, but I am going to focus on informing you on the sub-field Structural Engineering. Structural Engineering is the field I am most interested in because it has always been a dream of mine to build and be apart of building the most amazing bridge in the world. A Structural Engineer is interested in the design and structure of buildings, bridges, towers, and dams. 

These are the most common structures a Structural Engineer will work on. My main interest is the construction of bridges like I’ve stated earlier because its what drives me to become a Civil Engineer. Building the most memorable and up to date bridge would be a great accomplishment to me and many engineers. Civil Engineers are interested in making the world a better place and ensuring the safety of lives around the world. I know that sounds clique but what every engineers dream is to build or keep the environment clean and operating at the highest it can. We as engineers are interested in making roads flow better, making dams that will help with electricity and many more examples that mostly lead back to the well being of the people. The purpose my field serves for the general population is overall making the world go round everyday. Civil Engineers are behind almost any project from skyscrapers to roads and bridges like mentioned before, and other projects can also help with electricity and water resources for many towns and countries.  Without Civil Engineers or any engineers in that fact we would not be as advanced as we are today and wouldn’t have as many jobs in the world. Civil Engineers create jobs and advancement in the world with their projects and new ways of thinking.  Overall I’m glad I picked the major of Civil Engineering because of the many opportunities it presents and all the different areas I can help change the world. How my field serves the world at large is, you can look at any building, bridge, structure, and think how much that helps or improves the world we live in. For example dams help with electricity and skyscrapers create jobs and room for companies in tight places. Civil Engineering is a very tough but yet rewarding career.