There is a need to develop innovative repair materials which can overcome the challenges of cement-based repair mortars being relatively prone to shrinkage effects. In practice, free shrinkage of repair mortar is often considered as an indicator for potential cracking and delamination of applied repair mortars due to restrained shrinkage effects. As it is hard to measure restrained shrinkage directly, a restraint factor (R) can be used to correlate both. This study investigates the shrinkage characteristics of strain-hardening cementitious composites (SHCC), making use of polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA), high-density poly-ethylene (HDPE), or short glass fibres, for the repair and strengthening of existing concrete structures. Along with drying shrinkage and autogenous shrinkage, restrained shrinkage has been characterized with respect to the concrete substrate. Furthermore, pull-off tests were performed to assess the bond properties of these repair mortars. The results show around 65% higher autogenous shrinkage in high strength SHCC mixes while there was a decrease in drying shrinkage compared to the reference mix. In contradiction to what was initially expected, an increase in fibre content from 1.5 to 2.0 vol% resulted in a significant increase in autogenous shrinkage, especially in the high strength SHCC mixes. The restraint factor for all repair mortars was determined and was found to be in the range of 0.82–0.94. The pull-off tests showed an overall excellent bond behaviour of all studied mortars.

Strain-hardening cementitious composites (SHCC) have a high tensile strength and display a remarkable strain-hardening behaviour. These unique characteristics make them an interesting choice for improving the strength and durability of new and existing structures. The tensile strain behaviour of SHCC is strongly influenced by its rheological properties as they determine the hardened state behaviour such as fibre-bridging strength and ultimately the degree of multiple cracking. The presence of fibres significantly affects the rheological performance of SHCC.

This study aimed at investigating the relationship between rheological characteristics of SHCC mortar before and after the addition of different fibres. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), high modulus polyethylene (HDPE) and glass fibres were added at three different contents in order to assess their effect on the workability of SHCC. Flow tests along with rheological assessment were conducted to evaluate the fresh state behaviour of SHCC. The addition of fibres reduced the flowability of mix, especially at high dosages. A modified fibre influence factor was developed to characterize different types of fibres and was related to the viscosity and yield stress of the mix.