Polyethylene (PE) is an important polymeric material which is widely used in civil engineering. Recently, engineered cementitious composites (ECCs) have adopted PE fibers in structural repairing. ECC with polyethylene fibers (PE-ECC) has excellent tensile properties, ductility, strain-hardening behavior, thermal performance and durability. In this paper, a systematic review of the cementitious composites with PE fibers is summarized to facilitate the application of PE-ECC. The influence of PE fibers on the properties of ECC, such as compressive strength, flexural behavior, shear properties, impact resistance and tensile properties, is presented. Meanwhile, the properties of PE-ECC repaired structures, such as beams, walls and columns, are described. Further, the self-repairing properties of PE-ECC are presented. Finally, some suggestions for future research are provided in order to apply PE-ECC to practical repairing cases. The review exhibits that PE-ECC is of notable significance to the repairing of structures and clarifies its application scope.
Keywords: engineered cementitious composites; polyethylene; repair.