Predicting permeability in cracked ECC: A 3D morphology‑based approach via crack generation and LBM simulation

Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) are high performance fiber reinforced cementitious composites that can lead to higher ductility and narrower crack width than quasi-brittle concrete, which leads to a lower permeability and better durability. However, existing permeability prediction methods, which primarily rely on surface crack width, can introduce significant inaccuracies. This study proposes a crack modeling scheme capable of capturing the complex roughness characteristics of ECC cracks for improved permeability prediction. The similarity between generated and actual cracks was validated through geometric parameters, wavelet analysis, and permeation simulation, and the robustness of the proposed method was also evaluated. The proposed approach yields water flow predictions that are more accurate than those obtained using the Poiseuille law. Overall, this method provides an effective framework for representing complex rough cracks in permeability prediction.