Trochoutsou, N. orcid.org/0000-0001-9184-3473, Smyl, D. orcid.org/0000-0002-6730-5277 and Torelli, G. orcid.org/0000-0002-0607-695X (2025) Electro-mechanical behaviour of mortars reinforced with alternative electrically conductive inclusions. Materials and Structures, 58 (2). 56. ISSN 1359-5997
Abstract
The incorporation of electrically conductive inclusions in structural materials can impart self-sensing functionalities, making them ideal for structural health monitoring applications. However, the use of more sustainable alternatives and their effect on key engineering properties remain largely unexplored, while the adoption of different testing protocols for the characterisation of electrical/self-sensing properties can lead to different results, thus questioning their reliability, even for existing smart composites. This paper investigates systematically the effect of recycled carbon fibres and graphite powder on the mechanical, electrical, transport properties and piezoresistive performance of cementitious mortars. Virgin carbon fibres, at dosages equivalent to those of recycled fibres, were also examined to establish a performance benchmark. Fibre content ranged from 0.05% to 1% vol., while graphite powder was added as sand replacement at contents varying from 0.3% to 3% vol. The effect of existing testing protocols and electrode layout on the piezoresistive performance was also examined, and the associated limitations and challenges are discussed in detail. The results demonstrate the potential of recycled carbon fibres as a cost-effective alternative in smart applications, without compromising electrical and piezoresistive performance. The use of 0.25%vol. of recycled or virgin carbon fibres was found to provide the desirable synergy between structural performance, cost and self-sensing properties, yielding a 50–60% increase in flexural strength, and good piezoresistivity with a gauge factor of 90–110. In contrast, the use of graphite powder resulted in composites with poor self-sensing ability even at the highest content examined (3%vol.), also accompanied by a reduction in compressive strength up to 33%.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
Keywords: | Self-sensing; Composites; Smart; Carbon fibres; Recycled carbon fibres; Graphite powder |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 11 Feb 2025 10:51 |
Last Modified: | 11 Feb 2025 10:52 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1617/s11527-025-02590-4 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:223120 |