Experimental study on the strain sensing behavior of smart cement-based composites under cyclic load

Self-sensing performance of materials represents a key issue for the development of biomimetic civil structural health monitoring systems towards smart and resilient infrastructures. During the last decades, research interest in smart cement-based composites obtained by adding conductive nanofillers to cementitious matrices has been strongly increasing, although several issues remain open. This experimental study focuses on the electromechanical properties of self-sensing cement-based composites obtained by using functionalized carbon nanotubes as fillers. Quasi-static cyclic tests were carried out on specimens subjected to pure compression. The influence of water-to-cement ratio was assessed.