Self-sensory carbon-based textile reinforced concrete beams-Characterization of the structural-electrical response by AC measurements

The study electrically characterizes a smart-self sensory carbon-based textile reinforced concrete (TRC) structure and explores its sensory capabilities by various electrical properties. The hybrid system is based on implementing electrically conductive carbon rovings, within a textile mesh made of alkali resistant (AR) glass yarns, that simultaneously serve as part of the reinforcement system and as the sensory agent. The study uses an AC based electrical circuit and offers to characterize changes in the electrical properties of the sensory carbon rovings by exploring the electrical response spectrum of the impedance. It is found that, since each carbon roving consists of thousands of electrically conductive filaments that are bundled together, each roving is electrically characterized by a resistor and an inductor that are influenced by the concrete body. The AC based sensory system is experimentally investigated by monitoring changes in the measured electrical properties, that is resistance and inductance, of TRC beams under monotonic loading and correlating these changes to the micro-and macro-structural responses. It is demonstrated that a sensory system that is based on an AC electrical circuit yields additional sensitive and important sensory information on the structural health of the beams.(c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.