Piezoresistive response of self-sensing asphalt concrete containing carbon fiber

• Published in: Construction & building materials Vol. 426; p. 136121
• Main Authors: Cui, Qi, Feng, Zhen-gang, Shen, Ruoting, Li, Xiangnan, Wang, Zhuang, Yao, Dongdong, Li, Xinjun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 03.05.2024
• Subjects: Carbon fiber; Conductive performance; Electrical resistance; Piezoresistive response; Self-sensing asphalt concrete; Electrical resistance; Piezoresistive response; Self-sensing asphalt concrete; Conductive performance; Carbon fiber
• ISSN: 0950-0618
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2024.136121

The self-sensing asphalt concrete (SSAC) was prepared by incorporating electrode mesh into the carbon fiber asphalt concrete (CFAC) in the form of sandwich structure. The effect of carbon fiber on conductive performance of SSAC was evaluated by the electrical resistance scanning curve monitored via the digital acquisition and recording system (DARS). The conductive mechanism of SSAC was explored based on the electrical characteristics and microstructure tested by the scanning electron microscope (SEM). The loadings with cyclic, different rates, varying interval times and diverse amplitude were applied on the SSAC by the universal testing machines (UTM) and the electrical resistance changes were monitored and analyzed simultaneously. Moreover, the sensitive and accuracy indexes were proposed to evaluate the piezoresistive response of the SSAC. The results show that the increase of carbon fiber significantly enhances the conductive performance due to the fact that the increase of carbon fiber is helpful for the tunnelling and contact transfer in the SSAC. The SSACs not only exhibit significant sensitivity to piezoresistive response and strain, but also show good accuracy of piezoresistive response at a proper content of CF (6%∼8%), which endows the SSAC better performance in terms of self-sensing function. The SSACs can reflect the loading information effectively according to the correlation between the electrical resistance change and the loading characteristics, which have potential to monitor the actual traffic information. •The self-sensing asphalt concrete (SSAC) with a sandwich structure was fabricated by embedding electrode meshes.•A proper content of CF makes the piezoresistive response of SSAC sensitive and accurate.•The SSAC can reflect the loading information effectively.