A study of piezoelectric properties of carbon fiber reinforced concrete and plain cement paste during dynamic loading

Carbon fiber reinforced concrete (CFRC) is an intrinsically smart material, which can be used to realize the self-monitoring of concrete structures based on its piezoresistance effect and the Seebeck effect. An experimental study was made to examine the piezoelectric properties of CFRC and plain cement paste. The results show that both CFRC and plain cement paste exhibit piezoelectric behavior, which can be explained in terms of a solid-liquid interface double-layer model. Furthermore, they can sense a large range of loading rates with high sensitivity. The materials are good sensors for monitoring the dynamic loading. Therefore, a new method to make smart concrete structures can be developed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.