Experimental study on the behavior of carbon-fabric reinforced cementitious matrix composites in impressed current cathodic protection

This paper presents experimental investigations on the tensile and flexural behavior of Carbon-Fabric Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (C-FRCM) composites in Impressed Current Cathodic Protection (ICCP). A total of eighteen C-FRCM composites are fabricated and tested. The effects of the current density in ICCP and the ply number of carbon fabric (CF) mesh on the mechanical properties of C-FRCM composites are studied. In the tensile tests, a digital image correlation (DIC) system is employed to capture the strain evolution of C-FRCM composites during the loading process. The parameters of the stress-strain relationships of C-FRCM composites are determined from the experimental results. In the bending tests, the load-central deflection relationship of the specimens is presented. It is found that the current density has detrimental effects on both ultimate bearing capacity and ductility of C-FRCM composites. In the ICCP procedure, increasing the ply number of CF mesh is an effective way to increase the safety margin of C-FRCM composites to resist the external force. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.