Fabrication and characterisation of 0-3 KNLNTS piezoelectric ceramic/alite calcium sulfoaluminate cement composites

The objective of this study was to fabricate and investigate new smart composites as sensors and actuators in civil engineering for structural health monitoring. A novel 0-3 piezoelectric composite consisting of (K0.44Na0.52Li0.04) (Nb0.84Ta0.10Sb0.06)O3 (KNLNTS) as the piezoelectric phase and alite calcium sulfoaluminate (ACSA) cement as the matrix phase is presented. Because these are new types of materials, the processes to synthesis each material have been intensively investigated. The ACSA cement was successfully prepared using an appropriate composition and fired at 1250 degrees C for 30 min. The Rietveld refinement technique was used to determine the amount of each quantitative phase calculated from the X-ray diffraction patterns of the model structure. The phase formation, microstructure evolution, and dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the KNLNTS ceramics fired at various temperatures were investigated. The optimum synthesis conditions yielded sintered KNLNTS ceramics with a dielectric constant and piezoelectric coefficient of 1386 and 118 pC/N, respectively, at room temperature. The KNLNTS/ACSA cement composites were prepared with various KNLNTS contents in the range of 30-70 vol.%. Furthermore, the hardened density, acoustic impedance, microstructure, dielectric properties, and piezoelectric coefficients of the composites were investigated. The KNLNTS/ ACSA cement composite can potentially be applied as a sensor for monitoring external parameters such as stress, strain, and cracks in concrete structures, based on the piezoelectric effect. (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

The objective of this study was to fabricate and investigate new smart composites as sensors and actuators in civil engineering for structural health monitoring. A novel 0-3 piezoelectric composite consisting of (K0.44Na0.52Li0.04) (Nb0.84Ta0.10Sb0.06)O3 (KNLNTS) as the piezoelectric phase and alite calcium sulfoaluminate (ACSA) cement as the matrix phase is presented. The synthesis processes of ACSA cement and KNLNTS ceramics were intensively investigated, and their properties were studied. Moreover, KNLNTS/ACSA cement composites were prepared and their performance and potential applications were investigated.