Use of 2D Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNP) in cement composites for structural health evaluation

This study investigates the use of Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNP) in cement composite to quantify the material damage extent. The damage sensing capability of this new cement composite is demonstrated by experimentally measuring the electric potential across prisms with a known notch depth and comparing it with the finite element simulations. Meanwhile, the damage extent is directly related to the change in electric potential based on a mathematical analogy between the electrostatic field and the elastostatic field under anti-plane shear loading. It is shown that the fractional change in electric potential arising from damage is equivalent to the fractional change in elastic compliance, which can be exploited for structural health evaluation. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.