1.

Abstract

Self-sensing concrete is a smart concrete technology that can sense the stress, strain, and
damage in itself. It is also called as self-monitoring or piezoresistive or pressure-sensitive or
intrinsically smart concrete. Self-sensing concrete is a combination of an electrically
conductive filler material and a conventional building material, which is able to realise a
function of sensing. Measuring the change of electrical properties of the composite under
external loading, enables the monitoring of the stress, deformation and damage. The sensors
involved consist of cementitious materials as host matrix with additional phases such as
cement, aggregate and conductive materials. It has the advantages of high sensitivity, long
service period, excellent compatibility, durability and mechanical strength, and low
maintenance cost. Other than structural health monitoring, it can also be potentially applied in
seismic damage detection, traffic detection, traffic monitoring, weight in motion, leakage
detection, corrosion process monitoring, heated pavement system (HPS) etc

Introduction
Concrete is the second most widely used structural material for the construction of infrastructure
from buildings to dams, highways, high-rise towers and sewage systems, owing to its features like
durability, affordability, aesthetics and availability. However, most concrete structures are exposed
to complex and changing environment, including the action of physical and chemical agents,
temperature effects, humidity effects etc causing cracking, deterioration, deformation and scaling
etc. Additionally, it also faces issues of aging, self-defects and other degenerations. Hence the need
to monitor and evaluate the concrete performance during its construction stage and service life is
gaining more attention during the recent decades. Structural health monitoring (SHM) technology
provides the ability to monitor and evaluate the structures health status with an objective of
predicting possibility of failure and providing timely maintenance. This helps in preventing failure by
detecting the development of flaws. This procedure is further intended to prevent the growth of
damage before it affects larger areas. The reconstruction can be achieved much faster and cheaper if
the affected area is small. SHM, in addition to ensuring safety, is also advantageous in the economic
point of view

Electrical resistance, strain gauges, piezoelectric strain sensors and optic sensors are currently
implemented in construction industry as sensors for evaluating and monitoring purposes. In spite of
being easy to set up and having low cost and good repeatability, these sensors come with some
inherent drawbacks including poor durability, low sensitivity, chances of getting affected by external
electromagnetic field and uncertainties in durability and compatibility under changes in the
environment. Their implementation in large structures also induce substantial cost. To overcome
these disadvantages, intrinsic self-sensing concrete emerged as one of the possible solutions. On
adding some functional fillers, for instance, carbon nanotubes, carbon fibres and so on to the
concrete matrix, cementitious composite shows the ability to sense stress, strain cracks,
temperature, humidity etc. Though its initial cost is higher than traditional concrete with sensors,
self-sensing concrete can be an economical choice in the long run, considering the maintenance and
repair costs in the structure’s life-cycle.

2. Structural Health Monitoring

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is the process of monitoring and evaluating a structure’s health
status, with the objective of predicting possibilities of failure, if any, and providing timely
maintenance. It has found wide application in various engineering sectors owing to its ability to
respond to adverse structural changes. The need for SHM systems and their benefits for civil,
aerospace and military applications have been documented by many researchers. A typical
monitoring system consists of three sub-systems: A measurement subsystem, a data management
subsystem and a data analysis subsystem. The measurement subsystem is formed by the sensors, a
reading unit (or interrogator) and accessories such as cable protection boxes, etc. The data
management subsystem includes the software and hardware that provides data transmission from
the reading unit (wired or wireless), storage, accessibility and presentation. The hardware and
software that transforms the data into information about structural health conditions, constitute the
data analysis subsystem. SHM systems can be wired or wireless. Some of the main SHM techniques
are: Impedance based, Non-destructive evaluation using vibration signature, limit strain
measurement, data fusion method, inverse method etc. For any structure, the selection of
parameters to be monitored depends on a number of different factors such as the nature and
purpose of the structure, the construction material, projected loads, environmental conditions, etc.

Fig.1 - Working of a Structural Health Monitoring system

Civil engineering infrastructure are expensive structure which require large investment in any
country. And these structures have long service life compared with other commercial projects. To
maintain structures like bridges or high-rise buildings it takes a lot of time and a vast amount of
financial resources.

Currently, the state of a structure is determined by either destructive or non-destructive methods.

Non-destructive methods include on-site investigations by mounting external gauges or using optic
sensors etc. A drawback of current methods is, that these tests just give an idea about the surface
never the inner integrity of a structure. This problem addresses SHM, which aims to develop an
automated system for continuously monitoring, inspection and damage detection of structures with
minimum labour involvement Another issue with on-site investigations is, that typically just a small
area of a whole structure will be inspected with the possibility to miss a critical damage which may
be leading to failure in future. The major goal of SHM is to observe the entire system of a structure
or at least the most important elements like columns, beams and other load bearing parts.
In the recent years, there has been an enormous growth in multidisciplinary research to create a
more resistant sensing material for SHM systems of concrete structures and one of the biggest
achievements is the invention of self-sensing cementitious composites. The self-sensing
cementitious composites is similar to conventional concrete with of addition of functional filler
materials by adding carbon fibre(CF), steel fibre, carbon black(CB), carbon nanotube (CNT), graphene
and nickel powder forming an extensive conductive network inside. In this manner, the self-sensing
cementitious composites can transduce strain or deformation, stress or external force, temperature,
crack, and damage into the change in electrical signal such as electrical resistance, capacitance,
current and voltage if the conductive network inside is changed under deformations or effects of
surrounding environment

3. Conventional sensors in SHM

In the past few decades, various sensors for civil infrastructure purposes have been invented and are
already in use. All sensors can broadly be classified as intrinsic and non-intrinsic. Non-intrinsic
sensors are those that are mounted externally to a structural element, whereas intrinsic sensors are
those that are embedded into a load bearing part of the structure. Therefore, it is important to
choose the correct type of sensor to obtain the intended measurements for a particular structure.
Another factor which is of much more importance is the reliability, durability and the long-term
stability in the sensing capacity of a sensor over the service life of the structure.

3.1. External sensors

External sensors are those that are mounted onto the surface of a structural element. They are
usually used to measure displacement, strain or acceleration

Electrical resistance strain gauge

These are also known as strain gauges and are the most mature and widely used sensors for
research. The electrical resistance of the sensor which is under a continuous electric current,
changes with applied force or deformation. The measurement of these changes makes it possible to
determine the strain of the structural element on which the sensor is embedded. Their functionality
is simple and reliable. Strain is the only parameter sensed in these sensors. Some of their advantages
are the ease of installation, low cost and the capability to reproduce the sensing property. But their
sensitivity is very low and also, they are affected by electromagnetic interference. Other
disadvantages are that they are highly prone to drift and possess high sensitivity to moisture and
humidity, making them unsuitable to be used for a long term. Also, in case of very large specimens, it
is possible that the strain gauges do not cover all the possible fracture positions, leading to chances
of sudden and unforeseen fracture.

3.2. Integrated sensors

They are usually incorporated into the concrete element but can also be mounted onto the surface
of an existing element for subsequent examinations or monitoring. Fibre optic sensors, piezoelectric
materials etc. fall into this category

Fibre optic sensors

These are multifunctional sensors. They can measure strain, displacement, moisture content,
corrosion, temperature and detect cracks in the concrete microstructure. Changes in light intensity,
polarization, and phase angle, wavelength or transit time of light inside the sensor is measured to
enable sensing. As compared to other conventional sensors, these possess far better features like
insensitivity to electromagnetic radiation, lightweight, non-conductivity and suitability to embed into
structures and hence are very promising. But as of now, these sensors require further elaboration.
Investigations are to be conducted to determine its long term sensing ability with aging. Also, when
embedded, a damage on the fibre of these sensors cannot be easily repaired.

4. Properties for self-sensing

4.1. Piezo resistivity

This is an electrical phenomenon which can be described as the change of electrical resistivity with
applied deformation. Strain in cementitious self-sensing composites is measured using this effect,
i.e., the specimen involved acts as a cementitious self-sensing strain-sensor. A non-conductive or a
low conductive material is thus given the ability to conduct electric current and to sense strain. The
resistance of the host material will be significantly reduced based on the material’s resistance. There
are many factors that affect piezo resistivity. The largest influence is exerted by the type and the
amount of conductive material. Other aspects that need to be considered with regard to cement
based piezoresistive sensors are the effect of temperature, curing, the type of current that is applied
to a structure and the effect of microstructure and pore structure.

Fig.2 Piezoresistive behaviour of the specimen under loading condition

4.2. Fractional change in resistivity

As opposed to strain gauges, which directly gives the value of strain, the piezoresistive sensors do
not directly gives the value of strain. The strain behaviour in a self-sensing composite is described by
the change in resistance. In a piezoresistive sensor, the strain value is described by calculating the
fractional change in resistivity (FCR). The FCR is defined as the ratio of change in resistivity to initial
resistivity

ρ1−ρo Δρ ΔR
FCR= = =
ρo ρo R
Where Δρ is the change in resistivity, ρ1 the resistivity after applying a stress/strain and ρ 0 the initial
resistivity.

To evaluate the sensitivity of the strain sensor , the gauge factor (GF) has to be calculated. Gauge
factor is defined as the fractional change of electrical resistivity per unit strain

FCR Δρ
GF = =
ε ε∗ρ 0
Where Δρ is the change of resistivity, ρ0 the initial resistivity and ε is the measured longitudinal
strain. A low value of gauge factor describes a strain sensor with a lower sensitivity, which means
that sensor doesn’t give good response of strain to an applied load. While a higher value of GF
indicates that the strain sensor is very accurate in measuring strain value. Theoretically, the GF is
fixed for a sensor of a specific material and size. But it was realised that the GF varies for
compression and tension. And its even observed that the value of GF for compression is 10 times
smaller than for tension, this is due to small cracks in the microstructure of the composite that
appears much earlier under tension than under compression

4.3. Percolation Thresdhol

In case of conductive particles like carbon nanotubes and carbon fibres, the volume fraction of the
particles highly influences the electrical conductivity and resistivity. Conductivity is increased by
adding more conductive particle to the non-conductive phase. But there exists a critical value
beyond which a further increase in the concentration of conductive particles can only cause marginal
increase in the conductivity. This critical value is called percolation threshold. The phenomenon is
explained by the percolation theory, which describes the relationship between connectivity and
conductivity of conductive particles. Initially when the fibre content is very low in a composite or
region, the particles are distributed homogeneously within the non-conductive matrix enabling no
contact between adjacent fibres. Further increase in concentration of conductive particles result in
the formation of clusters or agglomerates which have a higher conductivity

Fig. 3 Illustration of the percolation phenomenon

After a certain concentration has been attained, the clusters no longer remain separate, but form a
network through the entire matrix. This can be measured by an increase in conductivity. Beyond this
point, the conductivity of the network shows only slight improvement with increase in fibre content.
The increase of conductivity eventually stops. Stages 4 to 1 in Fig. 2 illustrates this phenomenon
where stage 1 depicts the least fibre concentration, where an increase in fibre content causes
considerable increase in conductivity and stage 4 depicts percolation threshold, where a further
increase in fibre content causes little improvement of conductivity.

5. Carbon based self-sensing materials

In general, carbon-based materials show appreciably good behaviour in terms of their electrical
conductivity. Using or adding them to other materials such as cement can improve the electrical
behaviour of the matrix by causing effects like reduction of resistivity. Some of the most commonly
used carbon-based materials, for sensing purpose are carbon nanotubes, carbon fibres and carbon
black
 5.1. Carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes are quasi-one-dimensional materials with a very small cross section. They are a
few nanometres in diameter, several microns long, and have a hollowly cylindrical nanostructure.
They are highly effective on cementitious materials in terms of their electrical and mechanical
behaviour. CNTs allow the improvement of the atomic structure of concrete, specifically by
intervening the calcium-silicate-hydrate (CSH) atomic structure on a very small scale. Depending on
the manufacturing process, CNTs can be either single walled (SWCNT) or multi walled (MWCNT).
Though SWCNTs tend to have better material properties such as elastic modulus or tensile strength,
they are less commonly used than MWCNTs owing to their complex manufacturing process and
higher costs.

Fig. 4 Atomic structure of single-walled and multi-walled CNT

As compared to other conductive particles, MWCNTs achieve their highest effect in the composite,
when the volume fraction of fibre content is around the percolation threshold. At percolation
threshold, the resistivity of the matrix is reduced due to the formation of conductive networks. The
percolation threshold of MWCNTs is extremely low with a concentration of about 0.695 volume
percentage. This is a result of the very high aspect ratio of the CNTs. CNTs can cause considerable
improvements in the mechanical properties of fresh or hydrated cementitious composites. They are
found to have a strong effect on the hydration process and hardness of cementitious composites.
MWCNTs have been reported to be able to increase the viscosity of fresh concrete. The nanoscale
materials, by acting as fillers in the hardened conditions, can reduce the pore size and distribution in
the matrix. The decrease of porosity helps in preventing crack growth and propagation, thereby
enhancing the Young’s modulus and stiffness of the composition. CNTs can achieve piezoresistive
self-sensing properties in combination with cement-based materials with an almost insulating
electrical behaviour. The CNTs can dramatically decrease the resistivity of cement-based composites
to nearly 1 Ω-cm, increasing the electrical conductivity. Similar to the mechanical properties, the
electrical properties also largely depend on the CNT concentration and dispersion. Formation of
agglomerates of CNTs will reduce the effect of piezo resistivity of the composite by causing
anomalies in the conductive network. The CNTs content in the cement-composite should be around
the percolation threshold in order to achieve a low resistance and high sensitivity for strain sensing

5.2. Carbon fibres

Carbon fibres have material properties that bring many advantages to cement-based damage
detectors or strain sensors, and hence they are of particular interest for SHM. It is already
established that fibres, in general can improve properties like toughness, fatigue resistance, tensile
strength, flexural strength etc. With a very small diameter, much less than that of the human hair,
the atomic structure of carbon fibres is similar to that of graphite, consisting of sheets of carbon
atoms arranged in a regular hexagonal pattern. For, SHM purposes, short carbon fibres are used for
achieving a better distribution in the cement matrix picture of a concrete fibre with distributed
carbon fibre. For SHM purposes the main idea is to use carbon fibres for improving the electrical
behaviour of the host matrix and the improvement of mechanical properties is just a bonus feature.
It is found that concrete containing short carbon fibres can sense elastic and inelastic deformation,
making it intrinsically smart. Increase in content of carbon fibres increases the electrical conductivity
of the cement matrix. This is clearly explained by the fact that CFs have about 8 times higher
conductivity than concrete, especially under dry conditions. However, the increase of conductivity by
adding more fibres is limited.

Fig. 5. Scanning electron microscope

picture of Carbon Fibres

It is concluded that CFs are an excellent conductive

phase to improve the conductivity of cement and to
make cement-based conductive materials. By
adding CFs to a cement paste with a volume fraction around the percolation threshold, the resistivity
can be significantly reduced. In addition to strain sensing, CFs can also be used for damage detection
under impact stress, evaluation of the fatigue life under cyclic flexural loading and even more.

5.3. Carbon black

Fig. 6. Carbon black

Carbon black, which is a form of para-crystalline carbon, consists of nearly spherical primary
particles. The diameter of the particles is in the nanometre-range with a small specific surface area.
These are the two properties that primarily affect the mechanical, electrical and optical properties of
composites that contain carbon black. Investigations have revealed that the use of carbon black as a
conductive filer can enhance the electrical behaviour significantly, by reducing the resistivity and
improving the piezo resistivity of cement-based sensors. It is observed that in cement-based sensors,
containing carbon black, the fractional change in resistivity (FCR), showed good response to the
measured strain. The conductivity of sensor is very dependent on the volume fraction and
percolation threshold.
 6. Principle of self-sensing

Self-sensing concrete achieves its function by the piezoresistive effect of filler material dispersed in
the matrix material. The concrete matrix, being a non-conductive material, the electrical behaviour
of self-sensing concrete is dominated by the conductive filler. These particles which are highly
electricity sensitive, are distributed randomly in the matrix, forming a filler concentration dependent
conductive network in the matrix. This network which is formed under a particular range of filler
content (percolation threshold), is sensitive to external loading. The network alters when it is
subjected to environment changes or external forces, i.e., the slight push-in or pull-out effect of
bridge fibre causes a change in the electrical resistance. For instance, in case of a compression
loading, the initial distance between the carbon fibres gets contracted by deformation. The strain
and the resistance are reversible after unloading if the compressive stress involved is within the
elastic range. Cracks, stress/strain and damage can be determined by quantitatively measuring the
changes in the electrical characteristics Under compressive loading, during the initial elastic region,
electrical resistance decreases with the deformation of the conductive paths. This results in a
negative FCR. Beyond the elastic region, formation of micro cracks take place inside the matrix. The
conductive network gets reconstructed and the resistance reaches a relative balanced stage. Finally
as the loading continues, cracks develop continuously and there is a consequent breakdown of
network leading to sudden increase of resistance. As opposed to the case of compression, when the
cementitious composite is subjected to monotonic tension, both the matrix and the particles tend to
be separated and lose contact, because of which the electrical resistivity increases with rising tensile
stress, resulting in a positive FCR. The mechanism of damage sensing is that, when a damage has
occurred, the electrical resistance of the composite changes irreversibly. It has been experimentally
concluded that a partially reversible increase in resistance could indicate minor. This can be
attributed to the partially reversible degradation of the fibre-matrix interface.
Fig. 7. Stages of behaviour expected when self-sensing concrete is subjected to compression and
tension.

The decrease of resistivity under a compressive load can be explained with a slight fibre push-in that
accompanies crack closing. Additionally, the distance of conductive particles decreases, which
reduces the tunnelling distance and contact resistivity of adjacent particles. Inversely, the increase of
resistivity under tension follows the fact of slight fibre pull-out that accompanies crack opening. The
tunnelling distance increases which implies an increase of the contact resistivity. These phenomena
are very unique and highly dependent of the used materials and mixture proportions

7. Manufacture of self-sensing concrete

The manufacture of self-sensing concrete is similar to that of ordinary concrete, except that in this
case, additional measures are to be taken to ensure proper dispersion of the conductive filler
materials. The existence of coarse aggregates adversely affects the conductive network within the
matrix. Therefore, unless the conductive fillers are provided as coating on aggregates it is advisable
to use a self-sensing cementitious matrix (without coarse aggregates). Recognizing the importance of
achieving proper dispersion, dispersion materials are often used in the fabrication of self-sensing
concrete to aid the formation of a homogeneous mixture of the non-conductive matrix and the
conductive particles. In dispersing nanoscale fillers such as CNTs, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate
(NaDDBS) is commonly used with the assistance of a sonication procedure and an anti-foam
admixture. Methyl-cellulose and defoamer are used for the dispersion of micro scale fillers such as
carbon fibre. Unlike the above-mentioned fibrous fillers, carbon black is more flexible when it is
dispersed in the cement composite. These can be dispersed well using water reducers (super
plasticiser) in a simple process. It has been found that the optimal concentration of carbon
nanotubes in the mortar composite was 0.1% by weight of cement. The fractional change in
resistivity decreased by approximately 70% when the concentration was increased to 0.5%. This
could be the result of a less efficient dispersion due to the higher filler content. Poor dispersion
process can result in the formation of filler clumps that shrink after compression and cannot recover
their original form after unloading. The gaps thus generated can have a negative influence on the
mechanical strength and electrical properties

7.1. Surfactants and admixtures

The normally used dispersion materials can be categorised into surfactants and mineral admixtures.
Surfactants is the category that includes water-reducing agents (super plasticiser), sodium dodecyl
benzene (NaDDBS or SDBS), methyl cellulose (MC), sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) etc. Mineral
admixtures include silica fume and latex, the optimum latex/cement ratio being 0.2. The process of
dispersion using mineral admixtures also require antifoams. Surfactants are further divided into ionic
and non-ionic surfactants. Non-ionic surfactants are found to be more effective than ionic
surfactants.
 Fig. 8 Comparison between a poor dispersion and good dispersion of CNTs

It has to be ensured that the dispersion materials do not adversely affect the mechanical properties
and workability of concrete, and cement hydration. Even while efficiently serving the purpose of
dispersing fillers in the composite, the admixtures may form adherents that attach to the surface of
the filler material, thus slightly increasing the contact resistivity between the matrix and the
electrodes. Also there have been several research findings pointing to the negative effect of
surfactants. The mechanical properties of the concrete could adversely be affected by
methylcellulose, due to the air-entraining effect. High level of SDS could also have cause similar
results. In an effort to solve these issues, the properties of super plasticiser used independently as a
dispersant and consequently it was confirmed that it could disperse carbon nanotubes in water
more efficiently

7.2. Dispersion methods

All the dispersion methods that are used to ensure a homogeneous suspension can broadly be
classified as: physical, chemical and mechanical methods, depending on the covalent surface
modification, non-covalent surface modification and mechanical mixing, respectively. It is found that
mechanical mixing is more sensitive than sonication method when the specimens are subjected to
an axial compression test. Although mechanical methods like ultrasonication and shear mixing are
easy to apply, it is found that the nanotubes often get shortened by the high energy of the process,
while low energy leads to an ineffective dispersion. A combination of surfactants and ultrasonication
thus appeals to be more promising. Physical surface modification can disperse the nanomaterials by
the degrading their surface energy. It has been reported that when SWCNTs were mixed with
NaDDBS, its dispersion in water was 10-100 times better than that caused by other surfactants. This
was possible due to the benzene ring and alkyl chain structure of NaDDBS. In addition to this, filler
breakage and aggregation of bundles was reduced by high-frequency and low-power sonication.
 Fig. 9 Illustration of growing CNTs or CNFs directly on to the surface of matrix

Chemical surface modification reduces the chance of agglomeration and improves the hydrophilic
behaviour by attaching functional covalent linkage to the surface of nanomaterials. Different
properties of nanocomposites between filler treated with H2SO4 and HNO3 and nontreated fillers
were compared and it was found that the surface of the treated carbon nanotubes was covered with
C-S-H, which benefitted in higher mechanical properties. However, due to the decline of contact
points, there was an increase in sensitivity and decrease in conductivity. Oxide treatment is yet
another method, which comes with two advantages: the first one being the removal of impurities
and the second one being the formation of oxygen-containing functional groups on the fibre surface
leading to increased wettability and bonding. It is also found that different admixtures could be
useful in increasing electrical conductivity. Latex, for instance, could promote ionic conductivity and
silica fume could positively affect electronic conductivity. An enhancement in the piezoresistive
characteristics was observed when silica fume was introduced to mortar composite with graphene
nanoplates filler. A distinctive method that could remedy the shortages of dispersion process such as
time consumption, heterogeneity, shortening of nanotubes or fibres, etc. This method involved
growing carbon nanotubes or carbon nanofibers directly on concrete without any additional catalyst.
The resultant composite exhibited a twice higher mechanical compressive strength and 40 times
higher electrical conductivity. This CNT/CNF hybrid material is shown in the Fig. 9. The advantages of
a good dispersion material can thus be summarised into three aspects. Firstly, it can cause
improvement of the homogenization of cement composite and sensing ability and stability.
Secondly, the usage of filler material can be reduced. Thirdly, the consumption of mixing energy can
be reduced.

7.3. Mixing order

Based on the mixing order of filler material and cement, three available dispersion processes can be
seen in literature: first mixing, synchronous mixing and latter mixing method. In the first mixing
method, the functional filler is premixed to water or aqueous solution. This is a universal process and
is especially applicable fibrous particles. For fillers with larger particle size, latter mixing method is
used. Here pre-aqueous solution treatment is not required. Synchronous mixing is used in case of
hybrid-filler systems, where the first filler is mixed with cement and then the solution with a second
filler. The first mixing method was found to be superior to the after mixing method for fabricating
cement-based carbon fibre composite.
 Fig. 10 Mixing of self-sensing concrete

8. Measurement of Sensing Signal of Concrete

There are many factors, such as reactance, electrical resistance, dielectric constant, impedance and
capacitance, for determining the sensitivity of the concrete. However, one of the most commonly
used methods is electrical resistance/resistivity that is implemented as an indicator of sensitivity as
knowing the applied voltage and measuring the current, we can obtain the value of resistance and
resistivity. The fibrous conductivity formed inside the self-sensing concrete affects the electrical
resistivity, which changes during deformation, temperature or damage. Therefore using electrodes
made of appropriate materials are used to measure electrical conductivity in various configurations.
There are three factors (material, fixing location and layout), which should be considered before
choosing the appropriate electrode.

The main characteristics of the material should be its low electrical resistance as well as it should
provide a stabilized conductive property. These electrodes could be attached to the surface of
concrete, embedded inside of the concrete or located in a clipping style. Among them, embedment
and attachment are some of the commonly used methods. The measurements can be taken in a
two-probe or a four-probe configuration, where both electrodes can be used as current pole and
voltage pole in a two-probe method
Fig. 11. Fixing the style and layout of electrodes in self-sensing concrete(a, b), electrodes attached on
the surface (c to f). embedded mesh, perforated plate or loop electrode

Compared two types of electrodes contact configurations in a 0.5% carbon fibre reinforced cement
paste. The first one was a four-probe method with four embedded stainless-steel foils and the
second one was the four-probe method with four electrical contacts in the shape of silver paint in
combination with copper wire attached on top of the surface. These two methods were tested for
the longitudinal resistance during repeated loads on the samples. According to the test results, the
values for the signal-to-noise ratio in embedded electrodes was higher compared to four-probe that
were placed on top of the surface. The reason for that could be the mechanical stability of the
electrodes that were embedded compared to electrodes that were attached to the top surface
during the loading process. The authors found that for strain sensing, in the four-probe method, the
embedment of electrodes was better than the configuration with a contact of an electrode on top of
the surface. Thus, the greater signal-to-noise level and the results regarding uniformity of the
current density showed that the four-probe method with embedded electrodes is superior to the
four electrodes on top of the surface.

Fig. 12. The fractional change in longitudinal resistance (thicker line) and longitudinal strain (thinner
line) versus time for four-probe with embedded stainless-steel foils and four-probe connected on
top.
It was found that the two-probe method demonstrated higher electrical resistance compared to the
four-probe method. Additionally, the gauge factor of the four-probe method showed higher values,
and its variation tends to be less with strain amplitude compared to the two-probe method, thus
suggesting more accurate strain sensing capability. Therefore, it is preferred to use the four-probe
method over two-probe method seeing the advantages

Usage of DC and AC electrical circuits on self-sensing concrete containing conductive particles should
also be mentioned as it also effects the self-sensing behaviour. The use of DC has been shown to be
economically viable and useful for laboratory applications to characterize cement composites.
However, that when the DC is implemented in the sensory system, the sensors with conductive
particles electrically charge themselves which can be explained by their capacitive performance.
Resulting in the electrical polarization in self-sensing structural materials, which occurs due to the
charging ability making it difficult to accurately measure the changes in electrical resistance using
direct current because it creates an inherent time-based drift. One method to reduce or negate this
effect is to let resistance plateau after full polarization by applying a DC voltage potential before
loading the sensing material. Another method to avoid electrical polarization is to use AC signals.
However, in AC signals, there are capacitive and skin effects that affect the fluctuations in the
measured resistance. By using a higher AC frequency, the capacitive effect can be decreased, while
the effect from skin comes into effect when the frequency achieves a threshold. Therefore, the
proper choice of frequency of AC is also one of the important parameter to be considered while
applying AC

9. Sensing Properties of Self-Sensing Concrete

The relationship between change in electrical resistivity and external force can characterize the
sensing behaviour of concrete. Additionally, the stress sensitivity coefficients, amplitude of change in
electrical resistance and force sensitivity coefficients are other factors that can describe such an
important parameter as concrete sensitivity. Overall, the main concept of self-sensing is that
concrete can demonstrate different sensing behaviours at various loading types, such as
compression, tension and flexure, and it can be affected by many factors that have an impact on the
electrical resistivity of the composites such as temperature, humidity etc.

9.1. Behaviour under Compression

During monotonic compression, with an increase in load, the values for the electrical resistivity
∆ρ/ρ0 firstly decrease, then become balanced and after that suddenly increased. Such a sequence of
states is explained by the compaction pressure, creation of fresh cracks and then their expansion.
Firstly, under monotonous uniaxial compression, the distance of conductive particles decreases,
thereby improving the conductive network within concrete. Then, the destruction, as well as the
reconstruction of this network, is observed during the development of new cracks. Finally, the
expansion of cracks results in the disruption of the conductive network.
 Fig. 13. Self-sensing concrete under monotonic.

When the sample is subjected to repeated compression, the fractional change in electrical resistivity
∆ρ/ρ0 decreases but it again increases during the unloading stage. However, the electrical resistance
at the beginning of each loading cycle is different compared to the resistivity at the initial condition
of the specimen, which was not subjected to the compression and the reason for these different is
explained by fact that the defects in the concrete such as internal holes or the minor cracks inside
which will get reduced during the compression process. Therefore, the initial value for the electrical
resistivity is not similar to the baseline of the composite that was already loaded, and stress
returned to zero

During repeated compression, if the sample is subject to the amplitude of the stress equal to 30 to
75% of the ultimate strength, then the baseline resistivity will be irreversible while the change in
electrical resistivity will be reversible, while at the amplitude lower than 30%, the baseline together
with a change in electrical resistivity will also be reversible. The exception where both baseline and
change in electrical resistivity are irreversible is at compression stress amplitude of more than 75%
due to the destruction of the conductive network formed inside.

9.2. Behaviour under Impact Load

One of the most common loads to which concrete structures are subjected to is an impact load.
During impact loading, ∆ρ/ρ0 decreases abruptly but then returns to 0 when loading is removed. The
electrical resistance of the sample depends on the amplitude, i.e., the higher amplitude of the
impact load, the higher the change in electrical resistance. However, the high value of an impact
load amplitude or a large number of impacts can result in the state where electrical resistance will
not recover and return to 0 due to the inflicted damage inside of SSC.
 Fig. 14. Self-sensing concrete under impact load

9.3. Behaviour under Tension

During the monotonic tension, the electrical resistivity ∆ρ/ρ0 increases with the increase in tensile
stress as the conductive fillers inside of the SSC separates, and microcracks are created inside. The
fractional change in electrical resistance starts to increase much faster after the formation of
ultimate tensile strain because of the damage formation. Therefore, sensing of the concrete
depends not only on the tensile strain but also on the cracking behaviour inside of the sample

Fig. 15. Self-sensing concrete under tension

Similarly, when the sample is subjected to the repeated tension, the electrical resistivity increases
with loading, but the electrical resistivity decreases during the unloading phase. The behaviour of
the change in the fractional change in electrical resistivity (∆ρ/ρ 0) is similar to the loading under
repeated compression where the baseline and the electrical resistivity are different at different
values of the amplitude

9.4. Behaviour under Flexure

Tension and the compression parts of SSC work in the opposite way when the beam is subjected to
the load at the centre of the beam. Under the deflection of the concrete sample, the sensitivity of
the tension side is much greater compared to the compression side this can be explained by the high
compressive strength of concrete in contrast to its tensile strength of the concrete

Fig.16. Self-sensing concrete under flexure

9.5. Moisture sensing

Monitoring the water movement inside concrete structures is of particular interest to civil engineers
as water plays an important role in hydration as well as deterioration in concrete. The humidity
sensitive property of sensing concrete based on electrical resistivity measurement provides a new
perspective to measure internal humidity of concrete and environmental humidity surround its
service condition

The resistivity of the composites varies with moisture content, but unlike the loading cases where
the variation is similar for different conductive filler, here the variation trend is influenced by the
type of conductive filler. For carbon black cementitious composite, the resistivity increases with the
increase of moisture content because carbon black (CB) has a property of absorbing water, which
will increase the contact resistance between particles and reduce the electronic conductivity and
hole conductivity in the composites. For carbon fibre(CF) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) cementitious
composite, the resistivity decreases with the increase of moisture content since the increase of
moisture content will increase the ionic conductivity.

The influence of moisture content on the resistivity is also related to the content of the conductive
filler. For the CF or CNT composite with a conductive filler content lower than the percolation
threshold, the increase of moisture content is beneficial for the conductivity while be harmful for the
sensitivity, since the increase of moisture content interferes with the electron conduction during the
resistance/resistivity measurement. With the increase of conductive filler content, the influence of
moisture content will gradually weaken. The increase of moisture content also increases the
polarization effect, which will decrease the repeatability of sensing performance also

9.6. Temperature Sensing

Self-sensing concrete can monitor temperature variation based on changes in electrical resistivity.
However, given that it takes time to reach the equilibrium between the ambient temperature and
the internal temperature of the concrete, there might be continual changes in the electrical
resistivity of smart concrete at the beginning when the external temperature changes. An increase in
temperature lowers the electrical resistivity of self-sensing concrete, and this altered electrical
resistivity is possibly due to the changed viscosity and ionic activity of pore solutions. When the
temperature falls from 100 °C to −20 °C, the electrical resistivity gradually increases and returns
almost to its initial values. The slightly altered electrical resistivity of self-sensing concrete subjected
to subzero temperature is mainly due to the freezing of pore solutions which themselves cause
minor damage in the concrete. For temperature cycles above 0 °C, the electrical resistivity exhibits
excellent consistency with the temperature. Hence, the electrical resistivity can be a perfect index to
monitor the temperature of both concrete and the ambient environment. However, as mentioned
previously, the freezing of pore solutions and damage to the microstructures of smart concrete
might lead to an extra increase in the electrical resistivity, which can disturb the repeatability of
electrical resistivity during temperature detection. Therefore, a self-sensing cement-based sensor is
recommended for monitoring temperature of pore solutions only above freezing point.

Fig. 17. The fractional change in resistivity during temperature variation

10. Factors Influencing Electrical Resistivity:

Electrical resistivity can be influenced by many factors, including the external forces, components of
the concrete, technology used and different environmental conditions etc. The following section
includes information about different factors that affect the electrical resistivity of SSC.

Fig.18. Factors influencing the electrical resistivity

10.1. Functional Filler Concentration

The concentration of the fillers in the composite affects the distribution and also a formation of the
conductive network; hence, it is one of the most important parameters that influence the properties
of SSC. Researchers found that the composites with increased CB content mostly had an increase in
the gage factors in both states, elastic and inelastic. Comparing and analysing the sensing properties
of mortar with different concentrations of carbon fibres under compression. Results from the
experiment indicate that there is firstly an increase in sensitivity and then a decrease during the
addition of more fibres. It was demonstrated that a certain value of volume fraction higher than the
threshold will not increase the change of electrical conductivity. This phenomenon can be explained
by percolation theory, which corresponds to the effect of random changes on the quantity and
quality of existing connected fibres. Hence, desired sensing properties of concrete could be obtained
using the proper volume fraction of functional fillers in the mix

10.2. The Geometrical Shape of Functional Fillers

The geometrical shape of fillers, parameters such as structure, size and surface characteristics, also
influence the sensing properties of the concrete as it affects the conductive network. For instance,
long carbon fibers can create a more continuous network, thus providing lower resistivity of cement
composite but can negatively influence the workability and uniform distribution of fibers.

10.3. Temperature

The change in the temperature results in the expansion or contraction of the concrete, thus
impacting the distance between functional fillers, which in turn, influence the conductive network

10.4. Loading Rate

The propagation of cracks in cement composites can be limited by a high loading rate, which can also
suppress plastic deformation. This could result in the changing trend of the conductive network
during the loading state and, therefore, influence the properties of SSC.

10.5. Dry-Wet Cycle

As we know in the dry state, conduction by electrons is dominant, while the ionic conduction is more
significant than electronic conduction in the wet state due to the presence of ions inside of the
water. Researches has found that the resistance and conductivity of the self-sensing sample change
with the water content under the dry-wet cycles, which is mainly because of the polarization. It
results in a reduction in durability, which is explained by unstable water content inside of the
concrete. This, in turn, further destroys the conductive network as well as the sensing property of
the concrete matrix.

10.6. Ice Formation and Freeze-Thaw Cycle

The ice formation and the freeze-thaw cycle can affect the electric conductivity and electrical
resistivity negatively degrading the properties of SSC

10.7. Current frequency

The current frequency, which is used to measure changes before and after different loading
conditions, is another factor that has an influence on the self-sensing properties of the concrete. It
was found that regardless of the magnitude of loading, the conductivity of Carbon fibre SSC under
compression increased with the increase in current frequency. Result of the experiment conducted
suggested that the effect from the current frequency is independent of the magnitude of loading.

10.8. Other Factors

Apart from the factors discussed above, some other factors include corrosive environment and
duration of loading, etc. also have significant effects on electrical resistivity affecting the self –
sensing properties of concrete. Strong acids and alkali together with a high concentration of sulfate
and chloride can reduce the electrical resistivity because of the ion permeabilization which, in turn,
destroy the sensing properties of concrete and also long-term contact causes degradation of
conductive fillers which negatively influence the conductive network formed

11. Applications of Self-Sensing Concrete

Various researchers tried to implement SSC in real-life applications. Following figure demonstrates
some of the areas where it has been applied

Fig.19. Potential fields of application.

Using the concept of SSC, a new method of monitoring masonry buildings by developing smart
bricks. Now during the manufacturing of conventional bricks special functional fillers were installed
which can now sense the strain, as shown in Figure below
 Figure 32. Structural health monitoring system using smart bricks

Smart brick technology has a very promising practical application. Smart bricks are capable of
sensing the loads acting including the seismic loads and in addition also able to sense temperature
and moisture changes occurring, which allows smart bricks to be implemented as strain sensors, fire
alarms and moisture sensors and, at the same time, serve as a load-bearing element of various
structures. So smart bricks are a very promising novel sensing technology for structural health
monitoring of masonry structures.

Traffic parameters, such as traffic flow rates, vehicular speed, vehicle classification, and traffic
density, are increasingly important for traffic management and design of pavement. The detection of
these parameters can be achieved by integrating sensing concrete into pavements or bridge sections
The precast or cast-in-place sensing concrete sensors are integrated into pavements mainly in the
form of strip components. The detection accuracy of this integrated system is not influenced by
polarization and environmental factors, because the change of sensing signal caused by polarization
and environmental factors can be filtered out in the postprocessing of the measured signals because
the signal obtained due to variation in environmental parameters are continuous and gradual, while
those caused by vehicular loading are transient and abrupt. Therefore, the integrated sensing
concrete detection system has the advantages of high detection precision, high antijamming ability,
easy installation and maintenance, long service life, and good structural properties.

The implementation of self-sensing sensors could be used to monitor the corrosion process inside
concrete elements. . It was found that piezoelectric composite sensors have great potential to
monitor the damage, including corrosion, due to good durability and high sensitivity. Carbon fiber
sensors installed on the concrete surface are suitable for locating and assessing corrosion of steel
reinforcements with high accuracy

Removing the ice and snow from the pavement is traditionally performed by applying deicing salts
and mechanical removal and use of chemicals have a negative influence in environment as well as
pavement so a better method should be adopted. The implementation of carbon fiber-based
electrically conductive concrete (ECON) could help to create the heated pavement systems (HPS) as
an alternative method to common methods. The addition of electrically-conductive fillers such as
carbon fibers and steel fibers in a standard concrete mixture reduces electrical resistivity and
enhances the resistive heating properties of electrically-conductive concrete. Under the application
of electric voltage, the heat produced from ECON can melt ice and snow accumulated on the
pavement. It was concluded that ECON could be highly effective in the application for melting ice or
snow on top of the pavement
 12. Conclusions and Recommendations

Summarising, self-sensing concrete is ordinary concrete integrated with micro or nanoscale filler
materials with electrical conductivity function. It is thus possible for the combination to possess an
intrinsic sensing function in response to a change in stress/strain and damage occurrence.

Properties of SSC provide an ability to detect tiny cracks before they start to become significant,
which is crucial in different civil infrastructure maintenance such as high-rise buildings, dams,
pipelines, nuclear power plants, highways and bridges.

However, there are various factors that affect the general characteristics and properties of SSC, such
as functional filler concentration, moisture, geometric shape of functional filler, temperature and
loading rate, etc.; hence, it is recommended to monitor and to control them in order to obtain
accurate data and the desired concrete characteristics. It is also point to note that the researchers
used different types of factors for measuring signal, such as relative resistance, resistivity and
conductivity to measure changes caused in the conductive network formed of self-sensing concrete.
While resistance can be easily measured with equipment, resistivity and conductivity require
composite dimensions to obtain values.

According to most studies, when course aggregate and reinforcement is presented in concrete, the
electric current field is distorted, resulting in inaccuracy of resistivity measurements. Therefore, it is
suggested that further research studies should include information that states considerations of
relative to this factor.

In terms of functional fillers, there are many functional filler materials that were investigated and
that could be incorporated into cement composites such as carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers,
graphene oxide, carbon black, steel slag, nickel and graphite powder, magnetic fly ash and so on. The
main aim of the research study regarding functional fillers was to find cheap and, at the same time,
effective materials since it is the priciest component of SSC.

Parameters such as dispersion method and mix preparation design should also be considered in
order to achieve the desired properties of concrete because they play a key role in improving
electrical properties. Uniform dispersion of composites allows eliminating disadvantages such as a
decrease in strength and poor sensing properties during agglomeration, providing the possibility to
reduce the amount of filler and, thus, rendering the cost of SSC less expensive. Therefore, a
reasonable selection of dispersion methods, including relatively new ones such as spraying, should
be considered during the selection procedure in order to improve the uniformity of the mix.

Although SSC has not been used in practical projects and its commercial applications are still very
limited, there is a potential possibility to apply this technology in fields such as leakage detection,
corrosion process monitoring, traffic monitoring and so on. Practical tests carried out on self-sensing
materials, including carbon fibers, carbon nanomaterials and other carbon-based fillers, have been
extensively described in detail and proven that this technology can be practically implemented in
real-life projects. Despite differences in the obtained results from various experiments, the
stress/strain change responses, as well as damage detection, are always clearly exhibited,
demonstrating the potential of SSC in an application for structure health monitoring, weight in
motion and traffic detection, etc. Overall, the most used materials that were optimal in different
areas of application are sensors made with dispersed fillers and embedded cement-based
piezoelectric sensors. However, in order to practically apply SSC in different structures and areas,
additional research studies with a focus in creating universal standards in construction are
suggested.