Effect of HPMC on the Piezoresistivity of Smart Concrete Aggregate with Z Shape

Abstract

Cement mortar with carbon fiber (CFc) and resin-cement mortar with carbon fiber (CFrc) were used as inner and outer cores of smart aggregate with Z shape, respectively, which was used as the basic perception units to prepare smart concrete aggregate with a mosaic structure (SAMS). The hydroxpropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) was taken into consideration to improve the properties of mortar; by using HPMC, the structure of SAMS was optimized and its mechanical and electrical properties were evaluated. The experimental results show that the toughness of mortar could be improved by the complex that formed by epoxy resin, and the effect of HPMC on the flexibility of CFc was greater than that on the flexibility of CFrc; the feasible designing indicates that the CFc-Z core and CFrc-Z core could be used as inner and outer cores of SAMS. When the proposed dosages of HPMC in inner and outer cores are 0.35wt% and 0.2wt%, respectively, it could give an effective prediction for the damage of concrete during the loading process.