The effect of controlled fiber alignment of carbon fibers on the electrical properties of carbon fiber-cement composite under cyclic flexural loading

Abstract

The desirable mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced cementitious composite (FRCC) have been proven in the past. In addition to the advancement of the material and material tailoring that significantly enhances the wide applications of FRCC, the fiber alignment control has been used to enhance the flexural strength recently. However, the investigation on the effect of aligned carbon fiber on the electrical properties especially under loading conditions is rare. In the study, an extrusion-based technology was applied to control the fiber alignment, and the effect of aligned carbon fibers on the electrical properties was studied under elastic and plastic conditions of the cyclic flexural loading. The results revealed the high sensitivity of the carbon fiber-cement composites with aligned fibers to the plastic deformation while all the composites with/without aligned fibers presented similar sensitivity to the elastic deformation.