Damage detection, localization and quantification in conductive smart concrete structures using a resistor mesh model

Interest in self-sensing structural materials has grown in recent years due to their potential to enable continuous low-cost monitoring of next-generation smart-structures. The development of cement-based smart sensors appears particularly well suited for structural health monitoring due to their numerous possible field applications, ease of use, and long-term stability. Additionally, cement-based sensors offer a unique opportunity for monitoring of civil concrete structures because of their compatibility with new and existing infrastructure. In this paper, we propose the use of a computationally efficient resistor mesh model to detect, localize and quantify damage in structures constructed from conductive cement composites. The proposed approach is experimentally validated on non-reinforced and reinforced specimens made of nanocomposite cement paste doped with multi-walled carbon nanotubes under a variety of static loads and damage conditions. Results show that the proposed approach is capable of leveraging the strain-sensing and damage-sensitive properties of conductive cement composites for real-time distributed structural health monitoring of smart concrete structures, using simple and inexpensive electrical hardware and with very limited computational effort.