PSI - Issue 83

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect

Procedia Structural Integrity 83 (2026) 63–71

The fourth European Conference on the Structural Integrity of Additively Manufactured Materials (ESIAM26) 3D Printable Self-Sensing Cementitious Composites: Evaluating

Promise versus Practicality Samia M. Mohamed a , Asad Hanif a,b, *

a Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia b Interdisciplinary Research Center for Construction and Building Materials, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia

© 2026 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the ESIAM26 organizers Keywords: Self-sensing; 3D printing; Structural health monitoring; Mechanical properties; Cementitious composites Abstract Additive manufacturing of cementitious composites has revolutionized construction industry, enhancing sustainability, improving productivity, and substantially reducing labour and material waste. In this review, recent advancements in self-sensing 3D-printed cementitious composites (3DP-CCs) are studied, establishing correlations between sensing mechanisms, material selection, printability requirements, and measurement practice. A structured comparative analysis is presented across matrix constituents, conductive filler and dosage, essential printing parameters, mechanical properties, and electrical response. Reported performance is typically assessed through baseline electrical properties, i.e. resistivity or conductivity, and evaluated using primary sensing metrics, such as fractional change in resistance and gauge factor. In addition, key challenges alongside future research directions aimed at optimizing material design, processing strategies, measurement practices, and reporting standards for field implementation are critically examined in this review. Overall, this review highlights the potential of self-sensing 3DP-CCs to deliver cost-efficient, low-impact structural components that address contemporary construction demands while mitigating environmental burdens. Realizing this potential, however, requires converting laboratory-scale performance into standardized, durable, and scalable solutions for practical adoption.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +966-13-8603630 E-mail address: asad.hanif@kfupm.edu.sa; ahanif@connect.ust.hk

2452-3216 © 2026 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the ESIAM26 organizers 10.1016/j.prostr.2026.07.008