PSI - Issue 64

Antonella D’Alessandro et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 64 (2024) 1160–1167 Author name / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2019) 000 – 000

1163

4

3.2. Samples The preparation process of doped samples is reported in Figure 1. The carbon microfibers are first mixed with cement and sand, to check the dispersion during the addition (Fig. 1(a)). Then, the water is slightly introduced, and the dough mixed for 5 minutes until the suitable homogeneity is obtained (Fig 1(b)). Cubes with the side of 4 cm are produced with the mortar mixtures, and two copper wires with a diameter of 1 mm are embedded for ¾ of the height before the material hardening, at a distance of 20 mm (Fig. 1(c)). The samples are cured at laboratory conditions for 28 days before carrying out the experimental tests. It is noted that the preparation process is very simple, does not require the use of any particular chemical or complex mixing procedure, which would facilitate its large scale applicability.

Unloading (0 kN) for 5 s Loading at 4 kN for 5 s

Fig. 2. Methodological scheme to illustrate the electrical and electromechanical characterization of smart mortars doped with carbon fillers at 0%, 0.025%, 0.1%, and 0.25%.