Study of piezoelectric fibre/cement 1-3 composites

Abstract

To improve the compatibility between the sensor material and civil engineering structural material, a new functional cement-based composite for smart structure applications has been studied. Piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) fibres, fabricated using a slurry method, are embedded in a cement matrix to form PZT/cement 1-3 composites. By incorporating PZT fibres into the cement matrix, composites with low PZT volume fractions ranging from 0.05 to 0.22 have been fabricated. The 1-3 composites have good piezoelectric properties that agree quite well with theoretical modeling. The thickness electromechanical coupling coefficient of the composites could reach ∼0.5 even for low volume fraction of PZT. These composites have potential to be used as sensors in civil structure health monitoring systems.