Low-cost wireless nanotube composite sensor for damage detection of civil infrastructure

This paper presents a new low-cost wireless nanotube composite sensor for structural damage detection. A cement matrix with networked carbon nanotubes was used to develop an in situ, wireless and embedded sensor for crack detection in concrete structures. By wirelessly measuring the change in the electrical resistance of the carbon nanotube networks, the progress of damage can be detected and monitored wirelessly. As a proof of concept, the wireless cement-carbon nanotube sensors were embedded into concrete beams and subjected to monotonic loading to evaluate the effect of damage on their response. Results indicated that the wireless response of the embedded nanotube sensors were able to detect the initiation of damage at an early stage of loading.