Smart Textile Reinforced Concrete Sensory Structures

International audienceThis study examines and demonstrates the feasibility of a new class of smart textile reinforced concrete (TRC) structural elements with inherent sensing capabilities that are based on embedding metallic yarns in the textile mesh. The new approach combines the advantages of thin walled glass fiber based TRC with the electro-mechanical properties of the stainless steel fibers embedded in the textile matrix. To examine this concept and to demonstrate its potential feasibility, TRC beam specimens are tested and monitored under mechanical and environmental loading condition. The results of the tests demonstrate the features of the sensory/structural system, reveals its potential use as a basis for a combined structural and functional monitoring system, and highlights its spectrum of potential applications