SA-based concrete seismic stress monitoring: a case study for normal strength concrete

The stress history of concrete structures that have survived an earthquake can serve as a critical index to evaluate the health of the structure. There are currently few reliable monitoring methods to assess concrete stress after a seismic event. Piezoelectric-based smart aggregate (SA) provides an innovative experimental approach to monitor stress on concrete. The principle of SA-based concrete seismic stress monitoring is based on the assumption that concrete stress can be reliably predicted by the average output voltages of limited SAs with an acceptable margin of error. In this study, the meso-scale randomness of concrete was evaluated throughout the overall stress range of concrete and the influence of different load paths was considered. Four cylindrical specimens of normal strength concrete were embedded with a total of 24 SAs. The SA output sensitivity curve in the paths of loading–unloading with different amplitudes and monotonic loading up to failure was obtained. Monitoring errors were analyzed during pre- and post-peak stages from the experimental results. This research suggests that SA-based concrete seismic stress monitoring for normal strength concrete is reliable.