• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.675-689
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• 2019

Development of smart construction materials with both self-strain and self-damage sensing capacities is still difficult because of little information about the self-damage sensing source. Herein, we investigate the effects of the matrix strength, fiber geometry, and fiber content on the electrical resistivity of steel-fiber-reinforced cement composites by multi-fiber pullout testing combined with electrical resistivity measurements. The results reveal that the electrical resistivity of steel-fiber-reinforced cement composites clearly decreased during fiber-matrix debonding. A higher fiber-matrix interfacial bonding generally leads to a higher reduction in the electrical resistivity of the composite during fiber debonding due to the change in high electrical resistivity phase at the fiber-matrix interface. Higher matrix strengths, brass-coated steel fibers, and deformed steel fibers generally produced higher interfacial bond strengths and, consequently, a greater reduction in electrical resistivity during fiber debonding.