• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.72-83
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• 2022

This paper studied the effect on the microstructure, electrical properties, and compressive strength of cement mortar containing carbon fiber (CF) and steel fiber (SF), which are conductive materials. The resistivity of conductive fiber-reinforced cement mortar (FRCM) was measured using the 4-probe method, and the compressive strength was measured based on the compression test. Their performance was compared and reviewed with plain mortar (PM). Furthermore, the surface shape and composition of the fracture surface of the conductive FRCM were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an energy disperse X-ray spectrometer (EDS). The results showed that the resistivity gradually increased as the curing time increased in all specimens, whereas the resistivity decreased significantly as the fiber volume fraction increased. Adding steel fibers up to 1.25% did not affect the resistivity of cement mortar considerably. On the contrast, the resistivity of carbon fiber was somewhat decreased even at low contents (ie, 0.1 to 0.3%), and thereafter, it was significantly decreased. The percolation threshold of the conductive CFRCM containing CF used in this experiment was 0.4%, and it is judged to be the optimum carbon fiber dosage to maximize the conductive effect while maintaining the compressive strength performance as much as possible. For the surface shape and composition analysis of conductive FRCM, the fracture surface was observed through SEM-EDS. These results are considered to be very useful in establishing the microstructure mechanism of reinforcing fibers in cement mortars.