Self-sensing concrete, self-adjusting concrete and self-healing concrete all belong to a broad category of materials known as ‘smart concrete’. It is an alternative to monitoring the condition of reinforced concrete structures. It differs from traditional concrete due to its innate ability to sense and respond to external stimuli. Its distinguishing features include longer service life, superior mechanical properties, ease of installation, and low maintenance requirements.
Smart concrete uses innovative materials or additives that offer unique qualities such as higher durability, self-healing or self-perception compared to conventional concrete. This will help achieve a variety of goals including ensuring structural integrity and safety, extending the life of structures, improving traffic safety and efficiency, guiding structural and traffic design, reducing energy and resource consumption, and more.
Self-sensing concrete is an offshoot of smart concrete and is one of the first areas to be proposed and extensively researched. Self-healing concrete not only improves sustainability, but also improves the durability and environmental friendliness of concrete structures.