Reinforced concrete : applicability of smart materials

Abstract

With aging infrastructure, not only in the United States, but worldwide, we look toward designing structures which can withstand the test of time. Creating structures that can adapt to changes in the environment and provide better performance is at the forefront of current research. Reinforced concrete, one of the most widely used materials, can be reinvented using this philosophy. In this thesis, smart materials are classified as materials which can provide sensing, actuation or self-repair. Three different smart materials were studied including self-healing concrete which provides self-repair, shape memory alloys as reinforcement for reinforced concrete which provides actuation and carbon fiber reinforced concrete which provides sensing. It was found that each smart material had potential to improve the performance of reinforced concrete structures. Factors that affect larger scale implementation are discussed.