A self-sensing carbon nanotube/cement composite for traffic monitoring

Baoguo Han1,2, Xun Yu1 and Eil Kwon3

Abstract
In this paper, a self-sensing carbon nanotube (CNT)/cement composite is investigated for traffic monitoring. The cement composite
is filled with multi-walled carbon nanotubes whose piezoresistive properties enable the detection of mechanical stresses induced by
traffic flow. The sensing capability of the self-sensing CNT/cement composite is explored in laboratory tests and road tests.
Experimental results show that the fabricated self-sensing CNT/cement composite presents sensitive and stable responses to
repeated compressive loadings and impulsive loadings, and has remarkable responses to vehicular loadings. These findings
indicate that the self-sensing CNT/cement composite has great potential for traffic monitoring use, such as in traffic flow detection,
weigh-in-motion measurement and vehicle speed detection.