High-performance textiles are now widely used in civil engineering applications. This work explores the differences between the tensile properties of weft inlay warp-knitted fabrics of high-strength glass and carbon rovings as concrete reinforcements. In this study, 12 types of warp-knitted fabrics with different stitch patterns, including tricot, cord, and pillar stitches, were produced. The effect of the stitch type on the tensile properties of the fabrics was examined. The stitch type was found to significantly affect the tensile properties of the warp-knitted fabrics. The results showed that the tensile strength of fabrics with tricot and cord stitches is greater than that of fabrics with the pillar stitch. The increase in tensile strength was 14% for fabrics made of glass roving and 21% for fabrics made of carbon rovings. A similar gradation was observed for the Young's modulus of the fabrics. The Young's modulus was 11% and 25% higher for glass and carbon fabrics, respectively. The structural parameters of the warp-knitted fabrics, including the geometry of the stitch pattern and the yarn cross-sectional shape in a fabric that affect the tensile properties, were analyzed.
This article investigates the feasibility of intelligent textile-reinforced concrete structural elements with sensing capabilities. The concept is based on dual use of glass and carbon fiber textiles as reinforcement and, at the same time, as a sensory agent. Experimental investigation demonstrates the feasibility of the concept in two applications: detecting strains in a mechanically loaded textile-reinforced concrete beam and monitoring the interaction of the structural element with a wet environment. By detecting the changes to the integrative electrical resistance of the carbon tow, the ability of the textile to sense strain and exposure to water is demonstrated. For strain sensing, the hybrid reinforcing textile provides electro-mechanical sensing with a gauge factor of the order of 1 and a detectable correlation with the load, strain, and displacement responses. For the detection of wetting, the implementation of the carbon tow in a Wheatstone bridge detects fractional resistance changes in the order of 10 25 , a figure that is effectively detected by monitoring the voltage across the bridge. The response to wetting, which is conditioned by the cracking of the beam and the exposure to ionic conductive solutions, provides a mean to monitor the functionality and the structural health of the textile-reinforced concrete beam.
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