Fabrication and properties of 1-3 cement based piezoelectric composites

1-3 cement based piezoelectric composites were fabricated using cement as matrix by the cut-filling method. The fabrication procedure of the composites was introduced in detail. The effects of width to thickness w/t ratio of the 0.375Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-0.375PbTiO₃-0.25PbZrO₃ piezoelectric ceramic rod on the piezoelectric pro-perties, dielectric properties and acoustic impedance of the composites were studied. The results indicate that the piezoelectric constant d₃₃, the electromechanical coupling coefficients K_p and K_t, dielectric constant ε_r and dielectric loss tanδ are all dependent on the ratio of width to thickness w/t of piezoelectric ceramic rods. By changing the w/t of piezoelectric ceramic rods, the acoustic impedance of the composites can be tailored to match that of the concrete, which shows that 1-3 cement based piezoelectric composite is suitable to be applied in civil structural health monitoring.