Nickel particle based electrical resistance heating cementitious composites

In this study, electrical resistance heating cementitious composites are developed by employing nickel particles as conductive fillers and heating elements. The conductive properties of cementitious composites with different types and different content levels of nickel particles are investigated. The electrical resistance heating performance of the composites is studied. Deicing and snow-melting experiments are also performed in refrigerator and outdoor environment, respectively. Experimental results show that the cementitious composites with nickel particles can achieve a temperature increment of about 50 °C within 30 s when the input voltage is 20 V. At an input voltage of 15 V, the cementitious composites with nickel particles (12.0 vol.% and 2.6–3.3 μm diameter) can deice 3 mm of ice in 478 s under an ambient temperature of − 16.0 °C and melt 2 cm of snow in 368 s under an ambient temperature of − 5.3 °C, respectively. These findings indicate that the fabricated cementitious composites with nickel particles have a superior electrical resistance heating performance.

► We develop self-sensing pavement for vehicle detection.
► The self-sensing composites have high sensitivity to mechanical stress.
► The vehicle detection capability of this pavement is demonstrated in road tests.