Research on the conductive asphalt concrete’s piezoresistivity effect and its mechanism

The piezoresistivity effect of conductive asphalt concrete (CAC) and mechanism of the effect are analyzed in this paper. Experimental results show that the applied stress or strain could have a great influence on the resistance of conductive asphalt concrete, and this influence is called the piezoresistivity effect. The piezoresistivity effect reflects the microstructure change of asphalt concrete. The piezoresistivity mechanism of CAC is studied through the research on the conductive substance and conductive mechanism of carbon fiber and graphite modified asphalt concrete. A series-wound model is built to interpret the piezoresistivity effect. This model explains why CAC has a piezoresistivity effect. The number of electronic carriers in the interior structure influences the electrical property of CAC and this number would change in different loading conditions. Therefore, the piezoresistivity effect of CAC can be analyzed by electronic carriers’ number and the relationship between resistivity and number of electronic carriers is the inverse ratio.