{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,8]],"date-time":"2026-05-08T19:48:42Z","timestamp":1778269722809,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,14]],"date-time":"2023-08-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1691971200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Structural health monitoring is crucial for ensuring the safety and reliability of civil infrastructures. Traditional monitoring methods involve installing sensors across large regions, which can be costly and ineffective due to the sensors damage and poor compliance with structural members. This study involves systematically varying the graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) concentration and analyzing the strength performance and piezoresistive behavior of the resulting composites. Two different composites having natural and recycled sands with varying percentages of GNPs as 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8% were prepared. Dispersion of GNPs was performed in superplasticizer and then ultrasonication was employed by using an ultrasonicator. The four-probe method was utilized to establish the piezoresistive behavior. The results revealed that the compressive strength of mortar cubes with natural sand was increased up to a GNP content of 6%, beyond which it started to decline. In contrast, specimens with recycled sand showed a continuous decrease in the compressive strength. Furthermore, the electrical resistance stability was observed at 4% for both natural and recycled sands specimens, exhibiting linearity between the frictional change in the resistivity and compressive strain values. It can be concluded from this study that the use of self-sensing sustainable cementitious composites could pave their way in civil infrastructures.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s23167175","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,14]],"date-time":"2023-08-14T11:07:10Z","timestamp":1692011230000},"page":"7175","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Graphene-Based Strain Sensing of Cementitious Composites with Natural and Recycled Sands"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"given":"Uzma","family":"Bibi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Civil Engineering Department, University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila 47050, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9431-7820","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alireza","family":"Bahrami","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, University of G\u00e4vle, 801 76 G\u00e4vle, Sweden"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Faisal","family":"Shabbir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Civil Engineering Department, University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila 47050, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Muhammad","family":"Imran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Civil Engineering Department, University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila 47050, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9474-278X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Muhammad Ali","family":"Nasir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila 47050, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Afaq","family":"Ahmad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Civil Engineering Department, University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila 47050, Pakistan"},{"name":"Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"651","DOI":"10.1016\/S0008-8846(00)00204-0","article-title":"Damage in carbon fiber-reinforced concrete, monitored by electrical resistance measurement","volume":"30","author":"Bontea","year":"2000","journal-title":"Cem. 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