With samples made of composite prepared by adding nickel powder (NP) as a functional filler into cement based material, experiments are carried out to study the piezoresistivity of this NP filled cement based composite (NPCC) under single compressive loading to destruction and within elastic regime. Experimental results indicate that the electrical resistivity of NP filled cement based composite exhibits a three-stage variation trend of fast decrease, slow decrease and steady increase as compressive stress and strain increase under single compressive loading to destruction, and its fractional change goes up to 79·28% maximum. The electrical resistivity of the piezoresistive NPCC decreases 74·67% within elastic regime, and the sensitivity of this composite to compressive stress, compressive strain and transverse tensile strain goes up to 0·158 MPa–1, 1228·2 and 7580 maximum respectively. It therefore can be concluded that the developed piezoresistive NPCC has high sensitivity to stress/strain.
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