Self-heating of electrically conductive metal-cementitious composites

Abstract

Given the increasing demand for higher performance and economic gains in cement composite products, the self-heating performance of cement composites is becoming ever more assorted and progressive. This study investigates the effects of metal materials on self-heating of cement composites. Cementitious composite cubes containing up to 20% of metal materials were tested to improve their conductivity and hence investigate their performance in terms of electrical resistance heating. The metals that were studied were copper, iron, and brass shavings. The test variables were types of metals and input voltage. The tests showed that the presence of metal components improved cementitious cubes’ conductivity, and hence, they transferred heat. In addition, the tests showed that the heating temperature changed with the type of metal and input voltage. Analysis of energy consumption, heating rate and maximum surface temperatures was performed to evaluate the possibility of using metal materials as low-cost heating elements in large-scale heating systems.