A critical review of carbon materials engineered electrically conductive cement concrete and its potential applications

Carbon materials engineered electrically conductive cement concrete (ECCC) is typically prepared by directly adding carbon-based conductive filler into the cement matrix and then mixing cement with aggregates. With such a strategy, ECCC possesses a high conductivity and strain/stress sensitivity and thus can be used for snow and ice melting, ohmic heating, cathodic protection system, electromagnetic shielding, structural health monitoring, and traffic detection. This paper aims to provide a systematic review on the development and applications of ECCC, especially the progress made in the past decade (from 2012 to 2022). The composition and manufacture of ECCC are first introduced. Then, the electrical performance of ECCC and its potential applications are reviewed. Finally, the remaining challenges for future work are discussed.