Study of the Interaction of Portland Cement and Pinus Wood for Composites using Bragg Sensors in Optical Fibers

The potential usage of Pinus wood residues in cement-wood composites and the behavior of CaCl2∙2H2O, used as an additive were assessed in this work. In order to improve the interaction between the cement-wood composites, CaCl2∙2H2O and 12 different pre-treatment types were tested. Pre-treatments involved extractions in cold and hot water, NaOH solutions, and several Ca(OH)2 concentrations for different times. An evaluation of the mechanical features (compressive strength and tensile resistances) of composites was also performed using 50 mm cylindrical samples. The interaction of the composites was analyzed using Bragg sensors in optical fibers. Pinus residues were tested having particle size of 4.8 mm and a CaCl2∙2H2O content between 0% and 8%. The highest compressive strength was observed for the production of composites with 4.5% CaCl2∙2H2O and the hot and cold water pre-treatment. Conversely, for tensile strength, the highest performance occurred when NaOH was used as a pre-treatment. The technology for determining the temperature of composites using Bragg sensors in optical fibers was judged to be efficient.