Optical sensors for the durability assessment of cement‐based infrastructure

Abstract The corrosion‐related damages on concrete infrastructure account globally for several billion US dollars annually. Up to 38 % of these costs could be saved by the application optimized materials and/or more efficient monitoring technologies. In this contribution a novel sensor technology is presented, based luminescent pH sensitive dyes, quantitatively determine distribution in cement‐based construction materials. Different platforms were explored resulting high‐resolution imaging techniques, as well miniaturized probes field and situ monitoring. To point, sensors successfully applied cementitious (i) characterize carbonation state lab, (ii) gain further understanding phase assemblages internal evolution related carbonation, (iii) reveal that actual at inflection point phenolphthalein may strongly vary depending physicochemical material properties, (iv) monitor during early hydration different materials, (v) measure depths using adopted applications.