Analysis on Factors Affecting the Self-Repair Capability of SMA Wire Concrete Beam

Abstract

Crack expansion of concrete is the initial damage stage of structures, which may cause greater damage to structures subject to long-term loads or under extreme conditions. In recent years, the application of intelligent materials to crack self-repair has become a hotspot among researchers. In order to study the influence of factors on the self-repair capability of shape memory alloy (SMA) wire concrete beam, both theoretical and experimental methods were employed for analysis. For the convenience of experiment, composite materials (epoxy cement mortar and silicone polymer clay) instead of concrete were used. The SMA wires were externally installed on and internally embedded in epoxy resin cement mortar beams and silicone polymer clay beams. Comparison of crack repair situation between two installation methods turns out that both methods possess their own advantages and disadvantages and should be employed according to the actual situation. The influence of unbonded length on the self-repair capability of embedded type SMA wire beams and the necessary minimum unbonded length to achieve self-repair function were studied. The results state clearly that the longer the unbonded length is, the better the crack repair situation is.

Smart concretes and structures: A review

“…They found that the mineral admixtures within the concrete helped seal the cracks and reduce water leakage from the container (Kishi et al, 2011). Sun et al (2013) embedded SMA wire in concrete beam and found that the beam with SMA wires possesses good self-repair capability. Li et al investigated self-recovery smart concrete beams with embedded SMA bundles.…”

Factors Affecting the Self-Healing Efficiency of Cracked Concrete Structures

“…In an environment with a relative humidity of more than 60%, samples with 1 m% of superabsorbent polymers showed healing gives the best results and the superior self-sealing capacity. [13] Identified some factors that affect the self-repairing capacity. They generally realized that the characteristics of concrete beam materials affect the self-repairing capability.…”

“…Applying mineral admixtures in concrete helped seal the cracks and reduce water leakage 15; 16]. [13] Proved the properties of shape memory materials alloy affect the self-repair ability. They embedded shape memory alloy (SMA) wires in concrete beam and found that the beam with SMA wires possesses good self-repair capability.…”

Nonlinear Analysis for the Crack Control of SMA Smart Concrete Beam Based on a Bidirectional B-Spline QR Method

“…Many test results show that the quantity, diameter, prestrain, excitation mode, and volume of the SMA wires have a certain influence on the deformation recovery of SMA concrete beam. In addition to the built-in method, SMA wires also can be arranged outside the structure, which has the effect of controlling deformation as well [15][16][17]. However, due to the complexity of mechanical behaviors of RC structures, there is less numerical analysis than experiment of the SMA concrete structure.…”