First Large Scale Application with Self-Healing Concrete in Belgium: Analysis of the Laboratory Control Tests

Abstract

Due to the negative impact of construction processes on the environment and a decrease in investments, there is a need for concrete structures to operate longer while maintaining their high performance. Self-healing concrete has the ability to heal itself when it is cracked, thereby protecting the interior matrix as well as the reinforcement steel, resulting in an increased service life. Most research has focused on mortar specimens at lab-scale. Yet, to demonstrate the feasibility of applying self-healing concrete in practice, demonstrators of large-scale applications are necessary. A roof slab of an inspection pit was cast with bacterial self-healing concrete and is now in normal operation. As a bacterial additive to the concrete, a mixture called MUC+, made out of a Mixed Ureolytic Culture together with anaerobic granular bacteria, was added to the concrete during mixing. This article reports on the tests carried out on laboratory control specimens made from the same concrete batch, as well as the findings of an inspection of the roof slab under operating conditions. Lab tests showed that cracks at the bottom of specimens and subjected to wet/dry cycles had the best visual crack closure. Additionally, the sealing efficiency of cracked specimens submersed for 27 weeks in water, measured by means of a water permeability setup, was at least equal to 90%, with an efficiency of at least 98.5% for the largest part of the specimens. An inspection of the roof slab showed no signs of cracking, yet favorable conditions for healing were observed. So, despite the high healing potential that was recorded during lab experiments, an assessment under real-life conditions was not yet possible.

Self-healing concrete-What Is it Good For?

“…Regarding the introduction methods, agents of direct incorporation (CA in (122)), in porous aggregates (123), and, very recently inside glass tubes (126), have been used in operational environments. Therefore, the efficiency of self-healing in this point has not been enough evaluated.…”

Addressing the need for standardization of test methods for self-healing concrete: an inter-laboratory study on concrete with macrocapsules

“…Van Belleghem et al [50], who did a comparison of an experimental study and a finite element analysis, highlighted that it is the geometry and the distribution of the concrete zones in contact with water which is determinative for the capillary water uptake and not only the surface area exposed to water. They concluded that for an uncracked cementitious matrix, the water ingress will follow a unidirectional mode in the case of no waterproofing, while the ingress will follow a multidirectional mode in the case of partial waterproofing.…”

“…This might have been the result of saturation of the concrete at the top of the specimens. When cracked specimens are placed in contact with water, the cracks fill up with water almost instantly, as has been studied by neutron imaging and X-ray radiography on mortar samples [27,50,51]. This allows for a fast transport of water to the concrete above the crack tip.…”

Self-Healing Biogeopolymers Using Biochar-Immobilized Spores of Pure- and Co-Cultures of Bacteria

“…Huge progress has already been made for bio-based self-healing in concrete [5][6][7][8][9], giving rise to bioconcrete. Bacillus bacteria are often employed because of their well-studied ability to form endospores and induce the precipitation of biominerals.…”