Impact of Bio-Carrier Immobilized with Marine Bacteria on Self-Healing Performance of Cement-Based Materials

Abstract

The present study evaluated the self-healing efficiency and mechanical properties of mortar specimens incorporating a bio-carrier as a self-healing agent. The bio-carrier was produced by immobilizing ureolytic bacteria isolated from seawater in bottom ash, followed by surface coating with cement powder to prevent loss of nutrients during the mixing process. Five types of specimens were prepared with two methods of incorporating bacteria, and were water cured for 28 days. To investigate the healing ratio, the specimens with predefined cracks were treated by applying a wet–dry cycle in three different conditions, i.e., seawater, tap water, and air for 28 days. In addition, a compression test and a mercury intrusion porosimetry analysis of the specimens were performed to evaluate their physico-mechanical properties. The obtained results showed that the specimen incorporating the bio-carrier had higher compressive strength than the specimen incorporating vegetative cells. Furthermore, the highest healing ratio was observed in specimens incorporating the bio-carrier. This phenomenon could be ascribed by the enhanced bacterial viability by the bio-carrier.

Cementitious materials with biological additive for enhanced durability in marine environment

“…Self-healing mechanisms are classified as autogenous and autonomous healing [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Autogenous healing exploits solely the material intrinsic to cement.…”

Review on recent advances in securing the long-term durability of calcium aluminate cement (CAC)-based systems

“…Moreover, CAC can inhibit the infiltration of various ions and acids by forming an alumina gel barrier, unlike Portland cement (PC), which is easily attacked by ions (i.e. SO 4 2− , Cl − , CO 3 2− , Mg 2+ , etc) due to the absence of a chemical buffer system since the major hydrates in PC are Ca(OH) 2 and calcium silicate hydrate gel (CSH) [1,8,9]. Aluminate ions generated from the hydration of CAC restrict the microbial growth and metabolic activity and hence are capable of protecting the structures from biogenic acids.…”