Two-part bio-based self-healing repair agent for cement-based mortar

Abstract

Factors affecting durability of concrete structures are generally associated with each other. Due to its brittle nature, concrete can crack under stress and these cracks are one of the main reasons for a decrease in service life in concrete structures. Therefore, it is crucial to detect and recover microcracks, then to repair them as they were developed to wider cracks. Recent research in the field of concrete materials suggested that it might be possible to develop a smart cement-based material that is capable of remediate cracks by triggering biogenic calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitaton. This paper summarizes a study undertaken to investigate the self-healing efficiency of Sporosarcina pasteurii (S. pasteurii) cells immobilized on both diatomaceous earth and pumice, to remediate flexural cracks on mortar in early ages (28 days after mixing). To obtain a two-phase bio additive, half of the minerals were saturated with a nutrient medium consisting of urea, corn-steep liqueur(CSL) and calcium acetate and the cells with immobilized to the other half without nutrients. Screening of the healing process was done with ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) testing and stereomicroscopy. With this approach, the cracks on mortar surface were sealed and the water absorption capacity of the so-called self-healed mortar decreased compared to its counterpart cracked mortar samples.