Design of polymeric capsules for autonomous healing of cracks in cementitious materials

Now, most of the capsules used to contain polymeric healing agents in self-healing concrete, are made of glass. However, glass capsules cannot be mixed in concrete and are therefore placed manually into the moulds during concrete casting in laboratory tests. This represents a major drawback for an eventual industrialisation. In this study,...

Microfibres and hydrogels to promote autogenous healing in cementitious materials

Cementitious materials are sensitive to crack formation and it would be beneficial if the material could stop the crack propagation, repair the damage and reach again the original liquid-tightness and/or strength. Therefore, a cementitious material with synthetic microfibres and superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) is proposed. Upon crack formation,...

Healcon: Self-healing concrete to create durable and sustainable concrete structures

Within the theme ‘Self-healing materials for prolonged lifetime’ (NMP.2012.2.1-3) of the Seventh Framework Programme, self-healing concrete is an important topic. The project HEALCON, which deals with self-healing concrete to create durable and sustainable concrete structures, is funded by EU-FP7 and started in January 2013. The coordinator of...

Hydrogel encapsulated bacterial spores for self-healing concrete: Proof of concept

Self-healing concrete is regarded as a promising solution to reduce the high maintenance and repair cost of concrete infrastructure. Due to the limited autogenous healing capacity of concrete as such, additives are needed to enhance its self-healing properties. Among various strategies, microbial-based self-healing has gained increasing...

SHE: The Flemish program on engineerd self-healing materials

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Resistance of cracked concrete healed by means of polyurethane against chloride penetration

A lot of damage is reported for constructions in marine environments. Marine environments are very aggressive, because of the high chloride concentration in sea water. Chlorides affect durability by initiating corrosion of the reinforcement steel. When cracks appear in the concrete structures, chlorides will penetrate faster and will initiate...