Self-Healing Concrete: How It Works And The Future of Construction
A new self-healing concrete developed by University College London is revolutionising construction with a solution to one of the oldest problems in the field: buildings that degrade from within over time. This advanced material makes it possible to prolong the life of a building at a significantly lower maintenance cost. For Concrete Gloucester, visit www.monstermixconcrete.co.uk/
How the Magic Works
Self-healing concrete contains carefully selected dormant bacteria, frequently of the genus Bacillus, directly introduced to the mix at a given ratio during preparation. These savvy organisms don’t start to eat until cracks form and water seeps in, whereupon they spring into action, feeding off the calcium lactate nutrients … embedded too. This fills and seals the cracks by its own limestone produced biologically.
Alternative Healing Methods
In addition to these bacterial answers, other researchers have created shape-memory alloys that will compress when heated to the point of them closing gaps on their own. Another method uses microcapsules of healing agents, which break open when cracks form and release liquid polymers to flow out and solidify for seamless fixes.
Real-World Applications
Infrastructure projects in brutal geo-climates where old-fashioned maintenance is difficult and expensive are the first adopters. It is also at its best with marine structures and underground tunnels or bridge foundations, as repairs of these locations usually require expensive equipment and long shutdowns.
Economic Impact
Some estimates by industry analysts project reducing infrastructure maintenance costs with self-healing concrete as much as 50% over the lifetime of a structure. Although the cost of materials is about 30% higher than traditional concrete, there are substantial long term savings.
Future Developments
Meanwhile, researchers are perfecting bacterial strains for various climates and investigating a mixed system with many different healing mechanisms. This technology signals a transformative move towards patient construction techniques.
