Self-healing Behavior of Microcapsule-Based Concrete

Abstract

In general, it is a well-known fact that it is very difficult to detect the cracks at the very initial stage of concrete, and the same cracks later create problems for structure. Further adding to this always the physical intervention is essential for periodic inspection and repair of these cracks. To increase the durability of concrete structures, many self-healing mechanisms are used, out of which microcapsule-based healing mechanisms appear to be feasible. The microcapsule-based self-curative process is an effective process for sealing the cracks in the concrete. Microcapsule-based self-curative starts with the crack occurrence and progresses once it gets in contact with the microcapsule, then self-healing agents are released into cracks, which are contained in capsules. In this study, an effort has been made to synthesize self-healing materials that are synthetic or artificially produced polymer-based substances that have the incorporated ability to naturally repair damage to themselves without any physical contact or human interference. The sodium silicate agent is used as a self-healing material and in situ polymerization method is used for the manufacturing of capsules. It is found that adding 2 and 3% amount of these capsules will heal the concrete after cracking and better the durability.