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Mechanical and self-healing properties of cementitious materials with pH-responsive semi-synthetic superabsorbent polymers

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Abstract

Cracks are one of the main problems in mortar and concrete leading to need of reparations and additional costs. One of the recent innovative solutions are superabsorbent polymers (SAPs). SAPs can swell up to several hundred times their own weight, can block the cracks and aid in healing them. Polysaccharides can offer a more sustainable alternative for synthetic SAPs. Functional monomers have been combined with cross-linkable methacrylated polysaccharides to incorporate them in the polysaccharide networks. These polymers have been chemically characterized in previous research by measuring among other their moisture and swelling capacity, where the pH-responsiveness leads to better control of these parameters. The current manuscript deals with the effect these polymers exhibit on the bending and compressive strength of mortar samples on the one hand and on the crack closure and self-healing of cracks on the other hand. The obtained results have been benchmarked with commercial SAPs and indicated that methacrylated alginate combined with acrylic acid, both with high as well as low degree of substitution gave rise to a strong self-healing capacity. They did induce a substantially lower effect on the compressive strength of mortars compared to commercial SAPs. Methacrylated chitosan combined with dimethylaminopropyl methacrylamide also gave very promising self-healing results, coming close to those of the best commercial SAP, although they induced a slightly more severe effect on the mortar strength than this commercial polymer.

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Acknowledgements

A. Mignon would like to thank the FWO (Research Foundation Flanders) for project funding (Grant No. 3G019012, Effect of tunable hydrogels on concrete microstructure, moisture properties, sealing and self-healing of cracks). Conflict of interest: as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow of the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen), D. Snoeck would like to thank the foundation for the financial support (research Grant No. 12J3617N).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Magnel Laboratory for Concrete Research, Department of Structural Engineering, Ghent University, Tech Lane Ghent Science Park, Campus A, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 904, 9052, Ghent, Belgium

    Arn Mignon, Jolien Vermeulen, Didier Snoeck & Nele De Belie

  2. Polymer Chemistry and Biomaterials Research Group, Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281, Building S4-bis, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Arn Mignon, Peter Dubruel & Sandra Van Vlierberghe

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  1. Arn Mignon
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  2. Jolien Vermeulen
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  3. Didier Snoeck
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  4. Peter Dubruel
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  5. Sandra Van Vlierberghe
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  6. Nele De Belie
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Correspondence to Nele De Belie.

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Mignon, A., Vermeulen, J., Snoeck, D. et al. Mechanical and self-healing properties of cementitious materials with pH-responsive semi-synthetic superabsorbent polymers. Mater Struct 50, 238 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-017-1109-4

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