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Bio-Based Self-Healing Concrete: From Research to Field Application

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Book cover Self-healing Materials

Part of the book series: Advances in Polymer Science ((POLYMER,volume 273))

Abstract

Cracks are intrinsic concrete characteristics. However, cracking can endanger the durability of a structure, because it eases the ingress of aggressive gasses and liquids. Traditional practices tackle the problem by applying manual repair. Scientists inspired by nature have created self-healing concrete able to self-repair as a result of the metabolic activity of bacteria. Various research groups have studied bio-based self-healing concepts over the last decade. Although the metabolic pathways of different bacteria can vary, the principle is essentially the same: a bio-based healing agent is incorporated into fresh concrete and when a crack appears in hardened concrete the bacteria become active, precipitate limestone and seal the open crack. Bio-based self-healing concrete technology targets the recovery of the original performance of concrete by regaining water tightness lost by cracking. Along these lines, bio-based repair systems have also been developed to protect existing structures by applying materials that are more concrete-compatible and environmentally friendly than existing repair materials. All these innovative concepts have shown promising results in laboratory-scale tests. Steps have been taken towards the first full-scale outdoor applications, which will prove the functionality of this new technology.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support of European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement no 309451 (HEALCON), the financial support of European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement no 290308 (Marie Curie Program action SHeMat “Training Network for Self-Healing materials: From Concepts to Markets”) and the financial support from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (IOP grants SHM012020 and SHM01018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Eirini Tziviloglou, Damian Palin, M. Guadalupe Sierra-Beltrán, Renée Mors, Virginie Wiktor, Henk M. Jonkers & Erik Schlangen

  2. Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Kim Van Tittelboom, Jianyun Wang, Yusuf Çagatay Erşan & Nele De Belie

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  1. Eirini Tziviloglou
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  2. Kim Van Tittelboom
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  3. Damian Palin
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  4. Jianyun Wang
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  5. M. Guadalupe Sierra-Beltrán
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  6. Yusuf Çagatay Erşan
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  8. Virginie Wiktor
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  9. Henk M. Jonkers
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  11. Nele De Belie
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Henk M. Jonkers .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry (IOMC) & Jena Center for Soft Matter (JCSM), Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany

    Martin D. Hager

  2. Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology , Delft, The Netherlands

    Sybrand van der Zwaag

  3. Laboratory for Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry (IOMC) & Jena Center for Soft Matter (JCSM), Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany

    Ulrich S. Schubert

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Tziviloglou, E. et al. (2016). Bio-Based Self-Healing Concrete: From Research to Field Application. In: Hager, M., van der Zwaag, S., Schubert, U. (eds) Self-healing Materials. Advances in Polymer Science, vol 273. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/12_2015_332

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