The right selection of building materials plays an important role when designing a building to fall within the definition of sustainable development. One of the most commonly used construction materials is concrete. Its production causes a high energy burden on the environment. Concrete is susceptible to external factors. As a result, cracks occur in the material. Achieving its durability along with the assumptions of sustainable construction means there is a need to use an environmentally friendly and effective technique of alternative crack removal in the damaged material. Bacterial self-healing concrete reduces costs in terms of detection of damage and maintenance of concrete structures, thus ensuring a safe lifetime of the structure. Bacterial concrete can improve its durability. However, it is not currently used on an industrial scale. The high cost of the substrates used means that they are not used on an industrial scale. Many research units try to reduce production costs through various methods; however, bacterial concrete can be an effective response to sustainability.
The ability of microorganisms to degrade building materials depends on several factors. Biological corrosion occurs in close dependence with chemical and physical factors affecting microorganisms. The growth and development of microorganisms is stimulated by external stimuli, i.e., environmental factors. Microorganisms have a relatively large tolerance range for changes in environmental conditions. Under the right conditions, microorganisms thrive very well. The adverse effects may cause the inhibition of cell growth, damage, or lead to the death of the microorganism. Considering the impact of environmental factors on microorganisms, it is not possible to identify the most important of them. The result effect of overlapping factors determines the possibility of the growth of certain microorganisms. The main factors affecting the growth are temperature, humidity, hydrogen ion concentration in the environment, oxidoreductive potential, water activity in the environment, and hydrostatic pressure. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the factors causing biodeterioration. The influence of external/internal environment on the surface of cultural monuments made of mineral building materials, i.e., stone, concrete, mortar, etc., is presented.
Mineral building materials are porous materials. The volume of pores connected is the active volume of pores or the effective volume. The volume of all pores is the total volume of the pores. The properties of the individual pores are different. Their dimensions and shape can influence the properties of materials. Materials are modified with different admixtures to improve their properties. However, additives or admixtures can cause corrosion. Although building materials do not provide food for microorganisms, they are very often inhabited by them. As a result of their presence and the action of metabolic products, biodeterioration occurs. One of the products of metabolism is water. In this paper we investigated how the modified structure of biodeterioration caused by mould fungi affects the moisture content of cement-polymer mortar with the admixture of polysiloxane latex.
Citation:Stanaszek-Tomal E (2020) Influence of pore structure on humidity parameters of cementpolymer mortars contaminated with filamentous fungi. PLoS ONE 15(4): e0231347. https://doi.org/ 10.
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