A Review on Cementitious Self-Healing and the Potential of Phase-Field Methods for Modeling Crack-Closing and Fracture Recovery

Abstract

Improving the durability and sustainability of concrete structures has been driving the enormous number of research papers on self-healing mechanisms that have been published in the past decades. The vast developments of computer science significantly contributed to this and enhanced the various possibilities numerical simulations can offer to predict the entire service life, with emphasis on crack development and cementitious self-healing. The aim of this paper is to review the currently available literature on numerical methods for cementitious self-healing and fracture development using Phase-Field (PF) methods. The PF method is a computational method that has been frequently used for modeling and predicting the evolution of meso- and microstructural morphology of cementitious materials. It uses a set of conservative and non-conservative field variables to describe the phase evolutions. Unlike traditional sharp interface models, these field variables are continuous in the interfacial region, which is typical for PF methods. The present study first summarizes the various principles of self-healing mechanisms for cementitious materials, followed by the application of PF methods for simulating microscopic phase transformations. Then, a review on the various PF approaches for precipitation reaction and fracture mechanisms is reported, where the final section addresses potential key issues that may be considered in future developments of self-healing models. This also includes unified, combined and coupled multi-field models, which allow a comprehensive simulation of self-healing processes in cementitious materials.

Preparation and Characterization of Electromagnetic-Induced Rupture Microcapsules for Self-Repairing Mortars

“…Also, internal cracks in the concrete are not easily inspected and repaired in a timely manner [ 11 ]. Therefore, the research of self-repairing materials for cracks in cement-based materials has attracted considerable attention [ 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

Autogenous self‐healing of concrete: Experimental design and test methodsA review

“…material in the world. [1][2][3] However, due to its low tensile strength the formation of cracks from micro to macro scale due to load and load independent deformation caused by, for example, shrinkage, is unavoidable. Furthermore, it is necessary to reinforce concrete for many applications.…”

“…Modern design and construction are highly dependent on the composite material concrete, which is made of aggregates, cement, water, admixtures, and additives. A combination of desirable properties such as a high compressive strength, a broad availability of its raw materials, and a superior cost efficiency make concrete the most widely used construction material in the world 1–3 . However, due to its low tensile strength the formation of cracks from micro to macro scale due to load and load independent deformation caused by, for example, shrinkage, is unavoidable.…”

Numerical Simulation of the Response of Concrete Structural Elements Containing a Self-Healing Agent

“…Among other approaches suitable to model the self-healing phenomena, Yang et al [ 45 ] discuss the possible implementation of the phase-field (PF) methods for self-healing of cementitious materials. A number of literature sources report the application of the PF approach for modeling the fracture behavior of concrete (see among others [ 46 , 47 , 48 ]).…”

“…However, the modeling of the crack-closure effects in the framework of the PF approach still needs researchers’ attention. According to [ 45 ], possible axes of investigation are: (i) the implementation of cohesive elements along the crack path to prevent overlapping of the crack faces and (ii) a contact scheme, recently proposed by [ 49 ].…”