Self-repairing of concrete cracks by using bacteria and basalt fiber

Abstract

Concrete is a most extensively used material in construction; however, cracks in concrete are unavoidable. There is a new technology that can heal the cracks by precipitated calcium carbonate called as microbial self-healing concrete which reduces the coefficient of permeability. The self-healing/self-repairing concrete with the addition of fibers can be used in construction industries to enhance the strength and durability of concrete. Fibers may reduce the crack width by bridging action and bacteria develop a filling material in that bridge portion. This improves the durability and strength of bacterial concrete. In the present study, four different mixes are prepared, namely normal concrete, bacterial concrete, fiber-reinforced concrete, and bacterial concrete, with the addition of fibers. The healing/repairing efficiency of concrete is measured in terms of electrical resistivity and compressive strength of concrete on pre-cracked samples and healed samples. Further, the results are correlated with the scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer analysis. The results and analysis that carried out show substantial enhancement in the durability and strength of concrete with the addition of fibers in bacterial concrete.

Understanding the Impacts of Healing Agents on the Properties of Fresh and Hardened Self-Healing Concrete: A Review

“…For instance, the slump flows of reference concrete and bacteria concretes with cell concentrations of 10 3 , 10 5 , and 10 7 cells/mL were 680, 684, 689 and 690 mm. This result is in contrast to the results found by Vijay et al [32] regarding the influence of bacteria and nutrient on workability aspect. While it is difficult to judge which parameter influences workability, interesting research undertaken by Nguyen et al [34] can be taken into account to understand the impact of nutrients and bacteria with nutrients in concrete applications.…”

“…Figure 3 depicts the rod shaped structure of Bacillus bacteria in a solution taken by SEM and optical microscopy. According to the available reports, some prospective bacteria that have been used extensively in concrete are Bacillus sphaericus [10,31], Bacillus subtilis [32][33][34], Bacillus aerius [35], Bacillus megaterium [30], Sporoscarcina pasteurii [29,[36][37][38], Shewanella oneidensis [39] and a mixed ureolytic culture (MUC + ) [40]. Bacteria are often proposed as a healing agent to promote an autonomous self-healing repair system based on a biotechnology approach.…”

“…Vijay et al [32] studied the combination effect of Bacillus subtilis bacteria spore powder and calcium lactate on the workability of two concrete mixes, i.e., normal concrete and basalt-fibre reinforced concrete. The concentration of bacteria was fixed at 10 5 cfu/mL (cfu = cell or colony-forming unit) with the purpose of improving the strength of concrete, and calcium lactate was used as nutrient source for bacteria at the dosage of 0.5% by weight of cement.…”

Behavior of Macro-Synthetic Fiber-Reinforced High-Strength Concrete Beams Incorporating Bacillus subtilis Bacteria

“…Consequently, the remarkable enhancement of the FRBC performance could be achieved among all fibers bridging cross cracks on the macro-scale of the composite. This observation is broadly consistent with the literature trend (Nili and Afroughsabet, 2010;Di Maida et al, 2018;Vijay and Murmu, 2019).…”

Flexural behaviour of glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) laminated hybrid-fibre reinforced concrete beams

“…Resistance to high temperature [16]. Self-repairing of concrete cracks [17]. Dong et al [18] studied the mechanical properties of concrete made with basalt fibre, the results showed that addition of basalt fibres enhanced concrete strength and ductility.…”