Advances in Concrete Technologies for Sustainable Construction

Abstract

Concrete will continue to be the vital component for infrastructures due to its first-rate properties such as easy availability, low cost, durability, strength and convenience to cast. It can withstand the compressive forces but it is prone to cracking due to tensile forces, which in turn results in the reduction of the overall life as well as increase in the vulnerability of the concrete structure. Curing of the concrete increases the possibility of cracking due to the fluctuations in the humidity and temperature. With the aging of the structure, brittleness increases as the moisture content decreases. Retrogression of the reinforcement steel bars due to introduction of corrosive chemicals through cracks, frost damage and water leakage are some of the problems encountered thus pinching the pockets and making the maintenance and repairs costlier. An expeditious self-healing crack mechanism is required, which causes the decline in the chemical intrusion, thus dwindling the corrosion and thereby increasing the service life of the concrete structure. In this paper, an attempt has been made to re-mediate the cracks and fissure in the concrete by employing Microbiologically Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP). The method results in enhancing the strength and durability of the structures by healing the cracks through microbial activities which happens to be eco-friendly. A review of this technique for future commenced use has been discussed.

Keywords: Self-healing concrete, Microbiologically Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP), chemical intrusion, eco-friendly.