Self healing concrete with co-cultured bacteria

Abstract

It is necessary to block deterioration factors due to microcracks in order to ensure the long life of concrete structures. The self-healing concrete has been studied as a way to heal these cracks by themselves. The self-healing concrete heals microcracks in concrete using the calcium carbonate precipitation mechanism of bacteria. So far, self-healing concrete with bacteria has been investigated to determine the effects of incorporating bacteria on microcrack healing, mechanical properties, and durability of concrete. However, there have been insufficient studies on the effect of the internal and external environments of concrete on the precipitation of CaCO3 and the survivability of bacteria in the self-healing concrete. In this study, the effects of various environments of concrete on biomineralization in self-healing concrete and the influence on bacteria survivability were investigated.