A Review on Self-Healing Concrete

Abstract

Concrete is one of the most used construction materials worldwide. It is known to be a strong and durable material at a reasonable price. The most well-known problem in concrete is the cracks, which affect the service life of the concrete structures and leads to consumes higher costs through maintenance. Cracks allow penetrating any ions into the concrete resulting in other big problems such as corrosion of steel reinforcement, sulphate attack, carbonation, alkali-aggregate reaction, etc. It is impossible to prevent the formation of cracks, therefore they can be controlled or repaired using a variety of methods. Nowadays, self-healing is one of the widely recognized techniques to improve concrete's long-term durability. Healing agents such as bacteria, chemical compounds, and polymers are utilized. In this method, with the help of a healing agent, the cracks start to heal autonomously during crack formation. Since Bacteria is the most used material for healing concrete, self-healing concrete is also known as bacterial-concrete or bioconcrete. This article provides an overview of self-healing concrete including describing the system, process, durability, and mechanical properties of healed concrete.