Self-healing properties of lightweight aggregate concrete with mineral additions and water-absorbing resins

WANG Xianfeng, CHEN Shaocong, LIU Jian, and WANG Weilun College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Durability for Marine Civil Engineering, Shenzhen 518060, Guangdong Province, P. R. China A bstract: In order to improve the self-healing property of concrete, a lightweight aggregate concrete mixed with mineral and water-absorbing resin was designed. Based on impedance spectroscopy testing, the effects of different particle size of absorbent polymers on the self-healing property of concrete were compared. Impedance spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) testing were carried out to evaluate the effect of curing age on the optimized mixture. The results show that the absorbent polymer with particle size between 500~600 μm is more conducive to the improvement of self-healing property. The self-healing composite system demonstrates long-term self-healing capabilities. XRD testing confirms that the healing products to fill the cracks are mainly calcium carbonate. Good self-healing performance is shown in the proposed composite self-healing system. A new approach is explored to expand the self-healing strategy of concrete.