scholarly journals Effect of Sample Age on the Self-Healing Properties of Cementitious Materials with Superabsorbent Polymers

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2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Didier Snoeck ◽  
◽  
Nele De Belie ◽  
AIP Advances ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 075018
Author(s):  
Xi Wang ◽  
Hao Qiao ◽  
Ziwei Zhang ◽  
Shiying Tang ◽  
Shengjun Liu ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 700
Author(s):  
Irene A. Kanellopoulou ◽  
Ioannis A. Kartsonakis ◽  
Costas A. Charitidis

Cementitious structures have prevailed worldwide and are expected to exhibit further growth in the future. Nevertheless, cement cracking is an issue that needs to be addressed in order to enhance structure durability and sustainability especially when exposed to aggressive environments. The purpose of this work was to examine the impact of the Superabsorbent Polymers (SAPs) incorporation into cementitious composite materials (mortars) with respect to their structure (hybrid structure consisting of organic core—inorganic shell) and evaluate the microstructure and self-healing properties of the obtained mortars. The applied SAPs were tailored to maintain their functionality in the cementitious environment. Control and mortar/SAPs specimens with two different SAPs concentrations (1 and 2% bwoc) were molded and their mechanical properties were determined according to EN 196-1, while their microstructure and self-healing behavior were evaluated via microCT. Compressive strength, a key property for mortars, which often degrades with SAPs incorporation, in this work, practically remained intact for all specimens. This is coherent with the porosity reduction and the narrower range of pore size distribution for the mortar/SAPs specimens as determined via microCT. Moreover, the self-healing behavior of mortar-SAPs specimens was enhanced up to 60% compared to control specimens. Conclusively, the overall SAPs functionality in cementitious-based materials was optimized.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 32-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Didier Snoeck

Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) are promising admixtures to improve properties in cementitious materials. Not only useful to mitigate autogenous shrinkage and to increase the freeze-thaw resistance, SAP particles may enhance self-sealing and self-healing in cementitious materials. The self-sealing leads to a regain in water tightness and promoted autogenous healing may prove to be useful to limit repair works caused by concrete cracking. By providing sufficient building blocks for healing, limiting the crack width by means of synthetic microfibers and inducing water by means of SAPs, a smart cementitious material is obtained. This material can be an excellent material to use in future building applications such as tunnel works and ground-retaining structures. This paper gives an overview of the current status of the research on SAPs in cementitious materials to obtain sealing and healing.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 3711
Author(s):  
Mohammad Fahimizadeh ◽  
Ayesha Diane Abeyratne ◽  
Lee Sui Mae ◽  
R. K. Raman Singh ◽  
Pooria Pasbakhsh

Crack formation in concrete is one of the main reasons for concrete degradation. Calcium alginate capsules containing biological self-healing agents for cementitious materials were studied for the self-healing of cement paste and mortars through in vitro characterizations such as healing agent survivability and retention, material stability, and biomineralization, followed by in situ self-healing observation in pre-cracked cement paste and mortar specimens. Our results showed that bacterial spores fully survived the encapsulation process and would not leach out during cement mixing. Encapsulated bacteria precipitated CaCO3 when exposed to water, oxygen, and calcium under alkaline conditions by releasing CO32− ions into the cement environment. Capsule rupture is not required for the initiation of the healing process, but exposure to the right conditions are. After 56 days of wet–dry cycles, the capsules resulted in flexural strength regain as high as 39.6% for the cement mortar and 32.5% for the cement paste specimens. Full crack closure was observed at 28 days for cement mortars with the healing agents. The self-healing system acted as a biological CO32− pump that can keep the bio-agents retained, protected, and active for up to 56 days of wet-dry incubation. This promising self-healing strategy requires further research and optimization.


Author(s):  
Luis Bonilla ◽  
Marwa Hassan ◽  
Hassan Noorvand ◽  
Tyson Rupnow ◽  
Ayman Okeil

The self-healing efficiency of cementitious materials was improved by developing several strategies to provide and deliver the products (healing agents) needed for cracks to self-repair. This study evaluated the self-healing efficiency of microcapsules filled with calcium nitrate in reinforced and unreinforced concrete beams. The structural behavior and healing efficiency were evaluated by measuring and then comparing the initial stiffness, peak strength, and deformation with posthealing measurements. Furthermore, as part of this study, crack monitoring was conducted to evaluate crack healing over time. Then characterization analysis was carried out with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to quantify the healing components in the cracked areas. Results showed that the air content in samples containing microcapsules was two times higher than that in the control samples. Furthermore, addition of microcapsules lowered the flexural strength of concrete beams compared with that of the control samples. A positive stiffness recovery was recorded for all groups, with and without microcapsules or steel. Control samples showed the lowest stiffness recovery; however, the use of steel with microcapsules presented a superior healing efficiency and improved stiffness recovery significantly by 38%. Results from image analysis showed that crack widths did not completely heal for the control samples, while using microcapsules allowed the cracked widths to heal more efficiently. The best observed performance was for the microcapsules–steel group, which yielded 100% healing of the cracks.


2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arn Mignon ◽  
Jolien Vermeulen ◽  
Didier Snoeck ◽  
Peter Dubruel ◽  
Sandra Van Vlierberghe ◽  
...  

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4211
Author(s):  
Kamil Tomczak ◽  
Jacek Jakubowski ◽  
Łukasz Kotwica

This paper reveals the relationships between key factors that determine the ability of cementitious composites to self-heal autogenously and specific measures for quantifying the effects of this process. The following material factors: water-to-binder ratio (w/b), uniaxial compressive strength and age of the composite at the time of defect formation were considered, as well as the method and degree of damage to the tested material. The subjects of this study were mortars and concretes in which Portland cement was partially replaced, to varying degrees, with mechanically activated fluidized bed combustion fly ash (MAFBC fly ash) and siliceous fly ash. The samples were subjected to three-point bending or cyclic compression tests after 14 or 28 days of aging, in order to induce defects and then cured in water for 122 days. Microscopic (MO) and high-resolution scanning (HRS) observations along with computer image processing techniques were used to visualize and quantify the changes occurring in the macro-crack region near the outer surface of the material during the self-sealing process. Techniques based on the measurement of the ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) allowed the quantification of the changes occurring inside the damaged materials. Mechanical testing of the composites allowed quantification of the effects of the activity of the binder-supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) systems. The analysis of the results indicates a significant influence of the initial crack width on the ability to completely close the cracks; however, there are repeated deviations from this rule and local variability of the self-sealing process. It has been shown that the compressive strength of a material is an important indicator of binder activity concerning crack width reduction due to self-sealing. Regardless of the crack induction method, the internal material changes caused by self-sealing are dependent on the degree of material damage.


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