Biological Methods to Achieve Self-healing in Concrete

Concrete structures experience cracks due to faulty design, drying shrinkage, thermal contraction effects, etc. A continuous network of cracks escalates degradation due to increased permeability and exposure of embedded rebars to ambient air. Contemporary sustainability issues of construction sector demand durability of materials and structure for longer service life. Incorporating self-healing mechanism of cracks can be made to flourish at initial stages under certain controlled conditions. The objective of this paper is to explore the laboratory-proven biological techniques to induce self-healing in concrete in terms of ease of preparation, process and cost. The effect on concrete characteristics like compressive and flexural strength, permeability of water, corrosion resistance of the reinforcement bars are studied and presented in this paper.