Effective Crack Control of Concrete by Self-Healing of Cementitious Composites Using Synthetic Fiber

Although concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials, it is characterized by substantially low tensile strength in comparison to its compression strength, and the occurrence of cracks is unavoidable. In addition, cracks progress due to environmental conditions including damage by freezing, neutralization, and salt, etc. Moreover, detrimental damage can occur in concrete structures due to the permeation of deteriorating elements such as Cl- and CO₂. Meanwhile, under an environment in which moisture is being supplied and if the width of the crack is small, a phenomenon of self-healing, in which a portion of the crack is filled in due to the rehydration of the cement particles and precipitation of CaCO₃, is been confirmed. In this study, cracks in cementitious composite materials are effectively dispersed using synthetic fibers, and for cracks with a width of more than 0.1 mm, a review of the optimal self-healing conditions is conducted along with the review of a diverse range of self-healing performance factors. As a result, it was confirmed that the effective restoration of watertightness through the production of the majority of self-healing products was achieved by CaCO₃ and the use of synthetic fibers with polarity, along with the effect of inducing a multiple number of hairline cracks. In addition, it was confirmed that the self-healing conditions of saturated Ca(OH)₂ solution, which supplied CO₂ micro-bubbles, displayed the most effective self-healing performance in the surface and internal sections of the cracks.