Self-Healing Concrete in Commercial Construction

Crack formation is common among concrete used for all different types of construction. While cracking is inevitable in concrete, it can create instabilities that can compromise an entire building’s structural integrity. New advancements are being made in the biological and engineering fields that are providing a solution to this problem. Certain bacteria and chemicals when mixed provide a reaction that creates limestone material to re-heal cracks in concrete. Using these materials to create this reaction, while incorporating the reactants necessary in concrete mixtures for building, it is possible to eliminate maintenance costs and improve building strength over time. Currently, these materials have not been mass produced for the construction market because they are still in the trial phases in many European experiments. It is my intention to discover which methods and materials have proven most effective and cost efficient. This paper will also provide insight as to why self-healing concrete has not yet seen many practical uses in the U.S. and the applications it may have in the future.