{"id":19300,"date":"2024-10-31T12:30:31","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T09:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/?p=19300"},"modified":"2024-11-02T10:32:01","modified_gmt":"2024-11-02T07:02:01","slug":"selfrepair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/en\/selfrepair\/","title":{"rendered":"What if cracks in concrete could fix themselves?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"max-width: 1024px;\">\n<div style=\"position: relative; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;\"><iframe style=\"position: absolute; left: 0; top: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\" title=\"What if cracks in concrete could fix themselves?\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.ted.com\/talks\/congrui_jin_what_if_cracks_in_concrete_could_fix_themselves\/transcript?subtitle=en\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Concrete is the most widely used building material in the world. This <strong>durable concrete<\/strong> can be seen in urban sidewalks, bridges spanning large rivers, and the world&#8217;s tallest skyscrapers. However, this <strong>resilient concrete<\/strong> has a flaw: it develops catastrophic cracks that cost tens of billions of dollars in repair annually. But what if we could solve this problem and create <a href=\"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/en\/self-healing-concrete\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>self-healing concrete<\/strong><\/a> that performs <strong>self-repair<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<h2>What is Self-Healing Concrete and How Does it Work?<\/h2>\n<p>This idea is not as far-fetched as it may seem. It is possible by understanding how <strong>advanced concretes<\/strong> are formed and using this process to our advantage. Concrete is a mixture of coarse rocks and sand particles, called aggregates, combined with <strong>concrete additives<\/strong> and cement, a powdered mixture of clay and limestone. When water is added to this mixture, the cement becomes a paste that coats the aggregates and rapidly hardens through a chemical reaction called hydration. Eventually, this material becomes strong enough to support <strong>concrete structures<\/strong> hundreds of meters high.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding: 20px; background: #F5F7F8; border-radius: 8px; margin: 20px 0;\">Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/en\/standards-of-precast-concrete-parts\/\">Standards of Precast Concrete Parts<\/a><\/div>\n<h2>Role of Microbes and Calcium Carbonate in Concrete Crack Repair<\/h2>\n<p>Fortunately, we are experimenting with methods that can induce <strong>advanced concretes<\/strong> to <strong>self-repair<\/strong>. Some of these solutions are inspired by the natural mechanisms of <strong>self-healing concrete<\/strong>. When water enters small cracks, calcium oxide hydrates the concrete. The produced <strong>calcium carbonate<\/strong> reacts with carbon dioxide from the air, initiating a process called <strong>self-healing<\/strong>, in which microscopic calcium carbonate crystals form and gradually fill the cracks. Unfortunately, these crystals can only repair cracks narrower than 0.3 millimeters.<\/p>\n<h2>Advantages of Using Additives in Advanced Concretes<\/h2>\n<p>Material scientists have succeeded in repairing cracks twice this size by adding <strong>concrete additives<\/strong> and hidden adhesives to the concrete mix. If we add <strong>fibers and glue-filled tubes<\/strong> to the mix, they break when a crack forms, releasing their sticky contents and sealing the gap. However, adhesive chemicals often behave differently from concrete and may lead to more cracks over time.<\/p>\n<h2>Green Technology in the Concrete Industry and Its Impact on Structural Durability<\/h2>\n<p>Perhaps the best way to repair large cracks is for the concrete to have the necessary tools to assist itself. Scientists have discovered that certain <strong>bacteria and fungi<\/strong> can produce <strong>minerals like calcium carbonate<\/strong>, which are also present in <strong>self-repair<\/strong>. Experimental concrete mixes incorporate these <strong>bacterial spores<\/strong> or <strong>fungi along with nutrients<\/strong> into the <strong>concrete mix<\/strong> and can remain dormant for hundreds of years. When cracks appear and water enters the concrete, the spores germinate and grow in their nutrient-rich environment, creating favorable conditions for the formation of calcium carbonate crystals. These crystals gradually fill the gaps, and after about three weeks, the active microbes can fully <strong>repair concrete cracks<\/strong> up to a width of approximately 1 millimeter.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding: 20px; background: #F5F7F8; border-radius: 8px; margin: 20px 0;\">HBS&#8217;s precast concrete walls are produced with high quality and precise standards, which increase construction speed and provide high strength and durability. These walls are used as an effective solution for various construction projects. For more information, you can visit this page: <a href=\"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/en\/product\/precast-concrete-wall\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Precast Concrete Wall<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Although this technique has been extensively studied, there is still a long way to go before it is globally used in <strong>concrete production<\/strong>. However, these <strong>repairing microbes<\/strong> have immense potential to make concrete stronger and more durable \u2013 which can significantly reduce the financial and environmental costs of concrete production. Ultimately, these microorganisms may lead us to have a new perspective on <strong>concrete cities<\/strong> and imagine these living <strong>eco-friendly concrete forests<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/product\/\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-18583 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/adgray-1.gif\" alt=\"Advertisement for precast concrete wall\" width=\"1200\" height=\"131\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/congrui_jin_what_if_cracks_in_concrete_could_fix_themselves\/transcript?subtitle=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What if cracks in concrete could fix themselves?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff &nbsp; Concrete is the most widely used building material in the world. This durable concrete can be seen in urban sidewalks, bridges spanning large rivers, and the world&#8217;s tallest skyscrapers. However, this resilient concrete has a flaw: it develops catastrophic cracks that cost tens of billions of dollars in repair annually. But what if [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19300"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19305,"href":"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19300\/revisions\/19305"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbscoo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}