ZEENAT KHAN
Majid Ali
Abstract
In this modern world, concrete is still the prime construction material, and cracks are the intrinsic weakness of concrete. These cracks cause seepage of water, which leads to corrosion and thus weakens the structural strength. Many techniques are available in civil engineering to repair these cracks, but these require a high cost of implementation. At the same time, majority of these frequently adopted techniques (i.e., chemicals, resins, polymers etc.) are not environment friendly. In last two decades, bacteria (when directly or indirectly mixed in concrete) have been reported for automatic crack repair. Thus, the goal of this literature research is to provide a comprehensive review of the potential of bacteria for self-healing of concrete. The articles published in highly reputable journals in the last decade are considered. First, cracks, its causes and recommended solutions are discussed in detail. And then, philosophy involved in concrete self-healing with focus on bacteria and its mixing techniques in concrete are elaborated. Based on this, suitable bacteria is recommended as environment friendly and cheap approach for self-healing of concrete. Finally, the adoptability of bio concrete in developing countries is debated, considering its pros and cons. Bio concrete can be used in real life structures after its in-depth investigation for global behavior.
Keywords
Bacteria, Concrete,
Calcium carbonate,
Crack repairing.
