SEMINAR

ON
SELF-HEALING CONCRETE

PRESENTED BY:-
NAME:- RITESH KUMAR SHARMA
UNIVERSITY ROLL NO:-10301316066
DEPARTMENT:-CIVIL ENGINEERING
HALDIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
 CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
BACTERIAL CONCRETE
PREPARATION OF BIO-CONCRETE
HEALING PROCESS
ADVANTAGES AND DIADVANTAGES
APPLICATION
STRUCTURES
CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTION
• Concrete is a vital building building material whose tensile strength is low in comparison to its compressive strength,
nearly one tenth of its compressive strength so the concrete may crack under excessive loading.
• It is also very brittle so it is commonly expected to crack with time. These cracks do expose the reinforcement to
elements like air, water etc. leading to the corrosion which increases the maintenance cost and compromises structural
integrity over long period of time.
• As per ACI(American concrete institute) even the best construction and concreting cannot prevent the cracking in
concrete i.e. 0% cracks is unrealistic thing.
• So one can say that Concrete is a high maintenance material. It cracks and suffer serious wear and tear over decades of
its expected service life. Also it is not flexible and cannot handle significant amount of strain.
• To avoid maintenance by human, a Special kind of concrete is used is named SELF-HEALING CONCRETE. It is
special kind of concrete which does not need humans to take care of them. SELF-HEALING CONCRETE has special
ability to heal cracks which appears on its surface due to any reason, It fill its own cracks and thus maintain itself
without intervention of human beings.
• Many research works are being carried out in the world for the modification of concrete to make it more durable, strong
and user friendly. SELF-HEALING CONCRETE is such approach made in the field of construction which would
enhance the ability of Concrete.
 BACTERIAL CONCRETE
• SELF-HEALING CONCRETE is also known as Bacterial concrete or Bio-concrete is a concrete that heals itself(
repairs its cracks) when it comes in contact with air and water
• SELF-HEALING CONCRETE is an artificial or synthetically created substance that has in built ability to repair the
damage or cracks without any external diagnosis or Human intervention which makes it different from other types of
concrete.
• In 1877, a German Biologist “FERDINAND COHN” claimed that with a bacteria called
“GENUS BACILLUS” Concrete could be healed.
• Ingredients of Self-Healing Concrete are Ordinary Portland Cement, Crushed Aggregates
of size 20 mm, Fine aggregates(Sand) and water.
• The two most important ingredients of self healing concrete which makes it different from
normal concrete are “CALCIUM LACTATE” , Which acts as food for bacteria and
and bacteria “BACILLUS SUBTILIS”
• BACILLUS SUBTILIS is a ROD SHAPED bacteria which is found in digestive tracts of
humans and in nature it is found in air, soil and Water.
 PREPARATION OF BIO-CONCRETE
 BACTERIAL CONCRETE CAN BE PREPARED IN TWO WAYS:-
1. BY DIRECT APPLICATION
2. BY ENCAPSULATION IN CLAY PELLETS

1. BY DIRECT APPLICATION
• In this method bacterial spores and the CALCIUM LACTATE is added to
the Concrete directly when mixing of concrete is done. When water
In contact in contact with the bacteria, the bacteria germinate and feed
on CALCIUM LACTATE producing LIMESTONE which heals the concrete.

2. BY ENCAPSULATION METHOD
• In Encapsulation method, the bacteria and its food i.e. CALCIUM LACTATE
are placed inside clay pellets and the concrete is prepared. About 6% of the clay
Pellets are used to make self-healing concrete
 HEALING PROCESS
• When the Concrete is mixed with bacteria(bacillus subtilis), the bacteria go into a dormant state
• When the cracks are formed are formed in the concrete, water seeps through the cracks and tries to penetrate through the
crack, when such incident take place then the bacteria which are very close to the cracks come out of their dormant state
and starts to germinate when they come in contact with water. Having contact with water these bacteria becomes active
• These activated Bacteria (BACILLUS SUBTILIS) starts to feed on ( CALCIUM LACTATE), here calcium lactate is
acting as food for bacteria
• When these bacteria feed on Calcium Lactate, LIME STONE is formed which acts as a healing material. These
limestone or CALCIUM CARBONATE( CaCO3) fills the cracks and thus repairs the concrete
• The action of bacteria BACILLUS SUBTILIS on CALCIUM LACTATE is represented by the equation given below:-

CA(C3H5O2)2 + 7O2 → CACO3 + 5CO2 + 5H2O

(CALCIUM (LIMESTONE)
LACTATE)
• Self-healing concrete prevents the corrosion of reinforcement as
Oxygen is consumed in this process which is responsible of corrosion
 ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
 THE ADVANTAGES OF USING SELF-HEALING CONCRETE ARE:-
• Improvement in the Compressive Strength of the Concrete.
• Reduction in the Permeability of the Concrete.
• It increases the Service life of the Structure.
• Reduction in corrosion of the Steel Reinforcement, since oxygen which is responsible for corrosion of reinforcement is
used up by the bacteria to convert calcium lactate to limestone
• Most important use of SELF-HEALING Concrete reduces the maintenance and repair cost of the RC Structures
• BACILLUS SUBTILIS are harmless to human life and hence it can be used effectively.
 THE DISADVANTAGES OF USING SELF-HEALING CONCRETE:-
• Skilled labor is required.
• The cost of SELF-HEALING concrete is double that of normal concrete which is presently about Rs 6720 per cubic mt.
• Availability of raw material is not easy.
• Preparation of CALCIUM LACTATE from milk is costly.
 APPLICATION

• Construction of underground retainers for hazardous waste material

• Construction of building in seismic zones and high rise structures.
• Construction of water retaining structures.
• Self-Healing concrete cab used for sectors such as tunnel lining, highways, Bridges, concrete floors and marine
structures and also durable roads.
• It can be used by oil and gas industries to stop small cracks from becoming spillways.
• It can be used to strengthen any kind of structural building both existing and new.
• It can proved to be economical in case of construction of dams.
STRUCTURES

Various underground chemical &

Nuclear facilities
 CONCLUSION
• SELF-HEALING CONCRETE is ecofriendly.
• Enhance Compressive Strength, reduce permeability and reduce corrosion in Bio-Concrete.
• Bacterial Concrete Technology has proved to be the better than many conventional technologies.
• The technique has proved to be better because of its increased durability and eco-friendly nature.
• There has been large amount of reduction in the permeability of the concrete thus increasing the service life of the
structure.
• This has open a new dimension of research calling the focus on Bio-Technology in the field of Building Material.
• In UNITED KINGDOM, it is estimated that 20billion dollar is invested each year on structural maintenance and most of
these are Concrete Structures. By using SELF-HEALING Concrete, this amount can be reduced dramatically and can
save lot of MONEY, TIME and MAN POWER.