Bio self-healing nanoconcretes

Abstract

Concrete as the most widely used construction material is susceptible to crack when exposes to stresses. Various types of passive techniques have been introduced to fill the generated cracks, however the majority of them are not permanent, effective, and environmentally friendly. Over recent years, the embedment of an active mechanism called “self-healing mechanism” in concrete has been proposed as an alternative approach to ineffective passive techniques. Among the investigated self-healing mechanisms, bio self-healing approach has drawn considerable attention as it can address the cracking issues by inducing calcium carbonate in a sustainable way. However, the effectiveness of bio self-healing concrete highly depends on the successful protection of bacteria in concrete matrix. So far, various types of micro-scale and recently nano-scale protecting careers have been tested to evaluate the effectiveness of bio self-healing concrete. In this chapter, the latest nanobiotechnological self-healing approaches for protection of bacteria in a harsh concrete pH are discussed.