Good afternoon everyone!

We’re group 1 and we’re here to present our product which is the self healing

concerete. For the first part, I’m gonna report the answers to the guide questions about our product.

Number 1:

1. What makes this proposed project innovative?

As we all know, Cement concrete is the major material used in construction works. It

consists of aggregates, water, and cement that hardens over time. And, no matter how

the concrete mixture is handled it eventually leads in cracking. Our product, which is

the self healing concrete would contribute to a longer service life of concrete

structures and would make the material not only more durable but also more

sustainable. Unlike any other concrete, self-healing concrete can fix itself.

Self-healing concrete is designed to repair micro-cracks which embeds limestone-

producing bacteria into building material. Bacteria is mixed and distributed evenly

with the concrete which can lie dormant for a hundred years.

2. Will it help solve a problem of a community, the country, or the

world?

Concrete is still one of the main materials used in the construction industry,

from the foundation of buildings to the structure of bridges and underground

parking lots. Self-healing concrete gives us the ability to construct buildings

without worrying about damages or intensive maintenance. Not only will

structures benefit from self-healing concrete, they are a wonderful solution for

sidewalks. The most common problem of concrete is that it develops micro-cracks

during the construction process. These tiny cracks don’t immediately affect the
 building’s structural integrity, but they can lead to leakage problems and Leakage can

eventually corrode the concrete’s steel reinforcements, which can ultimately cause a

collapse. Also, we can save a lot on construction cost. According to Studies, the

estimated cost of construction repair for a 1km concrete road is roughly 15 million

pesos. It is usually done through re-blocking or what we call “buhos” (removing the

damaged part of the road and replacing it with a new “buhos”.) Plus There is also

additional cost on asphalt overlay that is estimated to be 10 million pesos. Using self-

healing concrete could reduce the construction cost for about 50% of a regular

concrete with a lifespan of 30-50 years.

3. Can we make a process/mechanism description out of this?

In this bacterial repair, they embed the bacteria in microcapsules or microgels,

where they may survive hundreds of years, whereas they would not be long-lived when

introduced into the concrete mixture right away. These gels swell when water enters into the

concrete; this partly seals the crack. Then the gel will provide the fluid to the surrounding

matrix for internal curing, further hydration and the precipitation of calcium carbonate. In this

way, cracks may close completely. The picture on the left side shows the virtual process on

how bacterial repair works while on the right side is the actual process of the bacterial repair

on concrete using a microscope.

 Bacterial repair
 These would seem to be inferior with regard to early age microstructure and

strength development, but their self-healing capability can be high, because they

will still contain some unreacted particles that can be activated when cracks

appear.

Shown here is also a sample of a self healed concrete

5. What possible limitations may we encounter?

The research on microbial self-healing concrete mostly focuses on laboratory

scale or outdoor scale, and there is still lack of large relevant experience in

commercial application of concrete.

The clay pellets holding the self healing agent comprise 20% of the volume of the

concrete. That 20% would normally made up of harder aggregate such as gravel. The

clay is much weaker than normal aggregate and this weakens the concrete by 25% and

significantly reduces its compressive strength. In many structures this would not be a

problem but in specialised applications where higher compressive strength is needed,

such as in high-rise buildings, it will not be viable. NEXT

According to a survey done by researchers, the main problems experienced with

concrete (both old and new construction) in projects on which the respondents had worked

over the last 5 years are as follows:

experienced by more clients, design team members and contractors than any other

problem, and overall by an average of 90% of all respondents;

ii. Water ingress (experienced by an average of 73% of all respondents);

iii. Impact damage (experienced by an average of 65% of all respondents);

iv. Damage caused by freeze-thaw conditions, and other environmental damage of which

sulphates, salt/chlorides, carbonation and acid attack were the most common.

Also of particular interest was the response given by 80% of contractors who

highlighted that one of the main sources of damage to concrete results from the handling and

loading of precast elements.

The problems were reported to be experienced at all stages throughout the life of a

concrete structure, contractors in particular, highlighted problems with early age cracking
(<3 days), whereas clients and design team members emphasized problems with longer-term

cracking (>5 years).

6. Who is our target market?

This innovation is best to use on roads, pavements, and other horizontal

construction works where we consider different local/international construction

industries as our target market.

7. Will it be offered for free or with a price?

Unfortunately, the costs of the technology are still quite high, about €30-40 (about

$33-44) per square meter. This means it will initially only be viable for projects where

leakage and corrosion are particularly problematic, such as underground and

underwater structures. And as demand for the concrete increases, the price should

decrease. Engineers considering using self-healing concrete should assess its

functionality and cost in comparison with conventional concrete. It will more likely

be used in larger, more expensive projects, but only after its long-term safety has been

thoroughly demonstrated.

8. Is it eco-friendly?

There are several formulas that they used on concrete mixture and one of the formulas

is composed of sand, gel and bacteria on which they call the living concrete. This

concrete is environmentally friendly that can bear heavy loads. It is also composed of
 water and doesn’t use any harmful chemicals to the environment. As maintenance of

structures are standard safety procedures, one cannot discount the multiple aspects of

indirect pollution it contributes: the dust during construction, the smoke emissions of

trucks used for bridge repairs and etc. Although the environmental impact of other

sources of pollution is more visible, it is best to address this implicit problem early on.

Also, this will help lower maintenance for building owners, homeowners and for the

government as well.

9. Which product/ service/ project have we taken inspiration from?

People think that the ancient romans already made self healing concrete years ago

since Some of their concrete structures survive until this day, most famously of course

the Pantheon. And piers, objects that nowadays are infamous for concrete degradation

under the influence of sea water. That these Roman structures still exist is a 2,000

year achievement that will not easily be met by modern-day structures. The secret

seems to be a ‘pozzolanic’ reaction of the material with intrusive water that takes

place after construction and produces calcium/aluminium silicate crystals that fill

voids and cracks.

Then it was developed in Netherlands by a microbiologist named Hendrick Jonkers. It

is said that he was inspired by the natural body processes in which bones heal through

mineralization. Also another concept of self-healing concrete came from the principle

of the self-healing properties of the skin, a form of natural defense mechanism. Nature

plays an active role in this process by the development of clots to seal the break. This

is the first process of skin healing.

project?

We suggest that researchers should also conduct a study about this self-

healing concrete here in the Philippines so that they’ll know what particular mixture

and bacteria they will use that works on our climate. Since concrete is used every day for

all manner of construction, it stands to reason that this innovation could make infrastructure

safer and more durable. The use of bacillus pasteuriinot only reverses deterioration, but could

also minimize the costs and environmental effects of building new structures. Moreover,

repairs made with this kind of concrete are likely to last longer than their traditional

counterparts.

 We need a bacteria that can survive the harsh environment of concrete, something like

a rock-like, stone-like material, that is very dry. With that, we can choose a bacillus

bacteria for this, because they thrive in alkaline conditions and produce spores that

can survive for decades without food or oxygen. In order to produce limestone the

bacilli need a food source. We will be formulating ideas on what’s a good food source

for the bacilli.