Self-healing concrete with a bacteria-based or crystalline admixture as healing agent to prevent chloride ingress and corrosion in a marine environment

Abstract

Innovative solutions are needed to improve the durability of concrete structures in marine environment. Bacteria-based agents (BAS) and crystalline admixtures (CA) are explored as healing agents to enhance chloride resistance and prevent corrosion. Healing of 100 μm and 300 μm wide cracks was investigated, in combination with two conditioning methods. Either the samples were subjected to wet/dry cycles for 3 months before exposure (“healed”), or they were directly exposed to artificial seawater after crack creation (“unhealed”). After 12 months of submersion, BAS reduced chloride ingress even in the presence of cracks but showed limitations in preventing corrosion in cracked samples. In contrast, the CA series demonstrated a reduction in chloride ingress in both uncracked and cracked concrete and effectively prevented reinforcement corrosion in healed samples and samples with cracks of 100 μm. This highlights the potential of customized self-healing solutions to improve concrete durability in marine environments.