Effect of healing agents on the rheological properties of cement paste and compatibility with superplasticizer

Harry Hermawan, Guadalupe Sierra Beltran, Virginie Wiktor, Pedro Serna and Elke Gruyaert

Abstract: Self-healing concrete is considered as a new generation of concrete with the ability to heal cracks without human intervention. The healing agents are incorporated into the concrete to activate the healing mechanism and to improve the healing efficiency. While both lab- and large-scale projects have shown that the addition of healing agents can have a possible positive effect on the hardened concrete properties (e.g. compressive strength), unfortunately, the evaluation of fresh properties of self-healing concrete mixes is often neglected. In the current study, the effect of healing agents is clearly identified starting from the paste level. Different techniques were used to study the effect of healing agents on the consistency, viscosity and adsorption behaviour of PCE-based superplasticizer in cement paste. A crystalline admixture and bacteria were used as healing agents, and CEM III/A was used as the binder component of the paste. The results showed that the inclusion of bacteria did not influence the rheological properties of the cement paste and no incompatibility issues were found with the superplasticizer. On the other hand, the presence of the crystalline admixture in the paste interfered with the rheological properties of the cement paste as a reduction of workability, an increase of paste viscosity, and an increased adsorption of superplasticizer.

Reference of this article:  Effect of healing agents on the rheological properties of cement paste and compatibility with superplasticizer Harry Hermawan, Guadalupe Sierra Beltran, Virginie Wiktor, Pedro Serna, Elke Gruyaert MATEC Web Conf. 361 05008 (2022)

Affiliations:

Harry Hermawan and Elke Gruyaert: KU Leuven, Ghent Technology Campus, Department of Civil Engineering, Materials and Constructions, Gebroeders De Smetstraat 1, 9000 Ghent, Belgium

Guadalupe Sierra Beltran and Virginie Wiktor: Cugla B.V., R&D center, Rudonk 6b, 4824 AJ Breda, the Netherlands

Pedro Serna: Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología Del Hormigón (ICITECH), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera S/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain

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The full article can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/202236105008

Environmental and economic sustainability of crack mitigation in reinforced concrete with SuperAbsorbent polymers (SAPs)

Davide di Summa, Jose Roberto Tenorio Filho, Didier Snoeck, Philip Van den Heede, Sandra Van Vlierberghe, Liberato Ferrara and Nele De Belie

Abstract: Due to the increasing awareness and sensitivity towards the environmental and economic sustainability issues, the concrete industry has to deliver innovative solutions, in terms of materials, products and structural concepts, to achieve higher durability of engineering feats in real service scenarios. The inclusion of SuperAbsorbent Polymers (SAPs) into the concrete mix, can not only stimulate the autogenous crack healing, but is also able to reduce the shrinkage cracking through internal curing. In this paper, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis have been performed to assess both the ecological and economic profile, in real scale, of conventional reinforced concrete structures, made with concrete containing SAPs, in comparison to a reference solution without any addition. For this purpose, the corrosion of reinforcement has been regarded as the main degradation mechanism and different corrosion models have been considered and combined with the structural analysis principles to obtain reliable Service Life (SL) estimations. Four different scenarios, with a SL ranging from 50 up to 100 years, have been analyzed to assess the potential benefits of a wall, cast with SAP-containing concrete (Wall_SAP). Both Wall_SAP and a reference wall without SAP (Wall_Ref) are subjected to the concrete cover replacement as main maintenance activity while for the Wall_Ref also the crack filling by means of polyurethane resin is considered as an option (Wall_Resin). The adopted CML impact-assessment method, developed by the Center of Environmental Science of Leiden University, shows the advantage of using SAPs, since the environmental burdens were reduced up to 20% in the case of Fresh Water Aquatic Ecotoxicity impact category in comparison to the reference for the fourth scenario. In this scenario a hemispherical corrosion pit model for the steel bars and a service life of 100 years were taken into account. Furthermore, the economic assessment developed for the same scenario, pointed out for the SAPs based solution, there identified as Wall_SAP_M2_100, a consistent reduction in terms of costs up to 14% if compared to the reference, there named as Wall_Ref_M2_100. The outcomes definitely highlight the potential of the analyzed technology that can fulfil the future needs of the stakeholders involved in the construction sector.

Reference of this article:  Davide di Summa, José Roberto Tenório Filho, Didier Snoeck, Philip Van den Heede, Sandra Van Vlierberghe, Liberato Ferrara, Nele De Belie, Environmental and economic sustainability of crack mitigation in reinforced concrete with SuperAbsorbent polymers (SAPs), Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 358, 2022, 131998, ISSN 0959-6526

Affiliations:

Davide Di Summa, José Roberto Tenório Filho, Philip Van den Heede, and Nele de Belie: Ghent University, Department of Structural Engineering and Building Materials, Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory, Tech Lane Ghent Science Park, Campus A, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 60, B-9052, Ghent, Belgium

Didier Snoeck: BATir, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 50 av F.D. Roosevelt, CP 194/02, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium

Sandra Van Vlierberghe: Ghent University, Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Centre of Macromolecular Chemistry, Polymer Chemistry & Biomaterials Group, Krijgslaan 281, S4 9000, Ghent, Belgium

Liberato Ferrara: Politecnico di Milano, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy

José Roberto Tenório Filho: SIM vzw, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 48, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium

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The full article can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131998

Durability of self-healing cementitious systems with encapsulated polyurethane evaluated with a new pre-standard test method

Giovanni Anglani, Tim Van Mullem, Jean-Marc Tulliani, Kim Van Tittelboom, Nele De Belie and Paola Antonaci

Abstract: This work reports on the self-healing capabilities of mortar specimens with polyurethane encapsulated in two types of cementitious macro-capsules, by comparison with the performance of mortar specimens using the same healing agent encapsulated in glass capsules, as tested in an inter-laboratory testing campaign following a pre-standard procedure. This comparison was performed with a twofold objective of checking the robustness of such pre-standard procedure for varying types of capsules and testing the effectiveness of a new type of cementitious capsule that has never been used before in durability tests. The testing procedure was developed in the framework of the EU COST Action SARCOS. First, the specimens were pre-cracked via three-point bending followed by an active crack width control technique. Then, the self-healing effect was characterised in terms of water permeability reduction. The cementitious capsules offered equivalent or better performance compared to the glass capsules used in the inter-laboratory testing. The average sealing efficiency for the specimens containing cementitious capsules ranged from 54 to 74%, while for glass macro-capsules it was equal to 56%. It was also observed that when applying the pre-standard procedure to test specimens containing capsules with comparable size and geometric arrangement, the same results were obtained in different repetitions of the test. The results obtained confirmed the possibility to use the cementitious capsules as a valid macro-encapsulation system, offering additional advantages compared to glass capsules. The repeatability of the results corroborated the robustness of the adopted testing procedure, highlighting its potential for further standardisation.

Reference of this article:  Anglani, G., Van Mullem, T., Tulliani, JM. et al. Durability of self-healing cementitious systems with encapsulated polyurethane evaluated with a new pre-standard test method. Mater Struct 55, 143 (2022).

Affiliations:

Giovanni Anglani and Paola Antonaci: Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129, Torino, Italy

Tim Van Mullem, Kim Van Tittelboom and Nele De Belie: Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory, Department of Structural Engineering and Building Materials, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Ghent University, Tech Lane Ghent Science Park, Campus A, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 60, B-9052, Gent, Belgium

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The full article can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-021-01818-3

Reservoir-Vascular Tubes Network for Self-Healing Concrete: Performance Analysis by Acoustic Emission, Digital Image Correlation and Ultrasound Velocity

Eleni Tsangouri, Corentin Van Loo, Yasmina Shields, Nele De Belie, Kim Van Tittelboom & Dimitrios G. Aggelis

Abstract: A novel linear reservoir-vascular tubes network is presented in this work and the design efficacy is explored by testing concrete beams loaded on bending and by assessing their damage healing and mechanical recovery. The healing system is composed of additively manufactured polymer components that appear equally effective compared to conventional ceramic tubes since the 3D printed polymer-tubes instantly break upon cracking. It is shown that bulk reservoirs embedded into concrete can deviate cracks and detrimentally affect the concrete’s resistance to failure. The crack formation and re-opening is monitored by acoustic emission (AE) and digital image correlation (DIC) concluding that initial brittle cracking is shifted after healing to a pseudo-ductile crack re-opening with extended post-softening. The sealed cracks show significant strength and toughness recovery (i.e., above 80% of the original value) escorted also by an ultrasound pulse velocity (UPV) increase (up to 126% relative to the damage state) after a healing intervention. The work critically reports on obstructions of the current design: (i) the network tubes are clogged although the agent was flushed out of the network after healing and as a result re-healing is unattainable; and (ii) vacuum spaces are formed during casting underneath the network tubes, due to limited vibration aiming on the tubes’ tightness, but also due to inefficient aggregates settlement, leading to a strength decrease. This work calls attention to the impact of vascular networks design and performance on a complex cracks network and fracture zone development. .

Reference of this article: Tsangouri, E.; Van Loo, C.; Shields, Y.; De Belie, N.; Van Tittelboom, K.; Aggelis, D.G. Reservoir-Vascular Tubes Network for Self-Healing Concrete: Performance Analysis by Acoustic Emission, Digital Image Correlation and Ultrasound Velocity. Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 4821
DOI: 110.3390/app12104821

Keywords:  concrete; self-healing; cracking; vascular network; reservoir; acoustic emission; digital image correlation; ultrasound pulse velocity

Affiliations:

Eleni Tsangouri, Corentin Van Loo, Dimitros G Aggelis:Department Mechanics of Materials and Constructions (MeMC), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium

Yasmina Shields, Tim Van Mullem, Nele De Belie & Kim Van Tittelboom: Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory, Department of Structural Engineering and Building Materials, Faculty of
Engineering and Architecture, Ghent University, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 60, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium

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The full article can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3390/app12104821