Abstract
The service life of concrete is dramatically reduced when cracks are not
immediately detected and efficiently treated. In contrast to traditional manual repairing
techniques (injection of healing agents into the crack), several innovative approaches
aim at autonomous crack treatment during the concrete's service life. Mimicking the
mechanisms from nature that enable injured organisms to recover, our research team
manufactures concrete that regains its tightness, strength and stiffness after damage by
embedding encapsulated healing agents into the material. In more detail, during
concrete casting brittle glass capsules filled with two-component healing agent are
placed at the areas where damage is expected. Crack formation breaks the capsules and
the released agent fills the cracked plane. Local repair is achieved since the adhesion of
the healing agent resets the material cracking resistance. The efficiency of such smart
recovering technology is evaluated by performing small-scale bending tests on concrete
beams and measuring the loading response in case of crack reopening after healing.
Regain of mechanical properties is an initial sign of healing but does not provide
sufficient information about the crack closure mechanism. A deep understanding of
cracking damage and recovery is obtained by applying the Acoustic Emission (i.e. AE)
technique. Resonant AE sensors, attached to concrete beams surface, capture the
fracture activity and detect the initial crack opening and reopening after healing. It is
concluded that AE hits activity correlate well with regain in strength and stiffness when
reopening of healed cracks occurs. Finally, AE locates the area where healing
successfully repairs damage.
immediately detected and efficiently treated. In contrast to traditional manual repairing
techniques (injection of healing agents into the crack), several innovative approaches
aim at autonomous crack treatment during the concrete's service life. Mimicking the
mechanisms from nature that enable injured organisms to recover, our research team
manufactures concrete that regains its tightness, strength and stiffness after damage by
embedding encapsulated healing agents into the material. In more detail, during
concrete casting brittle glass capsules filled with two-component healing agent are
placed at the areas where damage is expected. Crack formation breaks the capsules and
the released agent fills the cracked plane. Local repair is achieved since the adhesion of
the healing agent resets the material cracking resistance. The efficiency of such smart
recovering technology is evaluated by performing small-scale bending tests on concrete
beams and measuring the loading response in case of crack reopening after healing.
Regain of mechanical properties is an initial sign of healing but does not provide
sufficient information about the crack closure mechanism. A deep understanding of
cracking damage and recovery is obtained by applying the Acoustic Emission (i.e. AE)
technique. Resonant AE sensors, attached to concrete beams surface, capture the
fracture activity and detect the initial crack opening and reopening after healing. It is
concluded that AE hits activity correlate well with regain in strength and stiffness when
reopening of healed cracks occurs. Finally, AE locates the area where healing
successfully repairs damage.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | 31st Conference of the European Working Group on Acoustic Emission (EWGAE) |
| Editors | Ewgae |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
| Event | 31st Conference of the European Working Group on Acoustic Emission (EWGAE) - Dresden, Germany Duration: 3 Sept 2014 → 5 Sept 2014 |
Conference
| Conference | 31st Conference of the European Working Group on Acoustic Emission (EWGAE) |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | EWGAE |
| Country/Territory | Germany |
| City | Dresden |
| Period | 3/09/14 → 5/09/14 |
Bibliographical note
EWGAEKeywords
- Self-healing
- Bending
- Concrete
- Energy
- Multiple crack formation
- Cumulative AE activity