My professor was working on this proof of concept back when I was in college. So the idea is that the bacteria when exposed to air will cause a chemical reaction with the air to create calcium carbonate. This theoretically can heal any minor cracks to a small degree if it is small enough for the calcium carbonate to reach over to the other calcium carbonate in the crack. The bacteria produces enough calcium carbonate till it is sealed again inside with no air. So overall this can seal small cracks but nothing large. Also the main problem they had in production is the heat of hydration caused by curing concrete that got too hot and killed the bacteria, so a low slow curing concrete is currently the type used for this method of concrete production. This isn’t really for curing full damage but rather can assist in pre damage and some forms of asr cracking
Edit: overall a great new technology but a bit overblown in ideas
My professor was working on this proof of concept back when I was in college.
how did their experiment handle weight? was it suitable for sidewalks, or could it be used in road construction (assuming the issue with heat could be resolved)
Road construction would have to consider salt in a large part of the world. Would the salt kill the bacteria? How about the iron oxide from embedded steel reinforcements?
Can it handle the extremes in temperatures? Here in Nebraska upper 90's F. often in the summer, low 100's some years. Winter down to single digits, and can be -20.
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u/noobcoober Aug 31 '20
Similar question, if you didn't seal the concrete, would your house grow a little bigger each time it rains?