International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056

Volume: 10 Issue: 03 | Mar 2023 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

Review Paper on Investigating the use of Self-Healing Concrete for

Sustainable Infrastructure Development
Satyendra Patel1, Shiv Kumar2, Kartikey Paliya3, Updesh Maurya4, Er. Mohd. Shariq4
B. Tech Students Department of Civil Engineering, Axis Institute of Technology and Management, Rooma
1,2,2,4

Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

5
Head of Department, Department of Civil Engineering, Axis Institute of Technology and Management, Rooma
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

---------------------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------------
Abstract - The importance for innovative and state-of-the-art research on a variety of self-healing
sustainable building materials has been brought to light mechanisms, including bacterially induced mineral
by the city's fast development and growing demand for precipitation and encapsulated healing agents, and
robust infrastructure. An essential part of infrastructure, assess how well they work to enhance mechanical
concrete is prone to deterioration and cracking over time, properties and support the development of sustainable
creating maintenance issues as well as environmental infrastructure. This study aims to guide future research
problems. The possibility of self-healing concrete as a attempts and help to the realization of resilient and
viable option for environmentally friendly infrastructure environmentally aware infrastructure systems by
construction is investigated in this study. The inherent offering an overview of the accomplishments and gaps in
capacity of self-healing concrete to self-heal microcracks this sector.
increases its longevity and lessens the need for regular 1.1 Objective
maintenance and repairs. The purpose of this research is
to determine whether encapsulated healing agents and
The objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility
mineral precipitation caused by bacteria are two
and sustainability of the implementation of Self-healing
examples of self-healing processes that may be used to
Concrete (SHC) as a sustainable infrastructure
extend the life and improve the mechanical
development solution. The objective of the study is to
characteristics of concrete buildings. Laboratory tests are
examine the material properties, the durability, and the
used in the study technique to evaluate the mechanical
long-term durability of SHC in a wide range of
strength, healing effectiveness, and longevity of self-
environmental conditions. The study will also look at the
healing concrete specimens in various environmental
economic and environmental advantages of
settings. In addition, the viability from an economic and
incorporating SHC into construction practices with the
environmental standpoint of using self-healing concrete
aim of advancing sustainable infrastructure
in major building projects will be assessed.
development.
Key Words: Self-Healing Concrete, Urbanization,
Resilient Infrastructure, Concrete Degradation,
Cracking, Durability, Microcrack Repair 1.2 Mechanism of self-healing Concrete

1.INTRODUCTION When concrete is damaged, it automatically repairs itself

and regains its structural integrity. Natural Self-Repair
The need for sustainable infrastructure development is For instance, calcium carbonate secreted by bacteria is
becoming more and more apparent in light of the activated by water to seal fissures. Natural Self-Healing
growing urbanization and need for long-lasting and For instance, when honeyed cement particles interact
environmentally friendly building materials. An with water, calcium silicate hydrate gel is created.
essential component of contemporary infrastructure, Capsules with medicinal ingredients When a capsule
concrete is prone to deterioration and cracking over ruptures, it can be inserted into the concrete mixture
time, creating major maintenance issues as well as and allowed to react with the surrounding components,
environmental problems. This review explores the sealing the fissure. External Self-Repair Fiber-Reinforced
emerging subject of self-healing concrete as a possible Concrete Fibers stop the spread of cracks memory
way to overcome these obstacles. With its innate polymers in various shapes Revert to the initial state
capacity to self-heal microcracks, self-healing concrete shuts crevices Vascular Structures with Incorporated
has enormous potential to extend the life of buildings Channels Brimming with Restorative Ingredients
and lessen the frequency of repairs. The goal of the Concrete that mends itself by allowing healing chemicals
paper is to thoroughly examine and summarize the to seep into fissures

© 2023, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 8.226 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 1
 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 10 Issue: 03 | Mar 2023 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

occurrence that led to the early disintegration of the

1.3 Bacillus Megaterium as healing Agent structure due to the transportation of dangerous
elements. There are more costly ways to fill in cracks,
In the field of construction engineering, using Bacillus including as gravity filling, epoxy injection, routing and
megaterium to create self-healing concrete is a viable sealing of cracks, drilling and plugging, and dry packing.
strategy. One kind of bacteria called Bacillus megaterium Therefore, self-healing concrete is the ideal crack-filling
is well-known for its capacity to use metabolic processes material in terms of sustainable development. A more
to create calcite, or calcium carbonate. When these recent development in concrete technology is microbial
bacteria are added to concrete, they can stay dormant concrete [3]
until cracks appear. When this happens, the bacteria get
activated and start to generate calcite to fill the crevices, Arun Kumar Parashar et al. (2021) When cement
which allows the concrete to mend itself. concrete is subjected to significant shrinkage and
settling, the existence of voids in the material may cause
a decrease in performance. This study concentrated on
1.4 PROPERTIES OF BACILLUS MEGATERIUM using bacteria to decrease concrete voids and increase
performance. It was discovered that the Bacillus family
The Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus megaterium has of bacteria were the concrete's greatest healers. In the
unique characteristics that make it very interesting for a current investigation, Bacillus megaterium bacteria from
variety of applications, such as its possible use in self- the Bacillus family were used at a concentration of 108
healing concrete. Its ability to generate spores, which CFU. After seven and twenty-eight days of curing, a total
permits survival under unfavorable climatic conditions, of forty-eight specimens were cast and examined for
is one of its important characteristics. Bacillus mechanical strength and water absorption. In
megaterium is also well-known for its capacity to comparison to a conventional M30 grade concrete mix,
generate urease enzymes. Since ammonia and carbonate the test results show that after 28 days of curing, the
ions are produced when urea is hydrolyzed, this compressive, split tensile, and flexural strengths
enzymatic activity is essential to the process of self- improved to 12.91%, 10.28%, and 9.02%, respectively. It
healing concrete. was also discovered that the bacterial concrete had a
lower water absorption value than the conventional
concrete mix. This is because the Bacillus megaterium
2. LITERATURE REVIEW bacteria's production of calcite precipitation causes the
concrete to fill in its fractures. Thus, by decreasing the
Poonam Ghodke et al. (2018) Concrete will always be vacancies, the Bacillus megaterium bacteria of the
an essential part of infrastructure because of its Bacillus family can be efficiently used to increase the
excellent qualities, which include easy availability, mechanical strength.[4]
affordability, strength, durability, and ease of casting.
Although it is resilient to tensile stresses and can Gaikwad, Nikhil Sanjay et al. (2021) An essential
tolerate compressive forces, it is more prone to cracking, component of the construction business is concrete. We
which shortens its lifespan and makes the concrete employ a variety of techniques, materials, and systems
structure more vulnerable. Because of temperature and to produce high-quality, long-lasting concrete. We find
humidity variations, the chance of cracking increases cracks even after taking all necessary precautions
while the concrete cures. [1] throughout the mixing, casting, and curing processes.
Concrete cracking has eventually been accepted as an
Ishraq Mohammad Ali Khattab et al. (2019) The self- inevitable occurrence. Our structure may crack for a
healing technique is the most widely used treatment for number of causes, including changes in temperature and
concrete structures in order to increase the material's the application of large weights. Cracks lengthen the
endurance. The relationship between cracks and seepage, which causes corrosion of the reinforcement
potential self-healing techniques is intricate and takes and reduces the structure's durability and life. [5]
the environment into account. The primary goal of this
study is to review the biological processes of self-healing Victor C. Li at al. (2021) In order to promote
concrete. It also includes a detailed evaluation of sustainable infrastructure, this article presents the idea
previous journal publications on the subject of of self-healing concrete, which minimizes maintenance
biological, natural, and chemical mechanisms of self- and repairs during the use phase. Self-healing must meet
healing concrete. [2] at least six robustness requirements in order to achieve
this goal: long shelf life, ubiquitous, quality, dependable,
Aishwarya S. Dagade, et al. (2021) Because of the adaptable, and repeatable. The robustness criteria are
concrete's poor tensile strength, cracks are a regular used to evaluate five general categories of self-healing
approaches: chemical encapsulation, bacterial

© 2023, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 8.226 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 2
 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 10 Issue: 03 | Mar 2023 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

encapsulation, mineral admixtures, chemical in glass

tubing, and intrinsic healing with self-controlled tight
crack width. [6] MIX PROPORTION AND CASTING
OF CONCRETE
Mugahed Amran et al. (MDPI 2022) Despite its
propensity for fracture development, concrete is a
material that is frequently utilized in the building
industry because of its affordability and accessibility. As
a result, there has been a sharp increase in interest in CURING OF CONCRETE
self-healing materials, especially those with the ability to
repair in green and sustainable concrete materials. Over
the past 20 years, numerous researchers have presented
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH TEST
various approaches to this problem. But selecting the
best strategy is challenging since every research AND CALCULATION
organization uses a different set of tests to determine
how well healing occurs. Self-healing concrete (SHC) has
the ability to mend itself, reducing the need for outside
assistance in identifying and fixing internal damage
(such as cracks). [7] STORE OF CREAKED CONCRETE
FOR SELF HEALING
Ismael Justo Reinoso et al. (2023) The environmental
impact of bacteria-based self-healing concretes
(BBSHCs), in which non-uratolytic bacterial endospores
are encased in porous calcium silicate granules, is CONCLUSION
assessed in this work using life cycle assessment (LCA).
Results show that 1 m3 of BBSHC has an overall
environmental effect that is 85% higher than that of
4. CONCLUSION
similar conventional concrete. This is mainly because to
the presence of polyvinyl acetate and calcium nitrate.
In general, research into the application of self-healing
Moreover, BBSHC has a 51% bigger water footprint (260
concrete for sustainable infrastructure has the potential
L) and a 36% larger embodied carbon footprint (120 kg
to completely transform the way we plan, construct, and
CO2 eq).However, depending on the impact category,
maintain infrastructure, making the built environment
sustainability improvements ranging from 12% to 50%
more robust, effective, and ecologically friendly for
can be achieved by strategically incorporating BBSHC in
coming generations.
particular areas of reinforced concrete structures,
utilizing its innate self-healing properties to
4.EXPECTED OUTCOMES
purposefully allow wider crack widths, and
subsequently reducing the amount of non-structural Investigating the application of self-healing concrete for
steel needed to control early-age cracking. Accordingly, the construction of sustainable infrastructure is likely to
a BBSHC-structure's embodied carbon footprint might yield a variety of diverse and multifaceted results. These
be lowered by 12%, averting the release of 51 kg of CO2 results are critical for directing decision-making
equivalents [8]. procedures, encouraging improvements in building
techniques, and advancing the sustainability of
3. METHODOLOGY infrastructure as a whole. Among the anticipated results
are:
The primary focus of methodology is the gathering of
materials. To ensure that this project is successful, the  Enhanced Durability and Lifespan
following processes must be followed during project
work:  Improved Structural Performance
COLLECTION OF MATERIAL
 Environmental Sustainability

 Cost Savings over the Life Cycle

SELECTION AND PREPRATION OF  Development of Standards and Guidelines

HEALING AGENT
5. FUTURE SCOPE

© 2023, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 8.226 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 3
 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 10 Issue: 03 | Mar 2023 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

With continuous research and development efforts [5] Nikhil Sanjay Gaikwad (International Research
focused at developing the technology and increasing its Journal of Engineering and Technology
applications, self-healing concrete has a huge future
potential. The following are some possible future paths [6] Victor C. Li (Journal of Advanced Concrete
and opportunities: Technology 2021)
 Better self-healing mechanisms: Investigating [7] Mugahed Amran (MDPI 2022)
new bacterial strains, streamlining nutrient delivery
systems, and improving encapsulation techniques [8] Ismael Justo Reinoso (Journal Prep roof 2023):
are some ways to improve the effectiveness and
efficiency of concrete's self-healing processes and
guarantee prompt and comprehensive fracture
repair.

 Integration of smart materials: By combining

sensing technologies and smart materials with self-
healing concrete, it may be possible to monitor the
structural health of a structure in real time and
activate repair mechanisms automatically in
response to damage or deterioration that is
detected, increasing resilience and lowering
maintenance costs.

 Customization for particular uses: Adapting

self-healing concrete formulations and methods to
suit the needs of various infrastructure kinds and
environmental circumstances; examples include
high-performance concrete for transportation
infrastructure in challenging environments, offshore
structures, and bridges.

REFERENCES

[1] Poonam Ghodke, Swarda Mote, (2018) “The Self-

Healing Concrete” Journal - International Journal
of Advances in Engineering & Technology

[2] Ishraq Mohammad Ali Khattab, CORE (2019)

[3] Aishwarya S. Dagade, Sumit R. Thakur, (2020)

“Use of Bacillus Bacteria in Self-Healing Concrete”
Journal- (International Research Journal of
Engineering and Technology Volume 7)

[4] Arun Kumar Parashar, Ankur Gupta, (2021)

“Experimental study of the bacillus megaterium
on cement concrete” Journal - IOP Conference
Series: Material Science and Engineering

© 2023, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 8.226 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 4