GUJARAT TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE MODASA

A Report on
“self-healing biological concrete”
Under subject of design engineering
B.e. semester – 4th (civil engineering)

SUBMITTED BY
Sr no. name enrollment
1. Chaudhari Nilkumar 190160106012
2. Patel Jainish 190160106089
3. Gamit Dhavalkumar 190160106027
4. Thakare Karan 190160106148
5. Patel Nileshvari 190160106099

1
 GUIDED BY : Jigar K. Sathwara
ACADEMIC YEAR : 2020-2021

2
 GUJARAT TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE MODASA

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the dissertation entitled “SELF HEALING
CONCRETE” has been carried out by by “Chaudhari
Nilkumar(190160106012) ,Patel Jainish(190160106089) ,
Gamit DhavalKumar (190160106027) , Thakare
Karan(190160106148), Patel Nileshvari(190160106099)” under
my guidance in fulfilment of the Degree of Bachelor of Engineering in “
Civil Engineering (4th Semester)” of Gujarat Technological University,
Ahmadabad during the academic year 2019.

INTERNAL GUIDE HEAD OF

DEPARTMENT

3
4
 GUJARAT TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE MODASA

DECLARATION

We here by declare that the Project Report for the project entitle “ Self-
Healing Concrete” submitted in partial fulfilment for the Degree of Bachelor
of Engineering in Civil Engineering to Gujarat Technological University,
Ahmedabad, is a bonafide record of the work carried out at “Government
Engineering College Modasa” under the supervision of “ Jigar K.
Sathwara”.

Name of Students Signature

Chaudhari Nilkumar
Patel Jainish
Gamit Dhaval
Thakare Karan
Patel Nileshvari

5
 GUJARAT TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE MODASA

EXTERNAL EXAMINAR APPROVAL

This is to certify that the dissertation entitled “SELF HEALING CONCRETE” has
been carried out by :

NAME ENROLLMENT
Chaudhari Nilkumar 190160106012
Patel Jainish 190160106089
Gamit Dhavalkumar 190160106027
Thakare Karan 190160106148
Patel Nileshvari 190160106099

At “GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE MODASA “ (INSTITUTE CODE 016)

is approved for award of the degree B.E. CIVIL ENGINEERING by Gujarat
Technological University.

6
DATE :
PLACE :

GUJARAT TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE MODASA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are grateful to our department of CIVIL Engineering of our college for

providing the facilities and extending the necessary help to conduct Survey
at

Modasa geotechnical workshop.The entire session of our phase 1 completion

was a great experience providing us with the insight and invocation into

learning various software Engineering concepts and benefits of team work.

We are thankful to “ Jigar K. Sathwara” under whose guidance ; we are

able to

7
Carry out this project and also for providing us the environment in the
college Premises to complete our project successfully.

GUJARAT TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE MODASA

ABSTRACT

First of all we made a team of five students, then according to our

team number we get our internal guide, his name is “Jigar K.
Sathwara” then we are discussed with each other and select our
domain which is “self-healing biological concrete”.

Then we visit automobile workshop and collect data with the help of
workshop manager and labor, after that we analysed our data and
defined the problems and try to give their solution.

8
TABLE OF CONTENT PAGE
NO.
DISCRIPTION 1
CERTIFICATE 2
DECLARATION 3
EXTERNAL EXAMINER 4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 5
ABSTRACT 6
TABLE OF CONTENT 7
CHAPTER-1
1.1 INTRODUCTION 9
1.2 PROBLEMS IN CONCRETE & SOLUTION 10
1.3 LITERATURE & NEW INNOVATION 11
CHAPTER-2
2.1 QUESTION-1 12
2.1.1 AUTHOR
2.1.2 DETAILS AND RESULT
2.2 QUESTION-2 13
2.2.1 AUTHOR
2.2.2 DETAILS AND RESULT

9
2.3 QUESTION-3 14
2.3.1 AUTHOR
2.3.2 DETAILS AND RESULT
2.4 QUESTION-4 15
2.4.1 AUTHOR
2.4.2 DETAILS AND RESULT

2.5 QUESTION-5 16
2.5.1 AUTHOR
2.5.2 DETAILS AND RESULT
CHAPTER-3
3.1 METHODOLOGY 17
3.2 CONCLUSION 17
3.3 REFERENCE 18

10
1.1 INTRODUCTION
 Self-healing concrete is an artificial or synthetically created substance that
has the built-in ability to automatically repair the damage to itself without
any external diagnosis or human intervention.

 The invention comes in three forms:

 A spray that can be applied to existing construction for small

cracks that need repairing,

 a repair mortar for structural repair of large damage.

 Self-healing concrete itself, which can be mixed in quantities as

needed.

Figure 1.1 Cracks in concrete

11
  If cracking of the concrete occurs, interacted cement grains may
become exposed to moisture penetrating the crack.

 In that case the hydration process may start again and hydration
products may fill up and heal the crack.

 The inspiration comes from Biological Systems, which have the ability
to heal after being wounded.

1.2 PROBLEMS in self-healing concrete

DISADVANTAGE

 Cost of Bacterial concrete is double than conventional concrete.

 Growth of bacteria good in any atmosphere.

 The clay pellets holding the self-healing comprise 20% of the volume of
the concrete.

 Design of mix concrete with bacteria here is not available any IS Code
or other Code.

 Investigation of calcite precipitate is costly.

ADVANTAGES
 Helps to feel the cracks.

 Improvement in compressive strength of concrete.

12
  Better resistance towards freeze thaw attack reduction.

 Reduction in permeability of concrete.

 Reduction in corrosion of reinforced concrete.

 Helps to reduce maintenance and repair.

1.3 literature & new innovation

Since 2006 we are developing in our laboratory a bacteria-based self-

healing concrete. In order to substantially improve the concretes self-
healing capacity we add a bacteria-based healing agent to the concrete
mixture. This two-component agent consists of dormant bacterial spores
and a suitable feed. The bacterial spores become activated when concrete
cracks and water enters. The active bacteria subsequently convert the
feed into limestone thus sealing and waterproofing the concrete.

This system was originally designed for new concrete constructions as the
healing agent must be added to the concrete mixture. However, as
current (aged) concrete constructions do not feature a specifically inbuilt
self-healing system, we also developed a liquid bacteria-based
impregnation system. This system enables the transportation of bacteria
and feed into porous and cracked concrete surfaces. Once inside the
bacteria start forming limestone thereby increasing the density of the
porous concrete matrix resulting in a more durable material. In a number
of outdoors tests we have applied and tested the bacterial spray system
for its waterproofing functionality.

Results show that prior cracks become sealed with limestone effectively
waterproofing the structures. We expect that this bio-based system will

13
 substantially increase the service life of aged concrete constructions and
will considerable save maintenance and repair costs.

2.1 Quantification of crack-healing in novel bacteria-

based self-healing concrete
AUTHOR : Virginie Wiktor, Henk M Jonkers
DETAIL : The aim of this study was to quantify the crack-healing potential
of a specific and novel two-component bio-chemical self-healing agent
embedded in porous expanded clay particles, which act as reservoir
particles and replace part of regular concrete aggregates. Upon crack
formation the two-component bio-chemical agent consisting of bacterial
spores and calcium lactate are released from the particle by crack ingress
water.
RESULT : Experimental results showed crack-healing of up to 0.46 mm-
wide cracks in bacterial concrete but only up to 0.18 mm-wide cracks in
control specimens after 100 days submersion in water. That the observed
doubling of crack-healing potential was indeed due to metabolic activity
of bacteria was supported by oxygen profile measurements which
revealed O2 consumption by bacteria-based but not by control specimens.
We therefore conclude that this novel bio-chemical self-healing agent
shows potential for particularly increasing durability aspects of concrete
constructions in wet environments.

14
 2.2 Self-healing concrete by means of immobilized
carbonate precipitating bacteria
AUTHOR : Jianyun Wang Ghent University, 2013
DETAIL : Due to the limited autogenous healing capacity of concrete itself,
additives are needed to enhance the self-healing properties. These healing
agents are pre-added into the concrete during mixing or casting and are
expected to play their role (heal cracks) when cracking occurs. This PhD
work aims to explore a microbial-based self-healing strategy for concrete,
which has the distinct features of environmental friendliness, long-term
viability and low cost. Carbonate precipitating bacteria were added into
mortar specimens to in-situ heal concrete cracks when cracking occurred.
Two constituents are of crucial importance in this strategy, the microbial
source and the carriers for immobilization of bacteria. Bacillus sphaericus,
an alkali spore-forming ureolytic strain, was selected as the microbial
source due to its high carbonate production capacity, alkali adaptability
and long-term viability. Four types of carriers were investigated in this
study. In view of the self-healing efficiency and the possibility for practical
use, the most promising carriers are microcapsules and superabsorbent
polymers.
RESULT : Overall, the results of this doctoral research demonstrated the
feasibility of using immobilized carbonate precipitating bacteria for self-
healing concrete. The novel carriers used opens the perspective to bring
self-healing concrete into practice.

15
 2.3 Impact of the self-healing agent composition on
material characteristics of bio-based self-healing
concrete
AUTHOR : Hana Schreiberová, Petr Bílý, Josef Fládr,
Karel Šeps, Roman Chylík, Tomáš Trtík
DETAIL : A direct addition of the agent – a mixture of bacterial spores and
nutrients – into concrete matrix has been investigated by many studies in
recent decades. Under certain conditions, the applied microorganisms
proved to be able to produce CaCO3, and researchers used this
biocalcification process to autonomously seal microcracks in concrete.
Thus, this bio-based material could potentially heal itself and lead to a
more durable and economic structure. However, it has been shown that
the self-healing agent, especially the indispensable nutrients, can
positively or negatively influence the material characteristics. In this
study, some of the most suitable and frequently proposed nutrients
(calcium lactate, calcium nitrate, calcium formate, urea, and yeast extract)
were directly added into cement mortar during the mixing process and
their impact on material characteristics – compressive strength, flexural
strength, and rheology – was evaluated and compared.
RESULT : Results show that calcium nitrate, calcium formate, calcium
lactate, and urea have generally a potential to increase the compressive
strength, especially in early ages. In contrast, the applied dose of yeast
extract resulted in a drastic drop of compressive strength when compared
to the control series, thus further optimization of the concentration is
needed. The flexural strength was affected rather negligibly by the
proposed nutritional admixtures.

16
 2.4 Application of expanded perlite encapsulated
bacteria and growth media for self-healing concrete
AUTHOR : Mohamed Alazhari, Trupti Sharma,
Andrew Heath, Richard Cooper, Kevin Paine
DETAIL : For the first time, optimisation of the self-healing performance
was considered in terms of the number of bacterial spores required, the
concentration and composition of nutrients and precursors, and whether
a two-component system was likely to efficiently produce self-healing in
concrete. This information is required if efficient and cost-effective self-
healing systems based on bacterial activity are to be implemented. For
this research, coated expanded perlite was used to immobilise bacterial
spores and encapsulate nutrients as two separate components for self-
healing concrete. Self-healing capacity was evaluated by imaging and by
initial surface absorption of water.
RESULT : The results indicated that healing could be achieved when
coated expanded perlite containing self-healing agents was used as a 20%
replacement of fine aggregate and if a suitable ratio of spores to calcium
acetate was provided. This research is the first to show that self-healing is
not simply a requirement of having sufficient healing compounds (e.g.
calcium acetate) but that a minimal number of bacterial spores are also
required to ensure that sufficient cells take part in the healing process.

17
 2.5 Self-healing concrete using rubber particles to
immobilize bacterial spores
AUTHOR : Hongyin Xu, Jijian Lian, Maomao Gao,
Dengfeng Fu, Yue Yan
DETAIL : The experimental results show that the self-healing rubber
concrete with a particle size of 1~ 3 mm has a better healing capacity than
the self-healing rubber concrete with a particle size of 0.2~ 0.4 mm, and
the width value of the completely healed crack is 0.86 mm. The self-
healing rubber concrete has a higher slump than the plain concrete and
normal rubber concrete. According to the strength tests, the compressive
strengths of the self-healing rubber concrete are low early on but they
exceed those of the corresponding normal rubber concrete at 28 days.
Moreover, the self-healing rubber concrete has higher splitting tensile
strengths than the plain concrete and a better anti-crack capability.
RESULT : The results of a comparison to the other two representative
bacterial carriers indicate that rubber particles have potential to be a
widely used bacteria carrier for practical engineering applications in self-
healing concrete.

3.1 Methodology
18
Procedure for growth of bacteria
 Before the growth of culture all the glassware was sterilized.
 Take 1000ml of distilled water and add 24gm of nutrient broth in to it.
 Distribute the solution in 4 conical flask ( 250ml each).
 Wrap the conical flask and pipette into the autoclave for 1 hr.
 Turn off the autoclave after 1hr and remove the flask and pipette from
it.
 Take 250ml of tap water in conical and add 1% of cultured broth and
5% calcium lactate.
 The above flasks were kept in rotary shaker for 24hrs till the mixer
turns to turbid.
 Store the bacterial solution in incubator.

3.2 CONCLUSION
 Hence, Self-Healing Concrete is crack resistant.
 Which protect the concrete and reinforcement from cracks and from
corrosion.
 Increase in the strength of the concrete as compared to conventional
(Normal) concrete.

Figure 1.2 Graph of cracks

 Self-Healing Concrete is the best solution for the demand of
sustainable concrete due to its ability of self repair and durability.
 In future, self-healing concrete is going to play the most important role
in the concrete technology.

19
3.3 Reference
 www.sciencedirect.com/self-healing
concrete
 https://youtu.be/He49aLkGi3k -
Technical Civil
 www.scribd.com/self-healing
concrete
 www.irjet.net/IRJET-V5I5732 (1).pdf

20