Self-healing concrete might soon be a reality. In October, in 2015, researchers at Cardiff University were attempting to formulate the concrete in Wales. By November, the team was testing three different kinds of self-healing concrete formulas. The team intends to make a case for building with self-healing concrete around the world that could repair itself when damaged .
So...autonomous concrete?
Professor Bob Lark, the principal investigator for the project at Cardiff University's School of Engineering, said, "These self-healing materials and intelligent structures will significantly enhance durability, improve safety and reduce the extremely high maintenance costs that are spent each year. The major trial, the first of its kind in the UK, will provide us with important insights to help transfer the technologies from the lab into the real-world settings."
A year later, the idea of self-healing concrete is so appealing an idea, the University of Victoria in British Columbia is also trying their hand at creating it.At the steering wheel of the team is Professor Rishi Gupta. According to ConstructionDive, the team is looking at concrete that would heal the cracks in but is also trying to make a crack-free concrete that would last longer than the current standard.
Also speaking to PHYS, Oliver Teall, a civil engineer at Costain, said: "We are supporting this innovative research to unlock the many potential benefits of self-healing concrete for use within the infrastructure. From this trial, we should gain an insight into the feasibility of constructing a full-scale structure using these techniques and their early-stage effects on structural properties. We will be monitoring properties such as stiffness, permeability and the mechanical damage recovery of the trial walls in comparison with conventional reinforced concrete walls."
