CONCRETE

[:ru]ван Брюгель К.[:en]van Breugel, K.[:] [:ru]д-р техн. наук, проф., Делфтский технический университет, Бельгия[:en]Dr. Ir., Prof., Delft University of Technology, Belgium[:]

Alitinform №1 (28) 2013 г. 34-39 p.

Abstract

Industrial growth goes along with an increasing demand for buildings and infrastructure. In most cases concrete is the main building material for these structures. In order to ensure constant availability of these structures they have to meet minimum service life criteria. Low quality structures or premature repair is a high financial burden for the society. A lack of quality may lead to decommissioning and demolishing of structures. But even good quality structures need continuous care since all materials and structures do suffer from aging. Taking this into account, it is considered a great challenge to design materials with an inherent potential to heal themselves once any kind of deterioration or aging starts. That would extend the service life of concrete structures and, hence, mitigate the pressure on the need of raw materials and energy for new built. But how realistic are self healing concepts? Are they reliable and affordable and is it possible to estimate the potential savings by using self-healing materials? These are the questions to be addressed in this contribution.

Key words:

aging infrastructure; societal costs; service life design; self-healing; damage control; bioconcrete; smart nano particles; rebar corrosion