The Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Biomineralization Technology in Improving the Strength of Damaged Fiber-Reinforced LWAC

Abstract

Concrete cracks and local damage can affect the bond performance between concrete and steel bars, thereby reducing the durability of reinforced concrete structures. Compared with general concrete crack repair methods, biomineralization repair not only has effective bonding capabilities but is also particularly environmentally friendly. Therefore, this study aimed to apply biomineralization technology to repair damaged fiber-reinforced lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC). Two groups of LWAC specimens were prepared. The experimental group used lightweight aggregates (LWAs) containing bacterial spores and nutrient sources, while the control group used LWAs without bacterial spores and nutrient sources. These specimens were first subjected to compression tests and pull-out tests, respectively, and thus were damaged. After the damaged specimen healed itself in different ways for 28 days, secondary compression and pull-out tests were conducted. The self-healing method of the control group involved placing the specimens in an incubator. The experimental group was divided into experimental group I and experimental group II according to the self-healing method. The self-healing method of experimental group I was the same as that of the control group. The self-healing method of experimental group II involved soaking the specimen in a mixed solution of urea and calcium acetate for two days, and then taking it out and placing it in an incubator for two days, with a cycle of four days. The test results show that in terms of the relative bond strength ratio, the experimental group II increased by 17.9% compared with the control group. Moreover, the precipitate formed at the cracks in the sample was confirmed to be calcium carbonate with the EDS and XRD analysis results, which improved the compressive strength and bond strength after self-healing. This indicates that the biomineralization self-healing method used in experimental group II is more effective.