Development of 3D printed networks in self-healing concrete

De Nardi, Cristina, Gardner, Diane ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2864-9122 and Jefferson, Anthony Duncan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2050-2521 2020. Development of 3D printed networks in self-healing concrete. Materials 13 (6) , 1328. 10.3390/ma13061328

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Abstract

This paper presents a new form of biomimetic cementitious material, which employs 3D-printed tetrahedral mini-vascular networks (MVNs) to store and deliver healing agents to damage sites within cementitious matrices. The MVNs are required to not only protect the healing agent for a sufficient period of time but also survive the mixing process, release the healing agent when the cementitious matrix is damaged, and have minimal impact on the physical and mechanical properties of the host cementitious matrix. A systematic study is described which fulfilled these design requirements and determined the most appropriate form and material for the MVNs. A subsequent series of experiments showed that MVNs filled with sodium silicate, embedded in concrete specimens, are able to respond effectively to damage, behave as a perfusable vascular system and thus act as healing agent reservoirs that are available for multiple damage-healing events. It was also proved that healing agents encapsulated within these MVNs can be transported to cracked zones in concrete elements under capillary driving action, and produce a recovery of strength, stiffness and fracture energy.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Engineering
Additional Information:	This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Publisher:	MDPI
ISSN:	1996-1944
Funders:	EPSRC
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	15 April 2020
Date of Acceptance:	11 March 2020
Last Modified:	04 May 2023 21:25
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/130531

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