An Overview of Different Types of Self-Healing Concrete Construction Methods

Concrete is the most widely used construction material around the globe due to its high strength, durability, and relatively low cost. However, concrete cracks and their detrimental effects are inevitable even in the early life of structures, thus emphasizing the necessity of repair. Given that in most cases, concrete appears uncoated in the environment, and the environmental conditions significantly affect its longevity, application of some specific methods to increase the durability and longevity of concrete stuructures is highly recommended. According to the statistics, research findings, and objective observations, the cost of repairing a structure is sometimes higher than that of construction itself. Concrete cracks significantly reduce the life time of concrete structures. Therefore, it is more cost-effective to prevent the appearance and growth of small cracks from the very first moments rather than repairing the cracks after their formation. To this end, it is recommended to add repair materials to the concrete beforehand to improve premature cracking, a method called self-healing. For this reason, self-healing concrete has found a special place in the construction industry in the world, especially in recent years. The current study presented a review and made a comparison of some of these self-healing concrete methods to find the method with the highest capability of industrialization.