State of the art and recent applications of self-healing concrete

Sustainability in the field of civil engineering is becoming increasingly relevant. The sustainability of buildings and structures is strongly influenced by the decision-making process during the design phase, so it is becoming of the utmost importance the need to start coping with sustainability issues from the design stage. This with the aim of obtaining a final product of featuring high quality, preserving both the environment and people. Building performances should be maintained over time in order to avoid interventions of repair or demolition, which represent a “bunder” to the society, both in economic terms and environmental impact. In the field of construction, the concept of durability is closely related to sustainability. The use of materials with the ability to repair themselves (self-healing materials) without outside intervention reduces the need for repair, which leads to extend the building and structure service life. Moreover, even though the initial costs are generally higher, these materials are an interesting option in the world of engineering construction since the future life cycle cost very strongly benefit from their use. Concerning reinforced concrete structures, it well-known that they are subject to various damages (natural or accidental) that lead to concrete cracks. This type of damage if not repaired can lead to corrosion problems leading to a rapid deterioration. Therefore, self-healing concrete of the structure performance as a whole can be very useful in any type of structures. Moreover, self-healing concretes could be used also in combination with fibers to enhance their effectiveness. Notably researches of self-healing concretes are still very recent. In fact, significant developments were observed in this field only in the last 10-15 years. Therefore, there is a strong need to address further studies and research in this area to better understand the potential that these materials can offer to the construction sector. A good starting point to address new research is to make a deep literature review on this subject in order to clarify what is known and what gaps still require further studies.