An analytical model for the probability characteristics of a crack hitting an encapsulated self-healing agent in concrete

Abstract

The present study is performed in the framework of the investigation of the potential of bacteria to act as a catalyst of the self-healing process in concrete, i.e. their ability to repair occurring cracks autonomously. Spherical clay capsules containing the healing agent (calcium lactate) are embedded in the concrete structure. Water entering a freshly formed crack releases the healing agent and activates the bacteria which will seal the crack through the process of metabolically mediated calcium carbonate precipitation. In the paper, an analytic formalism is developed for the computation of the probability that a crack hits an encapsulated particle, i.e. the probability that the self-healing process starts. Most computations are performed in closed algebraic form in the computer algebra system Mathematica which allows to perform the last step of calculations numerically with a higher accuracy. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.