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Self Healing - Slab Based Fibre RC - UTM Tensile Test - Low Comp & High Tensiles Strength
Self Healing - Slab Based Fibre RC - UTM Tensile Test - Low Comp & High Tensiles Strength
h i g h l i g h t s
The self-healing properties of cement-based and slag-based fiber-reinforced composites are investigated.
Slag-based composites have advantages in terms of a reduction of relative crack width.
Slag-based composites have low resonant frequency recovery.
Calcium carbonate is the dominant healing material for cement-based and slag-based composites.
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: This paper presents an experimental study of the self-healing properties of cement-based and alkali-
Received 30 October 2017 activated slag-based fiber-reinforced composites with controlled crack width. Two types of binder, i.e.
Received in revised form 2 January 2018 cement and alkali-activated slag-based polyethylene fiber-reinforced composites with identical water-
Accepted 3 January 2018
to-binder ratios, were designed. Compressive strength and uniaxial tension tests were performed to mea-
Available online 20 February 2018
sure the mechanical properties of the composites, and the self-healing performance was investigated by
observation of the crack width and by measuring resonance frequency. Scanning electron microscopy and
Keywords:
energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were also adopted to analyze the morphology and chemical com-
Cement
Composite
position of the healing materials. The test results showed that alkali-activated slag-based composites
Crack width have advantages compared to cement-based composites in terms of a reduction of relative crack width;
Fiber however, cement-based composites have a higher resonant frequency recovery than alkali-activated slag-
Self-healing based composites. It is also observed that calcium carbonate is the dominant healing material of cement-
Slag based and slag-based composites.
Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction damage automatically to ensure the service life have been exten-
sively studied in recent years [3].
Along with the development of humanity, upgrading infrastruc- A self-healing characteristic is a universal phenomenon that
ture is a strategically important issue. Furthermore, improving the occurs in the human body, and occurs naturally without being
quality of concrete structures is a matter of extreme urgency. Con- affected by any external factors [3]. Concrete is also a special mate-
crete is the world’s most widely used construction material on the rial with the ability to heal cracks by itself under natural conditions
basis of its reliability and commercial value [1]. However, the dete- over time [2]. The target of designing autogenic healing concrete is
rioration of concrete in term of cracks happening over time is one to overcome problematic constructions to give a longer lifespan.
of the major factors causing a reduction of the quality of concrete Neville (1995) and Hearn (1997) pointed out that the tiny cracks
structures. Cracks on concrete structures can occur during the ser- in concrete could be sealed completely under a moist environment
vice life due to external and internal factors such as over-load, due to the delayed hydration of cement [4,5]. Edvardsen (1999)
environmental exposure, shrinkage, or design error [2]. The cost mentioned that calcium carbonate crystals are the main healing
of repair and maintenance of construction projects is quite large, material within the crack width [6]. From a review of the literature
and thus concepts to develop a new building material that recovers [4–6], there are two primary definitions that should be noted on
the self-healing mechanism of deteriorating concrete structures,
⇑ Corresponding author. autogenous healing and engineered repair. Autogenous healing is
E-mail address: bylee@jnu.ac.kr (B.Y. Lee). a phenomenon that takes place by a natural process [7]. It can be
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.01.023
0950-0618/Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
802 H.H. Nguyễn et al. / Construction and Building Materials 165 (2018) 801–811
described by the hydration process of the unhydrated cementitious ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) are listed in Table 1.
materials, blockage of cracks caused by solid substances in the Type I Portland cement was used, and the specific surface area
water, swelling of CASAH in the crack flanks, and crystallization and density of cement were 3297 cm2/g and 3.14 g/cm3, respec-
of calcium carbonate [8]. Meanwhile, engineered repair is activated tively. The specific surface area and density of GGBS were 4320
by artificial healing materials or through intentional methods from cm2/g and 2.91 g/cm3, respectively. The GGBS is the source mate-
human intervention to accomplish the healing process [7,9]. There rial of a cementless composite and it was activated by alkali activa-
are various approaches to improve the self-healing capacity of a tors. The calcium hydroxide in a powder form was used as an alkali
concrete structure that has suffered damage including the use of activator. The amount of calcium hydroxide was 11.1% of GGBS in
bacteria, chemical admixtures, or microencapsulation [10–12]. terms of the mass ratio. Polyethylene (PE) fiber was used as a rein-
In recent years, engineered cementitious composite (ECC) has forcing fiber. The physical properties of PE fiber used in this study
been recognized as a unique construction material with the forma- were a diameter of 12 mm, a fiber length of 18 mm, a tensile
tion of multiple fine cracks, providing remarkable potential to strength of 2700 MPa, a density of 0.97 g/cm3, and an elastic mod-
achieve self-healing efficiency [8]. Developing enhanced tech- ulus of 88 GPa. Superplasticizer (SP), viscosity modifying admix-
niques to upgrade the self-healing ability of ECC has been an ture (VMA), and anti-foaming agent are all in powder form, and
important topic of study. Yang et al. (2009) introduced the are used as the additives for the mixtures. A superplasticizer (SP)
mechanical recovery and healing rate of ECC through wet-dry and viscosity modifying admixture (VMA) were used to achieve
cycles [13]. Sisomphon et al. (2013) clarified the self-healing mech- controlled workability as well as to ensure good fiber dispersion
anism of ECC incorporating a cementitious admixture [14]. Hung of the fresh mixture. An anti-foaming agent was included in the
et al. (2017) reported that self-healing can be achieved in ECC mixture to diminish the amount of air bubbles. Table 2 lists the
through the effect of natural weathering with intrinsic tight crack mixture proportions. The water-to-binder ratio of all mixtures
width [15]. Qiu et al. (2016) developed an advanced method of was 0.3.
improving the self-healing capacity of a cementitious composite
based on the addition of blast furnace slag and the alkalinity con- 2.2. Mixing procedure and specimen preparation
dition [16]. They all concluded that the permissible crack width,
which was smaller than 50 mm, achieved healing cracks [13–16]. Each powder type binder was mixed in a commercial planetary
Diminished self-healing was observed in the range of cracks mixer for three minutes. Water was then slowly added and the
between 50 mm and 150 mm; nevertheless if the crack width mixture was mixed for another five minutes. Next, the SP and
exceeded 150 mm, the self-healing ability vanished due to the VMA were also added to the mixture. Once a homogeneous mix-
appearance of serious damage to the matrix structure. ture was attained, PE fibers were slowly inserted into the mixture.
Previous studies developed high performance fiber-reinforced The fresh mixture was then poured into molds for a compressive
cementless composites called alkaline activated slag (AAS) based strength test (three 50 mm cube specimens for each mixture)
composites, characterized by high ductility and material greenness and a self-healing test including uniaxial tension tests (four dog-
[17–19]. This technology also has played a role in innovating car- bone shaped specimens for each mixture), and it was covered with
bon dioxide emission control and sustainable green infrastructure plastic sheets to prevent the evaporation of water in air at the
due to the elimination of cement binder. While knowledge of self- room temperature (23 °C ± 3 °C) for two days. Finally, the hardened
healing in normal concrete is available, the self-healing of fiber- specimens were removed from the molds and cured in water at a
reinforced alkali-activated slag-based cementless composite has temperature of 23 °C ± 3 °C until the age of 28 days.
been fairly limited. In this light, it is necessary to develop a new
construction material in term of enhanced ductility, greenness,
2.3. Mechanical tests and self-healing capacity evaluation
and high self-healing potential based on an alkali-activated slag-
based fiber-reinforced composite.
The compressive strength was measured using 50 mm cube
The purpose of this paper is to experimentally investigate the
specimens according to the ASTM C109 with three specimens for
self-healing capacity of cement-based and alkali-activated slag-
each mixture [20]. The tensile load by displacement control in
based fiber-reinforced composites with an identical water-to-
accordance with a constant loading speed of 0.1 mm/min. was
binder ratio. The self-healing performance of the composites was
applied to each specimen to create cracks and investigate the ten-
evaluated by visual observation of crack width and measurement
sile behavior using an electrical uniaxial testing machine with a
of the resonant frequency with time. Scanning electron microscope
capacity of 20 kN at the age of 28 days. Fig. 1 shows the specimen
(SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were also
geometry and the test setup [21]. The specimens have a gauge
adopted to analyze the microstructure and chemical composition
length of 80 mm and the cross-sectional area within the gauge
of the healing materials.
length is 390 mm2 (30 mm 13 mm). The tensile load was mea-
sured by a load cell attached to the top of the jig and the deforma-
2. Materials and experimental methodology tion within the gauge length was measured by two linear variable
differential transducer attached to both sides of the specimens.
2.1. Materials and mixture proportions According to the highly ductile characteristic of cement-based
and slag-based composites, cracks of all specimens can be self-
Two types of binder, i.e. cement and alkali-activated slag, were controlled below 100 mm. However, it should be noted that to eval-
used in this study. The chemical compositions of cement and uate the maximum self-healing capacity, most specimens were
Table 1
Chemical compositions of cement and GGBS.
Table 2
Mixture proportions (proportion by weight except fiber).
Table 3
Mechanical properties of cement (C30) and slag (S30)-based composites.
Mixture ID Compressive strength (MPa) First cracking strength (MPa) Tensile strength (MPa) Tensile strain capacity (%)
C30 86.3 ± 1.8 3.10 ± 0.58 8.17 ± 0.92 2.66 ± 0.33
S30 46.1 ± 3.3 1.91 ± 0.33 8.55 ± 0.83 5.46 ± 0.22
3.2. Crack width reduction the crack width with respect to the downward movement of each
solid dot denoting the crack width measurement locations on the
Crack width reduction could be considered as an indicator for surface of the specimens. In other words, the full healing process
the self-healing capacity of cement-based and slag-based compos- will be achieved if the dots lie on the X-axis. A 45-degree dashed
ites. Six cracking measurement positions were randomly selected line was marked to show the zero-healing area. It has to be noted
for each specimen, and crack width variation was observed at 4, that the data in Fig. 6 only show the representative crack widths,
7, 14, 28, and 36 days of age. Fig. 4 shows the mapping of cracks not all crack widths for each specimen. The maximum crack width
and images of magnified zones. observed in the C30 and S30 mixtures was up to 350 mm, which
Fig. 5 shows the self-healing phenomenon of the C30 mixture indicated high specimen damage. As can be seen, smaller crack
and S30 mixture based on the reduction of crack width under width has more self-healing potential compared to larger crack
water immersion for 36 days. The crack width, which is around width. According to the data in Fig. 6, the maximum crack width
45 mm, is evaluated through the optical microscope at the C3 posi- calculated from the fully healing positions was 55.0 mm for the
tion for the C30 mixture and the S6 position for the S30 mixture. As S30 mixture and 54.0 mm for the C30 mixture, respectively. There-
can be observed, the cracks were sealed by an abundant white for- fore, it is worth mentioning that the fine crack width around 50 mm
mation in the form of crystal-like materials sprouting from both exhibited full healing capacity within 36 days of wetting due to the
sides of the cracks. It appears that the healing products were cre- zero width of the cracks obtained for both the C30 and S30 mix-
ated by fine crystals bridging together to fill the cracks. In the case tures. On the other hand, the crack width over 50 mm showed a
of the S30 mixture, the crack appears to be healed completely partial healing phenomenon regarding the residual crack width.
while some voids remained for the C30 mixture with respect to Therefore, the crack width of 50 mm can be seen as the healing
the residual crack width of about 4 mm. The healing materials were threshold of C30 and S30 mixtures in case of crack width reduction.
located along the crack mouths. Moreover, the healing products It is also notable that the healing threshold of the slag-based com-
were not only visible on the crack surface, but also seen on the posite (S30) is similar to that of the cement-based composite (C30)
areas nearby crack lines. and other previous studies [13–16].
The initial and healed crack widths of specimens before and Fig. 7 shows the change of relative crack width (W c ) within 36
after the wetting period were directly observed by the optical wetting days. It was calculated by the average value of crack range
microscope at 84 magnification. Fig. 6 shows the reduction of collected from the data of Fig. 6 to the initial crack width.
Fig. 4. Mapping of cracks and image of magnified zones of: (a) C30 mixture and (b) S30 mixture.
806 H.H. Nguyễn et al. / Construction and Building Materials 165 (2018) 801–811
Pre-
loading
14th day of
submerged
age
28th day of
submerged
age
36th day of
submerged
age
Fig. 7. The relative crack width of: (a) C30 mixture and (b) S30 mixture.
Ca2þ þ CO2
3 ! CaCO3 ðpH > 8Þ
H2 O þ CO2 $ H2 CO3
H2 CO3 $ HCO3 þ Hþ
HCO3 $ CO2
3 þH
þ
þ
H2 CO3 $ CO2
3 þ 2H
Ca2þ þ CO2
3 ! CaCO3
Fig. 9. Normalized average resonant frequency of: (a) C30 mixture and (b) S30
mixture over submerging time. With respect to previous research [6,8,28], CO2 in water pene-
trates the crack wall to promote the diffusion of Ca2+ inside the
hardened composite. This guarantees that the self-healing process
takes place continuously with time due to sufficient Ca2+ ions after
Based on the shape of the material surface, the healing materi-
consuming the previous crystal growth.
als were distinguished by the gray soft line plotted as the boundary
between the original zone of the matrix and the healing material
area, as shown in Fig. 12. There are two positions on the healed 4. Conclusion
crack zone, which were highlighted to investigate the chemical
compositions of the C30 and S30 mixtures via an EDS analysis. This study experimentally investigated the self-healing proper-
As indicated by the results in Table 5, a strong peak of calcium con- ties of cement-based and alkali-activated slag-based fiber-
tent is characterized for all located positions of the C30 and S30 reinforced composites with high ductility and controlled crack
mixtures, and there is a little silicon concentration. According to width. A series of experiments was performed to measure the
previous studies [26,27], the ratio of Ca/Si could be used as a crite- mechanical properties and to observe the self-healing phe-
rion to determine the appearance of CaCO3 or CAS-H as healing nomenon and healing materials of the composites. From the cur-
products. In this study, the composition of calcium is overwhelm- rent test results, the following conclusions were drawn:
H.H. Nguyễn et al. / Construction and Building Materials 165 (2018) 801–811 809
Fig. 10. The healed and unhealed zones of (a) C30 mixture and (b) S30 mixture observed by SEM.
Fig. 11. The healing materials cover on the fiber of (a) C30 mixture and (b) S30 mixture observed by SEM.
Fig. 12. SEM images of highlighted positions for (a) C30 mixture and (b) S30 mixture to observe the chemical compositions of healing materials.
1. Although the alkali-activated slag-based composite showed tensile strain capacity than the cement-based composite. Fur-
lower compressive strength than the cement-based composite thermore, the slag-based composite showed higher average
with an identical water-to-binder ratio, the slag-based com- crack width and number of cracks than the cement-based
posite showed higher tensile strength and two times higher composite.
810 H.H. Nguyễn et al. / Construction and Building Materials 165 (2018) 801–811
Table 5
Chemical compositions of healing materials of C30 and S30.
healing, the alkali-activated slag-based fiber-reinforced composite [13] Y. Yang, M.D. Lepech, E.-H. Yang, V.C. Li, Autogenous healing of engineered
cementitious composites under wet–dry cycles, Cem. Concr. Res. 39 (5) (2009)
is a promising intelligent material for the future.
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[14] K. Sisomphon, O. Copuroglu, E. Koenders, Effect of exposure conditions on self
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Acknowledgements various cementitious materials, Constr. Buildi. Mater. 42 (2013) 217–224.
[15] C.-C. Hung, Y.-F. Su, H.-H. Hung, Impact of natural weathering on medium-
This research was supported by a grant (17SCIP-B103706-03) term self-healing performance of fiber reinforced cementitious composites
with intrinsic crack-width control capability, Cem. Concr. Compos. 80 (2017)
from Construction Technology Research Program funded by Min- 200–209.
istry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korean government [16] J. Qiu, H.S. Tan, E.-H. Yang, Coupled effects of crack width, slag content, and
and also supported by Basic Science Research Program through conditioning alkalinity on autogenous healing of engineered cementitious
composites, Cem. Concr. Compos. 73 (2016) 203–212.
the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the
[17] J.-I. Choi, B.Y. Lee, R. Ranade, V.C. Li, Y. Lee, Ultra-high-ductile behavior of a
Ministry of Science and ICT (NRF-2016R1A1A1A05005208). polyethylene fiber-reinforced alkali-activated slag-based composite, Cem.
Concr. Compos. 70 (2016) 153–158.
[18] B.Y. Lee, C.-G. Cho, H.-J. Lim, J.-K. Song, K.-H. Yang, V.C. Li, Strain hardening
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