Durability Evaluation of MICP-Repaired Concrete Exposed to the Freeze–Thaw Process
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36, Issue 12
Abstract
Traditional methods for repairing concrete cracks using inorganic and organic polymer materials have shown unsatisfactory performance in engineering practice and have also led to significant environmental pollution. However, microbial induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) has been proven to be a clean technology for crack repair in concrete, with the added benefit of improving its mechanical properties. One crucial aspect to consider is the impact of the freeze–thaw process on the durability of concrete. Therefore, it is vital to assess the freeze–thaw durability of MICP-repaired concrete. This study first evaluated the efficiency of crack repair using MICP through water permeability and electrical flux tests. Subsequently, the changes in the apparent morphology, mass, and permeability of MICP-repaired concrete specimens were investigated after undergoing freeze–thaw process in order to assess their durability. The results indicated that mineralized calcium carbonate effectively filled the cracks, enhancing the compactness of the concrete and significantly improving its resistance to freeze–thaw process. The filling of cracks with calcium carbonate alerted the freeze–thaw erosion path in the concrete specimens. Additionally, it was found that increasing the initial width and depth of cracks weakened the impact of MICP on the freeze–thaw erosion resistance of cracked concrete.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the Science and Technology Research Project from the Department of Education of Hubei Province (No. B2021003), the Knowledge Innovation Program of Wuhan-Shuguang from the Wuhan Science and Technology Bureau (2023020201020344), the Open Foundation of State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Mineral Metallurgical Resources Utilization and Pollution Control (HB202205), and the Open Project Program of Key Laboratory of Metallurgical Emission Reduction & Resources Recycling (Anhui University of Technology), Ministry of Education (No. JKF23-03).
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36 • Issue 12 • December 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 11, 2023
Accepted: Apr 11, 2024
Published online: Sep 28, 2024
Published in print: Dec 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Feb 28, 2025
ASCE Technical Topics:
- [Inorganic compounds]
- Calcium carbonate
- Chemicals
- Chemistry
- Cold regions engineering
- Concrete
- Continuum mechanics
- Cracking
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Engineering mechanics
- Environmental engineering
- Fracture mechanics
- Freeze and thaw
- Freezing
- Material durability
- Material mechanics
- Material properties
- Materials engineering
- Materials processing
- Organic compounds
- Organic compounds
- Pollutants
- Pollution
- Soil pollution
- Soil treatment
- Solid mechanics
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