Enhancing self-healing performance of microbial mortar through carbon fiber reinforcement: An experimental analysis

Abstract

The incorporation of fibers has been shown to be an effective means to enhance self-healing properties of biomass self-healers in cementitious materials. In this study, the mechanism of carbon fiber-enhanced self-healing ability for self-healing agent made by straw charcoal adsorbed bacteria in mortars was investigated. Mechanical properties, compressive strength restoration properties and permeability testing of microbial mortars were evaluated. Our findings reveal a synergistic effect between carbon fibers and the self-healing agent, notably in crack repair. Although fibers alone did not significantly increase compressive strength, can play a crucial role in promoting Ca2+ aggregation and facilitating the transformation of spores into bacteria, which resulted in the formation of structurally intact and layered calcium carbonate, result in significantly enhanced the self-healing efficacy of microbial mortars. The results of this study show for the first time that carbon fibers have a significant effect on the self-healing capacity of biomass mortar.