Fundamental study on self-repairing concrete using a selective heating device

Abstract

A fundamental study has been carried out to develop a smart concrete that incorporates a self-repairing system. Here, a self-repairing system for concrete using a particular Self-Repairing Device (SRD) is proposed. This SRD comprises a Self-Diagnosis Composite (SDC), a Heat-Plasticity Pipe (HPP), and plates that connect the two for smooth heat transfer. The SDC is a device that can selectively heat the region around a crack using electricity. Then the HPP, which contains a repair agent and is embedded in the concrete beside the heating device, is melted only in the heated zone. The repair agent released from the melted surface of the HPP fills the crack and then hardens. The authors confirmed through both thermal analysis and an experiment that the proposed system would perform effectively