Effect of crack pattern on the self-healing capability in traditional, HPC and UHPFRC concretes measured by water and chloride permeability

Abstract

Concrete has a natural self-healing capability to seal small cracks, named autogenous healing, which is mainly produced by continuing hydration and carbonation. This capability is very limited and is activated only when in direct contact with water. High Performance Fibre-Reinforced Concrete and Engineered Cementitious Composites have been reported to heal cracks for low damage levels, due to their crack pattern with multiple cracks and high cement contents. While their superior self-healing behaviour compared to traditional concrete types is frequently assumed, this study aims to have a direct comparison to move a step forward in durability quantification. Reinforced concrete beams made of traditional, high-performance and ultra-high-performance fibre-reinforced concretes were prepared, sized 150×100×750 mm3. These beams were pre-cracked in flexion up to fixed strain levels in the tensioned zone to allow the analysis of the effect of the different cracking patterns on the self-healing capability. Afterwards, water permeability tests were performed before and after healing under water immersion. A modification of the water permeability test was also explored using chlorides to evaluate the potential protection of this healing in chloride-rich environments. The results show the superior durability and self-healing performance of UHPFRC elements.