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. 2020 Jan 9;13(2):298.
doi: 10.3390/ma13020298.

The Self-Sealing Capacity of Environmentally Friendly, Highly Damped, Fibre-Reinforced Concrete

Xu Huang  1 , Jun Ge  2 , Sakdirat Kaewunruen  1   2 , Qian Su  3
Affiliations

The Self-Sealing Capacity of Environmentally Friendly, Highly Damped, Fibre-Reinforced Concrete

Xu Huang et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

Cracks could attenuate the service life of concrete structures because of the intrusion of hazardous substances such as water. In this study, different proportions of Duras S500 fibre were employed to investigate the self-sealing capacity of environmentally friendly, highly damped, fibre-reinforced concrete (EFHDFRC) containing 5% crumb rubber. The workability of EFHDFRC with different proportions of the fibre was investigated by mechanical properties test. The self-sealing capacity was first measured by introducing the ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) test combined with the damage degree in a time-dependent manner. In addition, the regained compressive strength test and visual inspection were applied as additional measures of the self-sealing capacity. The experimental results show that EFHDFRC with different proportions of fibre showed the maximum sealing degree between the 42nd and 51st days after casting the concrete. EFHDFRC with 0.1% fibre had the best performance and the maximum self-sealing degree (2.82%). In summary, it has been proven that 0.1% fibre could stimulate the self-sealing capacity of EFHDFRC by bridging cracked concrete. Moreover, it is noted that sufficient space in cracks is essential for precipitation formation, which could seal the cracks. The new insights of this innovative self-healing, high-damping material are essential for industrial applications exposed to dynamic load conditions such as railway turnout bearers and sleepers, highspeed rail track slabs, blast-resistant walls and columns, and so on.

Keywords: environmentally friendly materials; fibre-reinforced concrete; highly damped concrete; rubberized concrete; self-sealing concrete; ultrasonic pulse velocity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Self-repairing mechanism (ongoing hydration process) [9].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Duras S500 fibre.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Crumb rubber (a) 180-micron; (b) 400-micron.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) MTS; (b) realised cracks.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) Compressive test setup; (b) Controls Automax machine for the compressive strength tests.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Splitting tensile test setup.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Proceq Pundit 200 ultrasound pulse velocity instrument.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Compressive strength.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Splitting tensile and flexural strength.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Crack sealing phenomenon of samples. (a) Changes in crack width of Mix 2 on days 35, 42, and 56; (b) changes in crack width of Mix 3 on days 35, 42, and 56; (c) changes in crack width of Mix 4 on days 35, 42, and 56; (d) changes in crack width of Mix 5 on days 35, 42, and 56; (e) changes in crack width of Mix 6 on days 35, 42, and 56; (f) changes in cracks width of Mix 7 on days 35, 42, and 56.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Crack sealing phenomenon of samples. (a) Changes in crack width of Mix 2 on days 35, 42, and 56; (b) changes in crack width of Mix 3 on days 35, 42, and 56; (c) changes in crack width of Mix 4 on days 35, 42, and 56; (d) changes in crack width of Mix 5 on days 35, 42, and 56; (e) changes in crack width of Mix 6 on days 35, 42, and 56; (f) changes in cracks width of Mix 7 on days 35, 42, and 56.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Time-dependent self-sealing degree.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Maximum self-sealing degree.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Regained compressive strength between day 35 and day 42.
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