self healing concrete news
Self-healing concrete technologies are currently being developed by a team of researchers from the School of Engineering at the University of Cardiff, in Wales. Through a project called Materials for Life (M4L), the researchers are conducting the first major trial of these materials in the UK. – See more .
Evidently the team’s goal is to “create sustainable and resilient systems that continually monitor, regulate, adapt, and repair themselves without the need for human intervention,” said Cardiff professor and M4L principal investigator Bob Lark in a press release. This is especially important given the estimated £40bn ($57.8bn) spent annually on the concrete-intensive maintenance and repair of these structures in the U.K., the team says. The M4L trial is underway at a road-construction site near the A465 highway in South Wales, where the researchers can view the performance under real-world conditions.
Can this be real or is it a joke? Perhaps in the future there won’t even be the need for resin bonded resurfacing?
I’m not sure this is a possible but if we can get to the moon who knows what is possible?
Resin technology has advanced over the last 30 years and currently it serves well as a product to resurface poor damaged and tired concrete. Some of the benefits of resin bonded aggregate being it uses existing surfaces, can be completed in a day and does not affect existing levels. We would find it hard to compare with the benefits that this self healing concrete news brings such as
- shape-memory polymers activated by electrical current
- healing agents made from organic and inorganic compounds
- one with capsules containing bacteria and healing agents
Concrete may not necessarily be the most attractive product but it is extremely strong and durable and can last a lifetime.