1. Next Generation Self-healing Concrete:
Infusing Bacteria into Engineered Cementitious Composite
Benjamin G. Kaplan
Concrete is vulnerable to a variety assailants; yet, our dependence on it has never been
greater. Such aggressors cause concrete to crack and lose strength, accelerating the degradation
process until the concrete is ineffectual. Self-healing stops this by remediating initial micro-
cracks. Two of the leading approaches of self-healing are Engineered Cementitious Composite
(ECC) and bacterial concrete. My study combined both and assessed the resulting hybrid in
multiple environments. Resonant frequency values were measured for concrete beams before and
immediately after application of tensile damage, and again after each beam was allowed to heal in
its environment for 28 days. Additionally, absorption and compressive strength tests were
performed on ECC, Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), and bacterial-ECC cubes in order to
measure compatibility between ECC and bacteria. Results showed that ECC infused with
Sporosarcina pasteurii showed statistically greater healing (p=0.042) than normal ECC.
Furthermore, there was no significant difference for healing in an underground environment
versus optimal laboratory conditions (p=0.44), previously unreported in literature. In the exposed
environment, self-healing was negligible. Underground concrete foundations are found in nearly
all infrastructure and residential projects, so underground self-healing is incredibly practical, and
bacterial-ECC’s success in this environment lays the foundation for further field studies.
Honors and Awards
2014: ASM International Foundation Award for “Most outstanding exhibit in Material Science”
at Westchester Science and Engineering Fair
Westchester-Rockland Junior Science and Humanities Symposium 3rd
Place in Session
Intel Science Talent Search Research Report Badge Recipient
Intel Science Talent Search Initiative Badge Recipient
Speaker at the Byram Hills Science Research Symposium
2013: Poster Presenter at the Byram Hills Science Research Symposium
2012: Poster Presenter at the Byram Hills Science Research Symposium
Mentor
Paramita Mondal, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign