Thermal analysis on self-healing concrete using polyvinyl alcohol

ABSTRACT

Self-healing concrete (SHC) is a term that is used for cement-based materials that repair themselves after the material or structure damaged due to some sort of deterioration mechanism. Concrete is very sensitive to crack formation. As wide cracks endanger the durability, repair is required. However, these repair works raise the life cycle cost of structure, as they are labour intensive. It can increase the durability and lifetime of the structure. An SHC mix of grade M40 is prepared with super absorbent polymer as a self-healing admixture. The compressive strength of SHC is compared with that of the control concrete. The hydration process in both samples is studied using thermal analysis. Thermo-gravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry test are conducted on hardened paste of both the samples. The effect of polyvinyl alcohol on the degree of hydration is studied.

KEYWORDS:

• Super absorbent polymer
• thermo-gravimetry
• self-healing concrete
• polyvinyl alcohol
• DSC
• TGA
• degree of hydration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

C. Manoj Kumaar http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1858-4545