Self-Healing Concrete Explained – The Future of Civil Engineering — Transcript

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1. 0:00Imagine the world where the cracks in
2. 0:01our roads, bridges and the buildings
3. 0:04repair themselves just like a wound
4. 0:06healing on the human skin. No constant
5. 0:08patchwork, no endless maintenance, no
6. 0:11fear of collapsing structures. It sounds
7. 0:13like science fiction, right? But this is
8. 0:16exactly what engineers are bringing to
9. 0:18life with self-healing concrete. Today
10. 0:20we are going to discuss about a
11. 0:22revolutionary material that could change
12. 0:24the future of construction forever.
13. 0:27Concrete is backbone of our cities used
14. 0:30in highways, dams, skyscrapers and even
15. 0:33our homes. But here is the issue.
16. 0:35Concrete is stronger in compression but
17. 0:38weak in tension. Over the period of
18. 0:40time, tiny cracks appear from stress,
19. 0:42weather and chemical process. These
20. 0:44cracks let the water and oxygen in the
21. 0:47concrete and leading to corrosion of
22. 0:49steel reinforcement and expensive
23. 0:51structural damage. In fact, billions of
24. 0:53dollars worldwide are spent every year
25. 0:56and expensive structural damage create
26. 0:58structures. That's where the
27. 0:59self-healing technology can help us. So,
28. 1:02how does concrete heal itself?
29. 1:04Researchers have developed several
30. 1:06fascinating methods. So, the first
31. 1:08method is bacteriabased healing. So,
32. 1:10special bacteria spores are mixed into
33. 1:12the concrete. When cracks form and water
34. 1:15seeps in, the bacteria wakes up and
35. 1:17produces limestone which fills and seals
36. 1:20the crack initially. The second method
37. 1:22is micro capsules of healing agents. So
38. 1:25scientists are using the tiny capsules
39. 1:28containing glue-like substances that are
40. 1:30embedded inside the concrete. When the
41. 1:32crack opens, the capsule breaks,
42. 1:34releasing the healing liquid that
43. 1:36hardens and closes the gap. The third
44. 1:39method is shape memory polymer and
45. 1:41fibers. So by the use of advanced
46. 1:43materials that can expand and swell when
47. 1:46exposed to moisture, they close the
48. 1:48cracks automatically. This technology is
49. 1:50already been tested around the world. In
50. 1:53the Netherlands, the bridges have been
51. 1:54built with bacteriabased self-healing
52. 1:57concrete. In the UK, highways are
53. 1:59experimenting with capsules that can
54. 2:01seal the cracks as soon as they appear.
55. 2:04Even the large infrastructures like
56. 2:06tunnels, dams, and coastal defenses are
57. 2:09primary use. this. Imagine a dam that
58. 2:11seals as it leaks or a skyscraper that
59. 2:14doesn't need bashing work for decades.
60. 2:16The potential cost-saving and safety
61. 2:19improvements are really massive. The
62. 2:21real impact of self-healing concrete
63. 2:23lies its inability to extend over the
64. 2:26lifespan of our structures while
65. 2:28reducing the maintenance cost. Instead
66. 2:30of constantly patching up the cracks or
67. 2:32rebuilding the damaged sections, we
68. 2:34could have bridges, roads, and buildings
69. 2:36that remain strong for decades longer
70. 2:39than today. This not only save
71. 2:41governments and taxpayers billions, but
72. 2:43also makes our infrastructure far safer
73. 2:46by reducing the risk of sudden failures
74. 2:48because the few repairs are needed. It
75. 2:51is also going to lower the carbon
76. 2:53emissions. The production of cement is
77. 2:55one of the largest contributors to
78. 2:57greenhouse gas emissions. So the whole
79. 2:59idea here is the self-healing concrete
80. 3:02doesn't just make for construction. It
81. 3:04is cheaper and much safer. Self-healing
82. 3:07concrete is more than just a new
83. 3:09material. It is just a glimpse of the
84. 3:11future of the civil engineering where
85. 3:13our buildings and the bridges behave
86. 3:15like a living organisms. As we are
87. 3:17moving forwards in the world where the
88. 3:19infrastructure doesn't just stand still,
89. 3:22it has to repair, adapt and evolve
90. 3:24itself. So the next time when you're
91. 3:26driving over a bridge or walking over a
92. 3:28pavement, think about this. In few
93. 3:31years, those cracks that you might see
94. 3:33are going to disappear on their own. If
95. 3:35you found this video fascinating, then
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