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7/27/2019 Civil Engg Recent Developments

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Self-Healing Protective Coating for ConcreteFeb. 20, 2013Scientists are reporting development of what they describe as the first self-

healing protective coating for cracks in concrete, the world's most widely used building material.

Their study on the material -- which is inexpensive and environmentally friendly -- appears inthe journalACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Chan-Moon Chung and colleagues explain that protecting concrete roads, bridges and other

structures from developing tiny cracks has been a major technological challenge. Cracks allowwater, salt used for deicing and air to enter the concrete. During winter weather, water in the

cracks freezes, expands and the cracks get bigger, with road salt speeding concrete's

deterioration. "Although several reports of self-healing anticorrosive coatings for metalprotection have appeared, there have been no reports on self-healing protective coating for

concrete," say the scientists.

They describe development of such a coating, one that contains microcapsules loaded with a

material that seals cracks. Cracking ruptures the microcapsules, releasing the healing agent.

Sunlight shining onto the concrete activates and solidifies the sealant. "Our self-healing coatingis the first example of capsule-type photo-induced self-healing system, and offers the advantages

of catalyst-free, environment-friendly, inexpensive, practical healing," the report states.

The authors acknowledge research supported by Korea Institute of Construction &

Transportation Technology Evaluation and Planning Grant funded by Ministry of Land,Transport and Maritime Affairs and by Basic Science Research Program through the NationalResearch Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and

Technology.

Journal Reference:

1. Young-Kyu Song, Ye-Hyun Jo, Ye-Ji Lim, Sung-Youl Cho, Hwan-Chul Yu, Byung-CheolRyu, Sang-In Lee, Chan-Moon Chung. Sunlight-Induced Self-Healing of a Microcapsule-

Type Protective Coating.ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2013; : 130213090116007

DOI:10.1021/am302728m
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/am302728mhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1021/am302728mhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1021/am302728mhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1021/am302728m


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Creating Next-Generation Materials Able to

Operate in the Toughest EnvironmentsFeb. 22, 2013Loughborough University is leading a new 4.2 million research project to

develop next-generation materials able to operate in the most extreme environments.

The conditions in which materials are required to function are becoming ever more challenging.

Operating temperatures and pressures are increasing in all areas of manufacture, energy

generation, transport and environmental clean-up. Often the high temperatures are combinedwith severe chemical environments and exposure to high energy and, in the nuclear industry, to

ionizing radiation.

The production and processing of next-generation materials capable of operating in theseconditions will be a major challenge, especially at the scale required in many of these

applications. In some cases, totally new compositions, processing and joining strategies will have

to be developed.

Academics from Loughborough's Department of Materials will work with Imperial CollegeLondon and Queen Mary University on the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

(EPSRC) funded project. Ultimately the research will allow new and revolutionary compositions,

microstructures and composite systems to be designed, manufactured and tested.

Project leader Professor Jon Binner, Dean of the Loughborough School of Aeronautical,

Automotive, Chemical and Materials Engineering, said: "This research is essential because of theincreasingly demanding conditions in which materials have to operate across the whole spectrumof applications. It is vital that we develop the required understanding of how the processing,

microstructures and properties of materials systems operating in extreme environments interact,

to the point where materials with the required performance can actually be designed and thenmanufactured."

The research team has significant experience of working in materials development andengineering. Composites based on 'exotic' materials such as hafnium diboride are already being

developed for use as leading edges for hypersonic vehicles by the three universities, as part of a

Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) funded project.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted frommaterialsprovided byUniversity of Loughborough.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the

source cited above.
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/service/publicity/news-releases/2013/25_extreme_environments.htmlhttp://www.lboro.ac.uk/service/publicity/news-releases/2013/25_extreme_environments.htmlhttp://www.lboro.ac.uk/service/publicity/news-releases/2013/25_extreme_environments.htmlhttp://www.lboro.ac.uk/http://www.lboro.ac.uk/http://www.lboro.ac.uk/http://www.lboro.ac.uk/http://www.lboro.ac.uk/service/publicity/news-releases/2013/25_extreme_environments.html


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