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The use of macrocapsules in self-healing applications offers a potential benefit by carrying a larger amount of healing agent in comparison with microcapsules. However, the application of macrocapsules is still limited to paste and mortar levels on lab-scale. This is due to a concern that most capsules might be broken when mixed with concrete components. In this study, cementitious tubular capsules were used and they were considered as a partial replacement of coarse aggregates (2 vol% gravel). The capsules have a dimension of 54 mm and 9 mm in length and outer diameter, respectively. A water-repellent agent (WRA) was entrapped in the capsules as a proposed agent to seal the crack. Initial results revealed high survivability of capsules during concrete mixing: 100% survival ratio when tested in a drum mixer and 70–95% when tested in a planetary mixer. The mechanical and self-sealing properties of concrete containing embedded capsules were evaluated. With the addition of capsules, around 8% reduction of compressive strength was noticed, but no further effect on splitting tensile strength was detected as compared with concrete without capsules. Ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) tests confirmed that the presence of capsules also did not significantly affect the compactness of the hardened concrete. Furthermore, the embedded capsules were able to break when a crack was introduced and it was found that 90% sealing efficiency was achieved by capsule-based concrete as a result of the successful release of sealing agent into the crack.

The sustainable development of societies can be pursued by simultaneously avoiding the depletion of materials and resources and reducing the greenhouse gases emissions, with related climatic change effects. In order to get this, the extension of structures service-life plays a significant role in saving natural resources, decreasing the overall anthropogenic carbon-footprint, and reducing building and demolition wastes. In order to achieve such prolongation of structures service-life, one of the most promising approaches is the development of Smart Structures. These are defined as structures that are able to self-sense some external stimuli such as stress or temperature variations, and internal conditions such as chloride penetration, concrete carbonatation, etc. Consequently, ongoing damage phenomena can be detected promptly, thus allowing to implement suitable countermeasures in the most efficient way. Smart Structures can also process the information and respond autonomously in real time by using smart materials technologies such as self-healing technology. In this study we propose a preliminary version of a smart material system with self-healing and sensing properties, to demonstrate its effectiveness at a proof of concept level. The effectiveness of an active, capsule-based self-healing system in blocking chloride penetration through the crack and the effectiveness of voltametric Ag sensors in detecting the presence of chlorides were investigated experimentally. High-performance cement mortar was chosen as the material to be studied, in order to ensure that optimal behaviour could be observed in non-cracked conditions.

The use of polymer precursors as repairing agents in capsule-based self-healing systems has been extensively studied in recent years. In particular, the effectiveness of macro-encapsulated polyurethane in restoring both watertightness and mechanical properties has been demonstrated at the laboratory level, and the experimental methods to test the effectiveness have been validated following pre-standard procedures. However, the use of macro-capsules containing polyurethane precursors for field applications has not been sufficiently implemented yet. For these systems to become appealing to the construction industry, it is essential to further characterize the self-healing effect in terms of stability in time, namely, to investigate the behavior of the self-healing system when subjected to recurring actions that can affect structures in time, after cracking and subsequent self-repairing. The goal of this study was to characterize the ability of commercial polyurethane foams to withstand cyclic flexural actions and repeated temperature variations after release from cementitious macro-capsules embedded in mortar specimens. The specimens were tested immediately after pre-cracking and self-repairing to characterize the initial sealing efficiency through a water-flow test. The same test was repeated at prescribed time intervals to analyze the evolution of the sealing efficiency with the applied mechanical and thermal stresses. The results showed that the proposed system has good stability against the selected damaging actions and confirmed the potential of encapsulated polyurethane for self-healing applications.

Due to its low tensile strength and the presence of defects brought on by improper construction methods or other factors, cracks in concrete are practically inevitable. For reinforced-concrete structures, even if cracks do not necessarily increase the risk of collapse, they unquestionably hinder aspects such as service life. Self-healing cementitious materials have been developed because of growing concern for the security and sustainability of structures. For these new materials to be used in actual structures, it is essential to conduct research into the self-repair effect that they may offer, and possibly quantify it directly on-site, by means of non-destructive methods. In this sense, the objective of this work is to use Acoustic Emission (AE) analyses to non-destructively characterise the response of an autonomic capsule-based system, as a function of the specific polymeric healing agents contained in the capsules. Comparisons will be made between the reference and selfhealing specimens, and between the different self-healing specimens themselves, through the analysis of such parameters as the ultimate load, absorbed fracture energy, and emitted Acoustic Emission (AE) energy. Such type of analysis can give valuable insights not only on quantitative but also on qualitative aspects (such as the level of brittleness or ductility introduced by the specific self-healing system adopted) in view of possible applications in real structures.

Macrocapsules with an expanding mineral powder were set-up for sealing cracks into cementbased materials. The expanding mineral powder was composed of a commercial fast setting cement mortar, sodium polyacrylate and a commercial product used to produce sparkling water (based on sodium acid carbonate, malic acid and tartaric acid). An optimal proportioning of these components was determined as 10:1:1, respectively. These compounds were first mixed with polyethylene glycol and cast into cylindrical moulds. Then, the mix was heated at 230°C in an oven and the cylinders were demoulded thereafter. The obtained products could be delicately handled and were coated with an epoxy resin to produce waterproofed macrocapsules, while some uncoated cylinders were mixed with water and kept in closed containers for 14 days. Brazilian tests were performed on these hydrated cylinders to determine their indirect tensile strength. Finally, the coated macrocapsules were incorporated into mortar prisms, that were pre-cracked in three-point bending test after 14 days. The prisms were kept under water for 8 days and showed a sealing efficiency of 98.7% with a water flow of 3.8 g/min, which decreased to 3.5 g/min after 18 days of water curing. The same samples were stored 10 more days under water to reach an overall healing time of 28 days, after which they were subjected again to a three-point bending test to assess the recovery of the mechanical properties in flexion. The average recovered flexural strength was (10.6 ±4.5)%.