Experimental investigations on strength and durability characteristics of bacterial concrete

Abstract

Conventional Cement Concrete (CCC) is the most commonly used construction material in the world, under moderate and aggressive environments. This is due to the fact that it can occupy any size and shape when mixed with water. It is cheaper and more easily available in the field. Mehta and Monteiro (2006) assessed the world consumption of concrete which attains the order of 5.5 billion tonnes a year. The advancement of concrete technology, as well as the development of new materials and components have resulted in increased performance and strength needs. Maintenance, repair and rehabilitation of existing cement concrete structures also confront a lot of problems causing significant expenditure. Concrete is susceptible to micro crack formation and has pores which are highly undesirable because they provide an open pathway for the ingress of water and other deleterious substances. The use of concrete surface treatments with water proofing materials to prevent the access of aggressive substances is a common way of contributing to concrete durability. However, the most common surface treatments use organic polymers (epoxy, acrylics and polyurethanes) all of which have some degree of toxicity. Bio inspired materials can lead to a more sustainable construction industry, especially when providing new low toxic solutions. Hence, there is an urgent need to pay more attention for improving the properties of concrete with respect to strength and durability, especially in aggressive environments. High Performance Concrete (HPC) appears to be a better choice for a strong and durable structure. It is also a cement concrete which has far superior strength and durability characteristics compared to CCC. newline