CORROSION PREVENTION OF REINFORCED CONCRETE WITH MICP
Keywords:
cementitious material, deterioration, corrosion of steel, self-healing, Bacillus, MICP, bio-mineralizationAbstract
This paper investigates the properties of micro-induced calcite precipitation with regard to, surface finish
and sealing cracks in cementitious materials. Mortar and concrete are most widely used building materials all over the
world as they are cheap, easily available and convenient to cast. But crack in these materials is a common
phenomenon during its service life due to many reasons, if unattended timely, will result in long-term structural
deterioration with high level of risk maintenance cost. The corrosion of reinforcement (steel bar) in concrete
structures is one of the most frequent reasons for civil infrastructure failure. Recently, there has been growing
interest in microbial self-healing process due to its potential in long lasting, efficient and environment-friendly crack
repair of concrete. Bacillus, a common soil bacterium can continuously precipitate calcium carbonate (calcite) under
favorable conditions. It is called microbiologically induced calcite precipitation (MICP). This Phenomenon comes
under a broader category of science called “bio-mineralization”.
