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Letter of transmittal

Building and Construction Authority 52 Jurong Gateway Road #11-01 Singapore 608550 Dear Sir/Madam, Re: Proposal to Implement Self-Healing Bacteria Agent into Concrete Enclosed for your kind consideration is a response toward the request for a proposal on developing solutions for an engineering problem in Singapore. The enclosed report has been prepared with the objective of implementing a self-healing bacteria agent into today’s concrete mix practices to heal cracks located in historical buildings. This proposal explores the lack of self-healing properties in the concrete structures of historical buildings located in Singapore and discusses the mechanism of the self-healing bacteria agent, which consists of calcium lactate and a bacteria called “bacillus”. The benefits and limitations of our proposed solution are provided as well. In conjunction with Singapore’s efforts to preserve its heritage, implementing a self-healing bacteria agent into concrete mix practices to
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Technical report

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Implementing Self-Healing Bacteria Agents in Concrete to Heal Cracks in Historical Buildings Introduction This report has been developed in response to the request for proposals on developing solutions for engineering problems. 1.1 Background Information Preserving our heritage through buildings is essential for our future generations. Buildings such as the Old Parliament House, which was built in 1827, are rich in the culture and heritage of Singapore. These buildings were constructed mainly with concrete, which consists of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), which is known to deteriorate over a long period of time. The deterioration of the concrete in Singapore is mainly due to the shrinkage caused by high temperatures and the acidity of rain. According to Hu, Balasubramanian, and Wu (2003), Singapore’s rainwater is “typically acidic” due to impurities from the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide. According to “Types and Causes of Concrete Deterioration” (n.d), concrete has poor re
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Critical reflection

The two goals I had set for myself at the start of this module were to improve my public speaking skills and to communicate my opinions verbally in an effective manner. Throughout the duration of this module, with the help of resource lists, I was able to improve my public speaking skills during the in-class activities such as intergroup pitching and the research topic presentations. In terms of public speaking, I learnt that the keys to seek the undivided attention of any audience were through the means of storytelling and being confident. I realised that being confident comes with having plenty of rehearsals prior. I managed to really hone my public speaking skills the more I practiced. However, I still could improve in the aspect of storytelling to further sharpen my public speaking skills as I believe it could further engage the audience effectively. During class activities, I believe that I managed to get my points and opinions across effectively whenever called upon. However, I r
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Annotated summary

Steward, A. (2016). The ‘living concrete’ that can heal itself. Retrieved 11 March 2020, from  https://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/14/tech/bioconcrete-delft-jonkers/index.html This article introduces the use of a ‘healing agent’ as a means to increase the durability of concrete by allowing the material to heal itself in the event of structural cracks. It highlights the reason why bacillus, a type of bacteria, was chosen as a ‘healing agent’. In the article, concrete is ‘extremely alkaline’ and the ‘healing agent’ that was to be chosen, had to be ‘dormant’ for an extended amount of years for a structural crack to form. Moreover, this ‘healing agent’ had to be able to produce a substance that could ultimately ‘heal’ the cracks. Thus, bacillus was selected as these bacteria are able to survive in high PH conditions, are able to last long without oxygen and when reacted with water, they produce limestone which acts as the healing material to cover the structural cracks within concrete. The
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Technical Report Draft #1

Implementing self healing bacterial medium in concrete to heal cracks in monumental buildings. Introduction This report is prepared to propose to Building Construction Authority (BCA) on the adoption of self-healing concrete to be incorporated into the historical buildings to prolong the longevity of the building structure. This prevents the formation of cracks in monumental and historical buildings. 1.1 Background Information Preserving our heritage through buildings is essential to our future generations. Some of the heritage and cultures were represented in buildings such as the Old Parliament House, which was built in 1827. These buildings were constructed using mainly concrete consisting of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), which is known to deteriorate over a long period of time. The deterioration of the concrete in Singapore is mainly due to the shrinkage caused by high temperatures and the acidity of rain. According to Hu, Balasubramanian and Wu(2003), Singapore’s ra
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