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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. ...

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...