SELF-HEALING AND STRENGTH RECOVERY EVALUATION OF SUPER ABSORBENT POLYMERS CONCRETE MIXES UNDER CONTROLLED DAMAGE

ABSTRACT The durability of concrete is invariably a challenge for engineers and material technologists due to the frequent maintenance and service required on concrete structures and infrastructures hence resulting in economical deficiency. Concrete healing innovations have been developed over the past decade; these various technologies for concrete self-healing include biotechnological, polymeric and chemical compounds. Super absorbent polymers are considered as a progressive method to deliver the water content into the cementitious matrix and stimulate hydration and in situ carbonation of cementitious materials. This study investigates the effect of super absorbent polymer addition into the cementitious materials and the efficiency of concrete crack healing and recovery of mechanical properties from cracks