Self-healing Capacities of Mortars with Crystalline Admixtures
Résumé
The aim of this research study consists of determining the self-healing capacities of cement-based materials incorporating Crystalline Admixtures (CA) such as permeability and shrinkage reducers. Mortars with three different types of CA were studied. At 28 days old, specimens were cracked by means of a three-point bending test to obtain a single crack characterized by a width varying from between 120 and 200 μ m. Thereafter, the specimens were kept under water and the self-healing process was monitored by means of the crack width and area measurements at 35 and 120 days after cracking. From these first experimental results, it appears that specimens without CA and with calcium sulphate are characterized by a higher healing rate. This difference of behavior between the mortar mixtures is probably related to their microstructure. To confirm this hypothesis, their hydration products and their porosity were characterized at 28 days. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.