Examining the Internal Dynamics and Self-Healing Efficiency of Bio-Enhanced Rigid Pavement for Sustainable Infrastructure Solutions
Charmaine Kay GUÑABO, Roberto D. ROSARIO, Meriam LEOPOLDO, Razon DOMINGO
Abstract. Replacing and repairing cracked concrete can be a costly and time-consuming process that can also be disruptive, with adverse environmental impacts. Taking these challenges into consideration, the current study explores Bacillus subtilis as a bio-admixture to activate an intrinsic self-healing mechanism that allows concrete to heal its cracks by itself. More specifically, the use of Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, incorporated into the concrete at a dosage of 2.36 x 109 CFU to heal cracks in the size range of 1-2 mm were tested. Each of the bacteria was assessed at four concentrations—1%, 3%, 5%, and 10% were evaluated for their ability to enhance the self-healing property of the concrete. The self-healing performance and internal structure recovery were assessed using two different methods: the Sorptivity Test (ASTM C 1585) and the Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) equipment PUNDIT PL200. The findings revealed that Bacillus subtilis significantly enhanced the self-healing process in 3-7 days, effectively repairing cracks within a 10-day period, as demonstrated by improvements in material recovery, absorption rates, and ultrasonic pulse velocity. The results suggest that 5% Bacillus subtilis concentration has considerable potential to improve the durability and sustainability of concrete, offering a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective solution for autonomous crack repair using the two distinct methods.
Keywords
Self-healing Concrete, Soptivity, Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity, Bio-Concrete, Sustainable Infrastructure
Published online 5/10/2026, 12 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Charmaine Kay GUÑABO, Roberto D. ROSARIO, Meriam LEOPOLDO, Razon DOMINGO, Examining the Internal Dynamics and Self-Healing Efficiency of Bio-Enhanced Rigid Pavement for Sustainable Infrastructure Solutions, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 66, pp 355-366, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644904152-33
The article was published as article 33 of the book Advanced Materials and Sustainable Energy Technologies
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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