Self-healing As preventive Repair of Concrete Structures

The search for smart self-healing materials and preventive repair methods is justified by the increasing sustainability and safety requirements for structures. The appearance of small cracks in concrete is unavoidable, not necessarily causing a risk of collapse for the structure, but certainly accelerating its degradation and diminishing the service life and sustainability of structures. That loss of performance and functionality leads to an increasing investment in maintenance and/or to intensive repair/strengthening works. The critical nature of such requirements is recognised by their inclusion as priority challenges in the European Research Program.