An experimental investigation on mitigating cracks and augmenting the endurance of concrete structures in marine environment by bio-mortar immobilised with halophilic bacteria

In coastal areas, built structures encounter hostile conditions and forces that can cause them to deteriorate over time owing to saltwater exposure, tidal forces, reinforcement corrosion, and freeze–thaw cycles. Early age cracks in such structures accelerate the rate of deterioration, and the current research focuses on alleviating such threats. This paper evaluates the performance of a self-healing mortar made by encapsulating expanded perlite with the bacterium Halobacillus Halophilus MCC2188. Mortar cube specimens of size 70.6 mm × 70.6 mm× 70.6 mm were prepared with cement: fine aggregate in 1:3 ratios. A 10% volume of the fine aggregate fraction was substituted with the expanded perlite immobilised with bacterial spores and nutrients. The expanded perlite aggregates were coated with sodium silicate and cement solution to protect the spores from the nonconducive environment. The specimens were subjected to fully and partially submerged marine water curing. The mechanical properties and self-healing potential were evaluated, and the precipitated polymorphs in completely healed cracks were identified and examined by characterisation techniques such as XRD, FEGSEM, FTIR, and TGA-DTG. The marine bacterium under investigation can tolerate the high salt concentrations commonly found in seawater and saline marshy soil and produce calcite through the metabolism of organic compounds, making it a suitable microorganism for self-healing applications. Crack widths of up to 0.84 mm and 92.79% average strength recovery were achieved in 56 days post-cracking, and the pace of healing was quicker in partially submerged curing conditions. The results showed improved self-healing, strength regain and mechanical strength and proved to be an efficient tool for enhancing the endurance of biomortar in severe marine exposure conditions.