National Concrete Pavement Technology Center

Project description

Concrete structures can develop cracks during early-stage curing and long-term aging processes, reducing load-bearing capacity and affecting the service life of concrete structures. This research aims to explore fungal-induced carbonate precipitation (FICP) to heal cracks and improve the durability of concrete. FICP is a natural biomineralization process involving calcifying fungi's metabolic activities to induce CaCO3 precipitation. This research investigates the performance of several fungal strains (e.g., their growth behavior and efficiencies of FICP versus time) on the surface of cement mortar. The optimal fungal strain will be used to assess its healing capability on concrete cracks.