Colloidal Nanosilica Treatments for Sealing Cracks in Mortar.

Presence of microcracks in concrete can diminish the service life of a structure. The injection of materials for filling the crack is proposed for facing this problem. The traditional materials used for sealing cracks present some drawbacks, such as the difficulties of inorganic materials for flowing to all the depth of the crack and the lack of compatibility with the cementitious matrix in the case of organic materials.

Analysis of the Influence of Crystalline Admixtures at Early Age Performance of Cement-Based Mortar by Electrical Resistance Monitoring.

Crystalline admixtures are employed for waterproofing concrete. This type of admixtures can affect the early age performance of cement-based mixes. The electrical resistance properties of cement have been related to the initial setting time and to the hydration development.

Evaluation of Methodologies for Assessing Self-Healing Performance of Concrete with Mineral Expansive Agents: An Interlaboratory Study.

Self-healing concrete has the potential to optimise traditional design approaches; however, commercial uptake requires the ability to harmonize against standardized frameworks. Within EU SARCOS COST Action, different interlaboratory tests were executed on different self-healing techniques. This paper reports on the evaluation of the effectiveness of proposed experimental methodologies suited for self-healing concrete with expansive mineral additions.