Smart Cementitious Materials: From Self-Healing to Self-Sensing Abilities

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, there has been a spectacular increase in publications related to cement-based materials with special properties, such as self-healing concrete, photocatalytic concrete, or self-sensing concrete.

Different self-healing technologies have been developed, both based on solutions promoting the autogenous self-healing properties of cement-based materials, such as the addition of crystalline admixtures or superabsorbent polymers, and based on solutions incorporating healing agents to the mix, generally protected by capsules. Microcapsules, macrocapsules, or vascular networks are different technologies proposed for improving the healing effectiveness of autonomous self-healing by protecting bacteria, organic compounds, or crystalline admixtures until the moment they are needed, which is when the cracks open and break the capsules.

Self-diagnosis concrete has also made significant progress in recent years. The incorporation of electrically conductive nanomaterials into the cementitious mixture, such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and metal oxides, favors the formation of a conductive network in the cementitious matrix that increases the sensitivity of concrete to stress or deformation.

This type of special concrete often requires the implementation of ad hoc techniques for assessing performance, and many tests for evaluating the effectiveness of cement-based materials with smart properties can be found in the literature.

With this Special Issue, we the aim to compile the latest advances in the development of different technologies to obtain self-healing concrete or self-diagnostic concrete, as well as in the development of specific tests to determine their efficiency and performance.

Dr. Mercedes Sánchez Moreno
Dr. Paola Antonaci
Guest Editors

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• self-healing cementitious materials
• self-sensing cementitious materials
• smart cementitious materials
• crack-healing efficiency
• bacteria-based cementitious materials
• microcapsules
• conductive cementitious materials
• durability tests