Calcite based structures in self-repair mechanism

The survival of living structures existing in nature and the ability to maintain their vital cycles has been an inspiration for the development of self-healing calcite-based structures. Self-healing, just like living things, repairs the damaged area after a structure is damaged, thus protecting the structure. In this project, the self-healing structure is realized thanks to calcite-based material. Within the scope of the study, the self-healing efficiency of the calcite-based structure after its combination with a cement structure was examined. This cement structure is the concrete structures we see around us. Because concrete structures get damaged over time, this damage causes the durability of the concrete structure to decrease. If we consider that almost everything around us is within the framework of a concrete structure, we see that the self-healing mechanism is a very important feature for concrete structures. The crack formed on the concrete surface may not always be visible to the eye. Damage to the interior of the concrete structure may cause the crack to propagate and may also damage other elements that make up the internal mechanism of concrete structures. Therefore, self-repair is an important quantity for a structure. This repair mechanism occurred as a result of the presence of a calcite-based structure placed in cement mortar. This calcite-based structure actually consists of calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate-based limestone was added in powder form to the cement mortar mixture prepared in this study. This added powder contains plenty of calcium carbonate. A cement mortar mixture was made with this powder consisting of calcium carbonate. This mixture is like a concrete structure. Over time, this concrete continues to harden itself by reacting with carbon dioxide in the air. Subsequently, the structure of the surface was examined with an SEM microscope by making a deep scratch to determine whether the calcite-based concrete structure formed was self-repairing, and it was observed that the damage was completely repaired in a short time of 1 minute. Later, the same repair mechanism was examined with an optical microscope and it was shown that this structure repaired itself. It has also been proven by FTIR and XRD analyzes that the main factor of this repair mechanism is the calcite structure. Because calcite structures hydrate the cement mortar and precipitate calcium carbonate, allowing the concrete structure to repair itself. Therefore, the calcite contained in the prepared concrete structure is a very important result. The values obtained as a result of both FTIR and XRD analysis indicate that calcium carbonate is present in high amounts in the prepared concrete structure. Thus, it has been proven that calcite-based structures are effective in self-healing concrete structures.