An investigation the effect of bacterial healing on cement-based mortars

Right from getting a safe place to live in, construction activity in the present-day world has been diversified in many areas of human development. Amongst all construction materials used, reinforced cement concrete use is increasing day by day and will continue. This is leading to a rapid decrement in natural resources. The trend is to use them effectively and efficiently to conserve natural resources for future generations. Many researchers are working on retrofitting and rehabilitation techniques to extend the serviceability of the structure. The present work was taken up with a novel proposal of analyze this trending technique to improve the quality of cement-based products at the manufacturing stage. The use of bacterial organisms is one such technique. Many researchers have proved that the introduction of bacteria gives a certain amount of healing property, enhancing the durability and strength aspects of concrete. The objective of this study is to compare the compressive and flexural strength of traditional cement-based mortar with bacteria-induced cement-based mortar. In this experimental work, 2 types of bacteria namely, Escherichia coli (DH5α) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were used to compare their effect on the mechanical properties of masonry mortar. The results demonstrated that the 28-days compressive strength of mortar increased by about 27% and 19% with the incorporation of Escherichia coli (DH5α) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively. Similar trends were observed in case of 28-days flexural strength with an increase of about15% and 6%, respectively.