SPECIAL TYPES OF

CONCRETES
Guided By :
Dr.A.K.Verma
Dr.Darshana Bhatt

Bhania Faizal
13008072003
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BIO CONCRETE

WHAT IS BIO CONCRETE

Its is a special type of concrete invented by a group of

microbiology researchers under the head of Henk
Jonkers.
Bio concrete is also called as BACTERIAL CONCRETE or
self healing concrete.
It is specially made to increase
the lifespan or the durability
of concrete structure by
the self healing action
of that concrete.

INTRODUCTION
Crack formation is a typical phenomenon
related to durability.
Percolation of cracks may lead to leakage problems,
causing
deterioration of the concrete matrix or
corrosion of embedded steel reinforcement.
In recent years a bacteria-based self-healing concrete
is being developed in order to extend the service life.
A two component healing agent is added to the
concrete mixture.
The agent consists of bacteria and an organic mineral
precursor compound.
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WHAT SPECIAL PRESENT IN BIO

CONCRETE
There are two thing present in bio concrete.
1) The special bacteria that has to resist the alkalinity
and the mechanical stress of concrete.

2) The chemical precursor to activate the bacteria.

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 The activated precursor intern induces the

bacteria to react with that precursor and form
a base of calcium carbonate called as
limestone, the chemical equation is given
below.
Ca(C3H5O2)2 + 7O2 CaCO3 + 5CO2 + 5H2O
CO2 + Ca(OH)2 CaCO3 + H2O
(carbonation)

 When a concrete structure is damaged and water

starts to seep through the cracks that appear in the
concrete, the spores of the bacteria germinate on
contact with the water and nutrients. Having been
activated, the bacteria start to feed on the calcium
lactate. As the bacteria feeds oxygen is consumed
and the soluble calcium lactate is converted to
insoluble limestone. The limestone solidifies on the
cracked surface, thereby sealing it up.
The consumption of oxygen during the bacterial
conversion of calcium lactate to limestone has an
additional advantage. Oxygen is an essential
element in the process of corrosion of steel and
when the bacterial activity has consumed it all it
increases the durability of steel reinforced concrete
constructions.

 The two self-healing agent parts (the bacterial

spores and the calcium lactate-based nutrients)
are introduced to the concrete within separate
expanded clay pellets 2-4 mm wide, which ensure
that the agents will not be activated during the
cement-mixing process. Only when cracks open
up the pellets and incoming water brings the
calcium lactate into contact with the bacteria do
these become activated.
Testing has shown that when water seeps into
the concrete, the bacteria germinate and
multiply quickly. They convert the nutrients into
limestone within seven days in the laboratory.
Outside, in lower temperatures, the process
takes several weeks.
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BEFORE HEALING

AFTER
HRALING
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HOW THE HEALING AGENTS ARE APPLIED

1)BY DIRECT APPLICATION
The bacteria and the chemical precursor(calcium
lactate) are added directly while making the
concrete.

2) ENCAPSULATION LWA
a) The part of the coarse aggregate is replaced by
the light weight aggregate(LWA) , which is
impregnated with twice the calcium lactate solution
and the spores of bacteria.
b) After impregnation the clay particles with 6%
healing agents and the concrete is made .
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ADVANTAGES :

Microbial
remediation .

concrete

in

crack

Better attack towards freeze-thaw

attack .
Reduction in permeability .
Reduction in corrosion of reinforced
concrete .

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DISADVANTAGES :
Cost of bacterial concrete is double than
conventional concrete .
Growth of bacteria is not good in any
media and atmosphere .
There is no IS code or any other code for
design of concrete with bacteria.
Investigation of calcite precipitation
costly .

is

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EVALUATION

The Concrete properties should not be negatively

affected by addition of a healing agent to the
concrete mixture.
A large amount of bacteria and certain mineral
precursor compounds like calcium lactate do
substantially influence concrete compressive and
tensile strength
When the healing agent is added, Optimization of
healing agent is necessary so that it wont affect
the characteristics of concrete

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Research
Article
A series of experiments was conducted by growing marine bacterium
from 25 to 55C and alkali PH range of 7 to 12 to test the thermophilic
and alkaliphilic potential
of the bacterium. Biofilm ability of the bacterium was screened using
crystal violet assay by tube method11. Four specimens (50 mm) were
prepared by mixing ordinary
Portland cement with tap water using a water/cement weight ratio of
0.48. Bioconcrete specimens were prepared by centrifugation of
bacterial cells during stationary phase followed by washing the cells with
distilled water to remove chloride ions and the pellet was diluted to
10^5 cells/ml concentration.
Mix proportion of cement, sand and aggregate (Chips) in 1:1.5:3 (by
weight) and cell suspension cement ratio was fixed to 0.48 for a concrete
grade of M30. Two mixtures were prepared one with cell suspension and
other with water as control. When the mixture was set, it is then taken
off from the specimen and it is then put for curing and the compressive
strength for each 3days, 7days, 14days and 28days is carried out.

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RESULTS
The addition of marine bacterium at 105 cell/ml concentration gives the
maximum improvement in compressive strength. It can be observed that
the
optimum concentration of marine bacterium concrete is also 105 cell/ml.
Here incorporation of a high number of bacteria appeared to have a good
effect on compressive strength development as bacterial test specimen
appeared almost 15% stronger then control specimen at all tested times.
Effect of bacteria on development of strength appeared however strongly
dependent on
compound identity. The biofilm producing bacteria has ability to form rich
polysaccharide layer which absorbs the water and has the good potential
to give the compressive strength to the concrete which was the most
peculiar feature of this kind of bacteria. Additions of calcium lactate did
not significantly affect strength development as control specimen.

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GREEN CONCRETE
INTRODUCTION
The concrete which is made with concrete wastes
which is eco-friendly so called as Green concrete.
Concrete that uses less energy in its production &
produces less carbon dioxide than normal concrete is
Green Concrete .
Green concrete is a revolutionary topic in the
history of concrete industry . This was first invented in
Denmark in the year 1998 by Dr.WG.
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PRODUCTION OF GREEN CONCRETE

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ADVANTAGES
o

o
o

Reduction of the concrete industry's CO2-emmision

by 30 %.
Increased concrete industry's use of waste
products by 20%.
Green concrete requires less maintenance and
repairs.
Green concrete having better workability than
conventional concrete.
Good thermal resistant and fire resistant.
Compressive strength behavior of ceracrete with
water cement ratio is similar to conventional
concrete.
Flexural strength of green concrete is almost
equal to that of conventional concrete.
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LIMITATION

By using stainless steel, cost of reinforcement increases.

Structures constructed with green concrete have

comparatively less life than structures with conventional
concrete.

Split tension of green concrete is less than that of

conventional concrete.

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SCOPE IN INDIA
o

Green concrete is a revolutionary topic in the

history of concrete industry.
As green concrete is made with concrete wastes it
does take more time to come in India because
industries having problem to dispose wastes.
Also having reduced environmental impact with
reduction in CO2 emission.

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21

LIGHT
TRANSMITTING
CONCRETE
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 Litracon is a light transmitting concrete . It is a

strong and solid material, even though it allows light
to transmit through it .
Litracon was invented by young Hungarian
architect Aron Losonczy.
In 2001,he successfully produced the first
Litracon block. After a few years ,in 2004 he
started a German based company LiTraCon

Litracon is the newest most functional

revolutionary element . It is a green
constructional element , since it allows lots of
sunlight through it during day time , and it is an
energy saving, eco-friendly material too. In terms
of aesthetics., it has wide versatility . It creates a
magic on the walls with the aid of light and
shadow. Hence it becomes a feast to our eyes.

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 It is manufactured as a prefabricated block.

The concrete is embedded with thousands of
optical glass fibers. These fibers form a matrix
and run parallel between the two main surfaces.
The fibers make up only a small proportion of the
total volume of the block; approximately 4%.
These fibers mingle within the concrete, and
because of their size, become a structural
component, similar to a conventional aggregate.
The surface of the material therefore retains the
appearance of homogeneous concrete. In this
manner, the result is not only two materials
glass and concrete
mixed but a third, new
material, which is homogeneous in its inner
structure and on its main surfaces as well.The
result is a transformation. A solid gray mass

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25

Principle of operation
Optical fibers work as a cylindrical waveguide that
transmits light along its axis , by the process of
internal reflection.
Core- The thin glass center of the fiber where
the light travels.
Cladding- The outer optical material
surrounding the core that reflects the light back
into the core. To confine the reflection in the core,
the refractive index of the core must be greater
than that of the cladding.
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 Coating- Plastic coating that protects the

fiber from damage and moisture . solution used
the same principle. For translucent concrete
panel, needed a core material such as acrylic
that will transmit light continuously into the
inside of the building, a white cladding layer that
reflects the light back into the core and concrete
as the protective coating . With this idea,
researchers tried with acrylic cylinders of
different diameters to evaluate its reflection
when casted into different mixes using white
cement and white aggregates and sand. With
those result researchers found a diameter that
could reflect enough light using our standard
10cm thick panel cast into our typical white
concrete mix.
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APPLICATIONS
While there are limited examples of translucent concrete
currently in use, some of the potential applications under
consideration for implementation include:
Translucent concrete inserts on front doors of homes,
allowing the resident to see when there is a person
standing outside.
Subways using this material could be illuminated with
daylight.
Translucent concrete walls on restaurants, clubs, and
other establishments to reveal how many patrons are
inside.
Ceilings of any large office building or commercial
structureincorporating translucent concrete would reduce
lighting costs during daylight hours.
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ADVANTAGES
Litracon is a green building material. Hence
can be used Office buildings, or commercial
structures, reduces the lightning cost during
daylight hours.
Illuminated Pavements: Speed bumps if
illuminated are more visible. Also illuminated
sign boards .
Homogeneous: Similar structural properties
as that of traditional concrete are shown.
Plastering or finishing work on surface is not
required. Just surface is to be polished with
sand paper to obtain a smooth translucent
surface.

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DISADVANTAGES
Cost : Litracon blocks cost about EUR 1300/m2
due to the usage of Optical fiber , which is a
costlier material. Hence initial cost is high.
Labours : Labours with technical skills and
experience is required for handling of LTC
blocks.
Litracon is a factory product.Cast-in-situis not
possible.

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CONCLUSION
Light transmitting concrete or translucent concrete
is an emerging trend in concrete technology . It is
considered as a special concrete which ensures future
benefits .
It is a green building material reducing the lightning
cost during day time. It is proved to provide both
aesthetic appearance and structural stability.
LTC blocks can be used to build up to 20m high load
bearing walls.
If the price of the product gets reduced, it is sure
that the future construction industry will be in the
hands of litracon .
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xperimental program
The concrete blocks are prepared in a pre-fabricated mould with
fine grained concrete and translucent fabric. Transparent blocks are
prepared by relatively small amounts of fiber, consistency and
solidity of transparent concrete. The process of making cubes in
this process is same as regular concrete cube. The only difference
is presence of optical fiber. The perforated plates are kept in
position that it should allow fiber from one end to another without
any obstacles. The mould is lined with grease or benzene oil to give
it a smooth surface texture; hundreds of strands of optical fibers
are passed through the holes in perforated sheets.
The concrete mix is poured in to the mould layer by layer without
disturbing the fiber by avoiding voids and mould is well compacted
carefully . The mould is kept for 24hours for making it hard and
next day the cube is demoulded carefully and the extra fiber is
removed with the help of blade and surface is polished. The cube is
kept for curing and strength is calculated for 7th, 28th day
respectively.

Mix Design
The main objective is to determine the proportion of ingredients
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that would produce a workable concrete mix which gives required

perforated sheets.
Wooden mould.

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Perforated plates with

optical fibers.

casted mould

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Volume of the each cube

=512000 mm3
Volume of the fiber in one bundle =1050.32 mm3
Total vol of the fiber in 1 cube
=25207.68 mm3
Percentage of Fiber in each cube (volume %)
= 4.928 5%
% of fiber in each cube is = 5%

Weight of mortar
Weight of mortar
=1.024kg/cube
Density of mortar
= 2000kg/m3
w/c ratio
= 0.45 (1:2)
Weight of fine aggregate = 337g /cube
Weight of cement
= 686g/cube

Compression strength test using POF

7-day Compression strength ( LOAD /AREA ) = (190 /
( 80*80*100 ) )
= 29.68 N/mm2
28-day compression strength = 37.03 N/mm2

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Results and Discussion

The compressive strength for mortar cubes with and without POF
has been calculated for 7 and 28 days. From the test results, it is
observed that compressive strength for 7 day with POF is 29.68
N/mm2 and that for 28 day is 37.03 N/mm2. It is well known that
compressive strength of any mortar specimen should greater then
23N/mm2 according to ASTM C109 Part: 2. The value of
compressive strength for conventional concrete for 7 day is 35.52
N/mm2.

Conclusion
It can be concluded that, compressive strength value using optical
fibers do not have much reduction when compared to
conventional concrete. The compressive strength of concrete
cube also depends on diameter of the holes in the perforated
sheets. Green buildings would get an easy accreditation under
daylight savings with this. Large and tall office buildings can share
the lighting when the ceilings are translucent. Energy savings as
well as heat insulation simple adds to the list of its amazing
properties. Translucent concrete is the future, as it is the smart
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way of optimising and utilising light, a smart way of living.

REFERENCES
www.wikipedia.com
www.globalresearchonline.net
www.ripublication.com
Indian concrete journal volume 77 -January
-2003-N0.-1 Green concrete technology by
R.M. Swamy on page no. 878
www.litracon.com

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THANK YOU
YOU
THANK

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