ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the results of epoxy resin polymer as a self-healing strategy for improving the mechanical and durability properties of cement-based mortar. The epoxy resin was added to the concrete mix at various levels (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% of cement weight), and the effectiveness of healing was evaluated by microstructural analysis, mechanical (compressive, flexural, and tensile), and non-destructive (ultrasonic pulse velocity) tests. Dry and wet-dry conditions were considered for curing, and for generating artificial cracks, specimens at different curing ages (28, 180, and 360 days) were subjected to compressive test (50% and 80% of specimen’s ultimate compressive strength). The results indicated that the mechanical properties in the specimen prepared by 10% epoxy resin and cured under wet-dry condition was higher compared to other specimens. The degree of damage and healing efficiency index of this particular mix design were significantly affected by the healing duration and cracking age. An optimized artificial neural network (ANN) combined with a firefly algorithm was developed to estimate these indices over the self-healing process. Overall, it is concluded that the epoxy resin polymer has high potential as a mechanical properties self-healing agent in cement-based mortar.
