ABSTRACT
Formation of cracks typically occurs when concrete structures are subjected to loads. Both artificial and natural methods produce autonomously healing concrete that counteracts such crack formations. The addition of water and occurrence of chemical reactions embodies the natural autonomous healing approach. The incorporation of fibers, polymers, crystalline admixtures, and similar artificial techniques that enhance concrete strength through autonomously healing the crack formations are the foci of this chapter. Diverse methods to assess the autonomous healing performance of concrete are also examined. How the mechanical properties of autonomously healing concrete are affected by admixtures is another area to be discussed. While subjected to the water immersion condition, a crack formation 0.93 mm wide is healed. The utilization of multiple polymers and fibers led to enhanced thickness of healed crack formations and mechanical properties—a phenomenon hardly addressed in the literature.
