Mimicrete – Advancing Self-Healing Concrete Using Vascular Networks.

混凝土是集料和水泥的混合物，是世界上使用最广泛的建筑材料之一，用于私人和公共建筑，包括道路，建筑物，桥梁，机场，海事和工业厂房。全球每年使用300亿吨混凝土。然而，混凝土容易开裂和退化，如果不加以处理，这反过来又会损害结构的完整性和安全性。建筑物和基础设施倒塌与未经处理的裂缝有关，例如最近佛罗里达的人行天桥倒塌\[New Civil Engineer，2019\]。因此，设计的解决方案和昂贵的密集监测，维修和更换制度都到位，以尽量减少对公共安全的威胁。英国每年花费约510亿英镑用于维护，包括维修和更换其主要由混凝土建造的基础设施资产[ONS，2020]。此外，混凝土生产通过水泥生产占全球碳排放量的4 - 8%。降低混凝土生产及其混凝土密集维修和更换相关碳排放的技术和策略至关重要。自修复混凝土裂缝一旦形成就自动愈合，可以延长混凝土使用寿命，并最大限度地减少基础设施维护所需的维护制度。这些好处将转化为成本和碳节约，因为新安装的混凝土需要更低水平的维修/更换。Mimicrete Ltd是一家成立于2021年的初创企业，开发了一种自修复混凝土创新。我们的技术通过将模拟植物和动物血管系统的网络嵌入预制混凝土块中来工作。**该网络充满了愈合剂，可以在裂缝形成时部署，以自主愈合裂缝。我们的目标是通过制造和测试全尺寸网络来开发和测试我们的血管网络，包括开发制造和设计建议。我们将对混凝土进行加速应力测试，以触发裂缝和愈合。结果将展示大规模的性能，定义制造参数，量化成本和我们的自我修复系统所促进的寿命延长，以支持我们走向商业化的创新之旅。

Concrete, a mix of aggregate and cement, is one of the most widely used building materials throughout the world, being used for both private and public construction including roads, buildings, bridges, airports, maritime and industrial plants. Globally, 30 Billion tonnes of concrete are used each year. However, concrete is prone to cracking and degradation which in turn can compromise structural integrity and safety if left untreated. Building and infrastructure collapses have been linked to untreated cracking e.g. a recent Florida pedestrian bridge collapse \[New Civil Engineer, 2019\]. Consequently, overengineered solutions and expensive, intensive monitoring, repair and replacement regimes are in place to minimise threats to public safety. The UK spends approximately £51 Billion per year on maintenance including repair and replacement of its predominantly concrete built infrastructure assets \[ONS, 2020\].Furthermore, concrete production is responsible for 4 - 8% of global carbon emissions via cement production. Technologies and strategies to lower the carbon associated with both concrete production and its concrete intensive repair and replacement are absolutely vital.Self-healing concrete whereby cracks are automatically healed as soon as they are formed can lengthen concrete lifetimes and minimise the maintenance regimes required to maintain infrastructure. These benefits will translate into both cost and carbon savings as newly installed concrete requires lower levels of repair/replacement.**Mimicrete Ltd, a start-up founded in 2021, have developed a self-healing concrete innovation. Our technology works by embedding a network modelled on the vascular systems of plants and animals into the pre-fabricated concrete blocks.** The network is filled with a healing agent that can be deployed when the crack forms to heal the crack autonomously.We aim to develop and test our vascular networks via manufacture and testing of a full scale network, including development of manufacturing and design recommendations. We will conduct accelerated stress testing of the concrete to trigger cracking and healing. Results will demonstrate the performance at scale, define manufacturing parameters, quantify costs and lifetime extension facilitated by our self-healing system to support our innovation journey towards commercialisation.