INVESTIGATION OF BACTERIAL MORTAR FOR SUSTAINABLE STRUCTURAL REPAIR APPLICATIONS

Paper ID: EIJTEM_2026_13_2_214-223

Author's Name: Panem Said basha, Sabharinadh B, Kalyani Gurram, Maheswararao R and Naveen Kumar G

Volume: 13

Issue: 2

Year: 2026

Page No: 214-223

Abstract:

The study addresses the substantial influence of cracking on the strength and durability of concrete structures by investigating the efficacy of bacterial-based self-healing technology for fixing fractured concrete. Conventional repair techniques frequently fail to offer long-term fixes. The experiment used conventional mortar, bacterial mortar containing calcium lactate and Bacillus bacteria, and a hybrid approach to repair M30 grade concrete that had been cast with controlled cracks. The results showed that bacterial mortar functioned far better than conventional methods, regaining 90.9% of its strength as opposed to 80.8% for conventional specimens. With a reduction in breadth of almost 82% compared to 38% for conventional repairs, the bacterial mortar showed improved crack healing. It also showed reduced water absorption (2.35% vs. 4.47%), sorptivity, and chloride permeability. Bacterial repairs have exceptionally low chloride permeability (1180 Coulombs) according to the Rapid Chloride Penetration Test, compared to conventional mortar's 3120 Coulombs. Additionally, bacterial repairs demonstrated improved durability, withstanding 36 impact blows and reaching a 4.5 MPa bond strength. A balance between acute restoration and long-term healing was provided by the hybrid approach. This work presents bacterial mortar as a practical, effective, and long-lasting repair material for contemporary infrastructure rehabilitation, greatly improving strength recovery and impermeability while addressing durability through efficient fracture sealing.

Keywords: Bacterial mortar, Crack repair, Self-healing concrete, MICP, Strength recovery, Durability.

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