Researchers at Binghamtom University are exploring how fungus can heal cracks in concrete by naturally secreting minerals that would fill in the cracks without human intervention or monitoring. Congrui Jin, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the university, has been working on self-healing concrete for the last five years.
“Scientists in Europe have been working on making self-healing concrete using bacteria, but we are the first to use fungi for a self-healing capacity," Jin said in an article on pressconnects.com. "By using fungi, we are hoping that it lasts longer and would have the ability to heal larger cracks when compared to bacteria based counterparts,” Jin said.
“Rain and moisture will find their way into the cracks in the concrete, which will cause the fungus to germinate, and as they germinate they will form and create mineral deposits that will fill the crack, which would be able to repeat the process over time,” Jin said.
(more on how researchers are using fungus to create self-healing concrete...)
