Self-healing techniques are most successful in preventing concrete from cracking or breaking. The book reviews the most promising methods, including the use of polymers, epoxy resins, fungi or cementitious composites; biomineralization, continuing hydration or carbonation or wet/dry cycling. Various micro-organisms are able to produce favorable effects, such as denitrification, calcium carbonate formation, sulfate reduction or the production of methane. The book references 289 original resources and includes their direct web link for in-depth reading.
Author
Dr. Fisher has wide knowledge and experience of the fields of engineering, metallurgy and solid-state physics, beginning with work at Rolls-Royce Aero Engines on turbine-blade research, related to the Concord supersonic passenger-aircraft project, which led to a BSc degree (1971) from the University of Wales. This was followed by theoretical and experimental work on the directional solidification of eutectic alloys having the ultimate aim of developing composite turbine blades. This work led to a doctoral degree (1978) from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Lausanne). He then acted for many years as an editor of various academic journals, in particular Defect and Diffusion Forum. In recent years he has specialized in writing monographs that introduce readers to the most rapidly developing ideas in the fields of engineering, metallurgy and solid-state physics. He is co-author of the widely-cited student textbook, Fundamentals of Solidification. Google Scholar credits him with 7522 citations and a lifetime h-index of 12.
