Summary Reader Response Draft 4 (Self- Healing Concrete)

According to Spinks (2015), cement production caused a huge impact to the environment. To tackle this problem, Hendrik Jonkers had come up with an innovative idea to increase the lifespan of concrete and reduce its production. The article also stated the advantages and disadvantages of self-healing concrete and how this concrete is used globally. Even though Rosie Spinks  stated the advantages and disadvantages of the self-healing concrete, it did not sufficiently state how this concrete is used globally, in terms of  where and how is it used.

Firstly, Rosie Spinks mentioned did not specify the countries that utilise this concrete. Based on the research I did, I found a number of countries that used this concrete. One of the countries that is utilised this concrete is Ecuador. According to Van Dijk  (2014), a concrete canal in the Andean highlands is facing problems due to constant changes in temperature. As a result, cracks were formed in the canal and it lead to food shortage and crop failure to the surrounding communities due to water leaks in it. Self -healing concrete was used in the canal. The purpose was to repair the cracks in it and reduce the time and cost to change parts in the canal.

Secondly, another country that is utilizing this concrete is India. According to Ong (2016), Dr Menkumar Banthia, an engineering professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), stated the road in Thondebavi, Southwestern India, was inaccessible by car or foot though people depended on this road to do their daily activities. The road was revamped with strong self-healing concrete. With this innovation, the road became stronger and also had the ability to repair its own cracks when rain was present. As a result. The self-healing  made  it more accessible for the residents around the vicinity. Both of the above-mentioned articles show that the renovation of public facilities using self-healing concrete has a positive impact on people’s daily lives.

Thirdly, another country that is utilizing this innovative concrete is the Netherlands. According to Williams (2017), a water utility centre plans to  implement water storage tanks that are made partially with self-healing concrete. The reason is that the centre aims to reduce the time and cost of changing parts in the tanks whenever there are any faulty ones. Williams shows that self – healing concrete used in water plants is effective. As bacteria is present in wastewater, they helps in producing limestone, which in turn can heal the cracks in the water tank.

Overall, this article sufficiently mentioned about concrete’s characteristics. However,  I believe that if Spinks had mentioned some countries using this concrete, readers could understand more deeply how it helps the community in a particular way. That way I believe that other countries can be inspired by these projects and can utilise this concrete to improve people’s daily lives.

 

REFERENCES

Ong, R. (2016, November 15) Self-healing roads protecting villages in India from heavy rains. The Ubyssey.

https://www.ubyssey.ca/science/self-healing-roads/

Spinks, R. (2015, June 29). The self-healing concrete that can fix its own cracks. The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/jun/29/the-self-healing-concrete-that-can-fix-its-own-cracks

Van Dijk, T. (2014, August 7) Self-healing irrigation canals in Ecuador. Delta. TU Delft

https://www.delta.tudelft.nl/article/self-healing-irrigation-canals-ecuador#:~:text=Henk%20Jonkers%20and%20Virginie%20Wiktor,canal%20for%20irrigating%20their%20fields.

Williams, A. (2017, May 1) Self-Healing Concrete in The Netherlands. Waterworld.

https://www.waterworld.com/international/utilities/article/16201170/selfhealing-concrete-in-the-netherlands

---