Showcase (Self-healing addmixtures)
Overview
Self-healing admixtures are designed to release a healing agent upon cracking of the surrounding cementitious matrix. When activated by mechanical damage, the capsule shell ruptures, releasing the core material, which reacts with environmental moisture to form solid compounds that fill and seal the crack. Compared to conventional cementitious mixtures, they enhance the durability and service life of structural interventions by enabling autonomous crack sealing, reducing maintenance requirements, and preserving the original design intent. They are especially valuable in the conservation of reinforced concrete heritage buildings, where minimizing visible intervention is critical.
Main applications
Suitable for reinforced concrete structures in the construction of structural new members (beams, columns, walls etc), the replacement of deteriorated ones, and patch repairs to protect and extend the service life of repaired elements. Self-healing admixtures are effective in repairing and sealing micro-cracks (100–800 μm) caused by shrinkage, thermal cycling, or mechanical loading. They are particularly valuable for structures exposed to harsh environments, such as marine conditions, or in locations that are difficult to access for regular inspection.
Self-healing with UHPC
Explain the technical aspects of this case study and the current results.
Experimentation - SINCERE Pilots
Self-healing admixtures have been present in mixes experimented across all SINCERE pilots allowing a comparison in different climatic zones, from Holon to Ostrava, from Rhodes to Madrid.
Currently, August 2026, the experiments are still in progress but we can already report that ...
Exhibitions
In one of the most relevant international conference, the 7th Historic Mortars Conference, HMC25, SINCERE was honored to showcase the most advanced SINCERE materials in a permanent Exhibition Booth designed by NetHood. Self-healing admixtures were one of the featured advanced materials, and you can download the dedicated panels introducing the SINCERE innovations, highlighting their performance characteristics, here.
Self-healing was also featured at the SINCERE's booth at ECOMONDO, presented by Ioannis Karatasios (NCSRD) and Christos Stentoumis (up2metric), showcasing the corresponding developed by Innovmater, a NCSRD spin-off company.
Selected Publications
The current laboratory experiments demonstrate an effect of up to 5oC reduction in aboslute internal temperature fluctuations. Below you can find two selected publications on PCM-related results and more are available in the dedicated publications page.
I. Karatasios, S. Papaioannou, E. Tziviloglou, V. Kilikoglou. (2024). Effect of shell composition on watertightness and mechanical performance of cement-based capsules used as self-healing additives of cement. Developments in the Built Environment, (20).
The aim of this work is the development of cementitious macro-capsules for self-healing cement and concrete materials. Emphasis is placed on shell properties, including size, thickness, strength, and volume to active component ratio. This enhancement is aimed at protecting the healing agent and ensuring adequate reactivity upon crack formation, surpassing survivability considerations. To this direction, core/shell particles have been produced following the pan-coating method, while different types and concentrations of setting acceleration solutions for the shell stabilization were studied. [...] The results revealed the ability of the encapsulation methodology proposed to tailor the shell properties and modify the capsule properties so as satisfy the requirements of different applications. The use of setting accelerators during shell formation proved essential for enhancing the density and the strength of the shell layer. As a consequence, this leads to macro-scale capsules with elevated survivability rate and core reactivity.
E. Tziviloglou, V. Kilikoglou, I. Karatasios. (2025). Parametric design of self-healing admixtures for repair mortars of 20th century historic buildings, Book of extended abstracts, pp. 593-596, HMC 2025 – 7th Historic Mortars Conference, 2-4 September 2025, Padova, Italy.
This work focuses on development of core–shell inorganic admixtures for all types of repair mortars, which autonomously seal cracks when damage occur. What distinguishes this system is the ability for parametric design of admixtures, including capsule size, shell properties, core composition and affinity with different mortar matrices, able to meet both technical and aesthetic demands of repair mortars for preserving 20th century architectural heritage.
> Check all SINCERE publications
> Stay tuned for more details with Innovmater, a spinoff from NCSRD .