Did you ever wonder what the most widely-used human made material is? Dating back to antiquity, and ever since used for the construction of giant structures, concrete has left an undeniable mark on society. This seemingly boring, grey material is all around us, but it has one downside: at low tensile strength, micro-cracks can easily originate resulting in ingress of potentially harmful substances which deteriorate concrete from the inside. This demands costly maintenance that is not always successful. Dr. ir. Didier Snoeck researches opportunities to tackle this problem. He and his team have come up with a particularly durable and sustainable solution: a concrete with a self-healing capacity, mimicking the human body. It may seem like an unusual or small improvement, but the consequences for us and our economy can be enormous.
