How have you all been since the Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day? As we step into the third month of 2024, it's time to ramp up our work before the Songkran festival in April, which the government has planned to celebrate from April 1-20. So, get ready for a full-on celebration! Now, back to our topic. This month, I want to share with TerraBKK fans about self-healing materials used in construction. Upon reading the title “Self-Healing Materials”, many might wonder, “What is that? Are there really such materials?”?

The answer is yes, they do exist!

“Self-healing materials” are a development stemming from the efforts of researchers worldwide to create construction materials that can repair themselves, aiming to reduce repair and maintenance costs, which can account for up to 40% of building construction costs. Typically, as a building ages, it requires maintenance and repairs to preserve and enhance its value throughout its lifespan, while also ensuring the comfort and safety of its occupants. Furthermore, it helps maintain an aesthetically pleasing environment in cities and communities, preventing decay over time. Maintenance processes often generate waste that is not environmentally friendly.

Given these issues, researchers have been exploring and developing self-healing construction materials, which are innovations that assist in maintaining and extending the lifespan of buildings under the concept of sustainable construction. Self-healing materials are designed with special capabilities to automatically repair damage without human intervention. These materials have internal mechanisms that allow them to detect, respond to, and repair damage caused by cracking, wear, or other environmental factors. Self-healing materials offer benefits in terms of cost, operational efficiency, quality of life, and safety for people, as well as contributing to sustainable building development.

According to data compiled by Grand View Research, a research and consulting firm from the United States, the global market size for self-healing materials across all industries was valued at $1.94 billion in 2023 (approximately 69.7 billion baht at present) and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.5% from 2024 to 2030. This growth is driven by the increasing demand for self-healing materials, coupled with advanced research and development technologies. Market competition among manufacturers has led to a wider selection of self-healing construction materials as operators in various industries recognize the benefits of developing such products, leading to sustainable project development and long-term cost-effectiveness.

The survey also indicates that the construction industry leads the self-healing materials market, accounting for 35% in 2022, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, due to increased construction activities and a growing demand for self-healing materials. Additionally, the Asia-Pacific region held a 29% share of the revenue market for self-healing materials in 2023, with industrial development and foreign direct investment being the main driving factors supporting growth in the region.

Why are self-healing materials gaining popularity and experiencing continuous growth?

The first reason is cost and expense: The self-repairing mechanism of these materials helps reduce the impact of deterioration and extends their lifespan, leading to decreased maintenance needs and frequency, resulting in long-term cost savings for operators or building owners.

Next is operational efficiency, quality of life, and safety: Reducing building cracks or structural deterioration with self-healing materials minimizes the risk of unexpected accidents and enhances the quality of life for building users, as reduced maintenance needs prevent disruptions to activities and inconveniences for users and surrounding people.

And the reason for sustainability: Self-healing materials promote longer-lasting structures, reducing the need for replacements and material waste, and minimizing construction activities that impact the environment.

What are self-healing material innovations?

Self-healing materials are researched and developed to address the limitations of lifespan, usage characteristics, and overall environmental impacts that cause current construction materials to deteriorate over time. Inspired by biological healing, these materials can restore their original properties fully or partially. Examples of self-healing materials include:

Polymers: These versatile materials can be mixed with cement and concrete, used as surface coatings, waterproofing agents, or building components. They often contain microcapsules filled with self-healing agents that are released when the material is damaged to repair surface cracks.

Concrete: A fundamental material in building construction, concrete can be enhanced for durability and longevity by incorporating bacteria. When cracks occur, these bacteria seal the cracks and restore the integrity of the concrete.

Metals: Strong materials used in construction, metal coatings have been developed to prevent corrosion and repair damage to the metal itself.

Due to their self-healing properties, self-healing construction materials are priced 10-30% higher than standard materials because of their composition, production processes, research and development, availability, installation, and usage. Although the initial costs may be higher than conventional construction, the long-term savings are significant and should not be overlooked by developers or project owners. Statistics show that using self-healing materials in construction projects can lead to savings of 20%-80% over the structure's lifespan.

However, since the development of self-healing materials is relatively recent, there are still limitations in their application, such as:

Innovation limitations: Some self-healing methods have limitations in their repair capabilities, such as being able to self-repair only two to three times at the same location before their self-healing properties diminish.

Currently, researchers and developers are continuously working to enhance the performance of these materials, enabling them to self-repair multiple times at the same location or embedding devices to improve their self-healing capabilities to address various limitations.

Integration with existing construction methods: The goal of integrating self-healing materials with existing construction methods is to leverage self-repair technology while ensuring strength, durability, and safety within construction standards. This integration requires careful consideration of material selection, design, and construction methods, including:

• Material selection: Choosing appropriate materials based on structural characteristics and usage, considering factors such as the type of damage the material needs to self-repair (e.g., cracks, corrosion), environmental conditions, structural requirements, compatibility with other selected materials, and budget constraints.

• Design: Self-healing material technology must seamlessly integrate with structural design or basic system work, including determining the appropriate location and usage rate of self-healing materials to enhance the efficiency and durability of the structure or critical points at risk of damage.

• Construction methods: Construction practices must be adjusted to accommodate the use of self-healing materials. All parties involved in the process should have knowledge and understanding, particularly contractors and workers who should be trained in management, installation methods, tools, and material usage.

Inspection and maintenance: Another crucial aspect not to be overlooked when using self-healing materials is regular inspection and maintenance to ensure the ongoing effectiveness of the material. Although the material can self-repair, inspecting its condition helps identify signs of damage or deterioration that may require human intervention, such as replenishing healing agents, repairing damaged areas, or other preventive maintenance. Proactive damage inspections before actual damage occurs may involve using tools to monitor and alert when risk factors arise.

Given the properties of self-healing materials, they present an option for Thai real estate developers to incorporate self-healing materials into both commercial and residential property development projects. Although the initial construction costs may be 10-30% higher than standard materials, depending on the type of material, long-term maintenance savings can reach 20-80%. Simultaneously, reducing maintenance costs significantly contributes to minimizing waste generated from maintenance processes, paving the way for sustainable development.

According to a survey by LWS, no real estate developers in Thailand have yet adopted self-healing materials in their construction processes, likely due to factors such as budget constraints, designer knowledge, or worker expertise. However, I believe that with the advancement and promotion of sustainable real estate project development concepts, which are part of reducing waste and greenhouse gas emissions from construction processes, it won't be long before Thai real estate developers start using self-healing construction materials. I also believe that as the quantity and variety of self-healing construction materials increase, the prices of these materials will likely decrease to more accessible levels, leading to sustainable real estate development companies in the future.

See you again in April!

Goodbye!