NSF TTP-T: Regenerative Concrete Repair

This project is funded through the NSF Translation to Practice (TTP) program, which supports efforts to translate research discoveries into innovations that benefit communities, industry, and society. For the TTP program, teams advance research results toward real-world deployment and adoption. The United States of America is facing public safety, economic productivity, and national resilience challenges due to aged concrete infrastructure. Civil infrastructure managers, such as state and federal agencies, face growing maintenance backlogs and budget constraints but lack effective concrete crack repair technologies. Existing repair methods are complex, labor-intensive, and failure-prone, leading to deferred interventions until deterioration becomes critical. This research team provides a unique technology solution, Regenerative Concrete Repair (RCR), which is a robust repair method that tolerates real-world variability in crack behavior and installation conditions. This solution makes preventive maintenance feasible at scale. The research team develops RCR into an easy to apply, long-lasting, and self-healing product for both active and dormant crack repair. This project is use-inspired research and technology transfer for RCR concrete repair. RCR is comprised of a bacterial nanocellulose composite which is viable and tough on the concrete crack. The research disrupts understanding of concrete biotic-abiotic composites by scientifically investigating the environmental limits of adhesion and compatibility between a living organism and concrete crack surfaces. Organisms will be selected to meet key repair objectives, and media compositions will be optimized to grow products which meet durability needs. The project includes public outreach efforts to educate the public about use-inspired research with QR codes stamped on municipal sidewalks. In addition, workforce training videos showcases the ease of use of the product. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.