TY - JOUR A1 - Koerdt, Andrea A1 - Gerengi, Husnu A1 - Kaya, Ertugrul A1 - M. Solomon, Moses A1 - Snape, Matthew T1 - Advances in the Mitigation of Microbiologically Influenced Concrete Corrosion: A Snapshot N2 - Concrete, a versatile construction material, faces pervasive deterioration due to microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in various applications, including sewer systems, marine engineering, and buildings. MIC is initiated by microbial activities such as involving sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB), etc., producing corrosive substances like sulfuric acid. This process significantly impacts structures, causing economic losses and environmental concerns. Despite over a century of research, MIC remains a debated issue, lacking standardized assessment methods. Microorganisms contribute to concrete degradation through physical and chemical means. In the oil and gas industry, SRB and SOB activities may adversely affect concrete in offshore platforms. MIC challenges also arise in cooling water systems and civil infrastructures, impacting concrete surfaces. Sewer systems experience biogenic corrosion, primarily driven by SRB activities, leading to concrete deterioration. Mitigation traditionally involves the use of biocides and surface coatings, but their long-term effectiveness and environmental impact are questionable. Nowadays, it is important to design more eco-friendly mitigation products. The microbial-influenced carbonate precipitation is one of the green techniques and involves incorporating beneficial bacteria with antibacterial activity into cementitious materials to prevent the growth and the formation of a community that contains species that are pathogenic or may be responsible for MIC. These innovative strategies present promising avenues for addressing MIC challenges and preserving the integrity of concrete structures. This review provides a snapshot of the MIC in various areas and mitigation measures, excluding underlying mechanisms and broader influencing factors. KW - MIC KW - Corrosion KW - Concrete KW - Environment PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-619218 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17235846 VL - 17 IS - 23 SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - MDPI AN - OPUS4-61921 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stohl, Leonie A1 - Manninger, Tanja A1 - von Werder, Julia A1 - Dehn, F. A1 - Gorbushina, Anna A1 - Meng, Birgit T1 - Bioreceptivity of concrete - A review N2 - Materials that support natural biodiversity on their surfaces can compensate for human activities that have a negative impact on nature and thus contribute to a carbon-neutral and nature-positive world. Specifically designing bioreceptive materials which favor the growth of biofilms on their surface is an approach complementing conventional, macroscopic green façades. But what exactly characterizes a bioreceptive substrate and how do biofilm and substrate interact? How and why does a spontaneous colonization and the formation of biofilms take place? What are biofilms and how can they be established in a laboratory setting? How can this existing knowledge be transferred to the artificial stone concrete so that this material can be tuned to increase (or decrease) its bioreceptivity? This review paper aims at summarizing the existing state of knowledge on bioreceptive concrete and pointing out inconsistencies and contradictions which can only be removed by more interdisciplinary research in the field. KW - Bioreceptivity KW - Biofilm KW - Green facades KW - Developing building materials KW - Surface interactions KW - Concrete PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-581685 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2023.107201 SN - 2352-7102 VL - 76 SP - 1 EP - 17 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-58168 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stohl, Leonie A1 - Tonon, Chiara A1 - Cook, Jake A1 - Gorbushina, Anna A1 - Dehn, Frank A1 - von Werder, Julia T1 - Understanding bioreceptivity of concrete: realistic and accelerated weathering experiments with model subaerial biofilms N2 - Vertical greening systems are a promising solution to the increasing demand for urban green spaces, improving environmental quality and addressing biodiversity loss. This study facilitates the development microbially greened algal biofilm facades, which offer a low maintenance vertical green space. The study focuses on concrete as a widely used building material and explores how physical surface characteristics impact its bioreceptive properties. Concrete samples, produced from the same mix but differing in surface structure, were subjected to a laboratory weathering experiment to assess their bioreceptivity. A novel inoculation method was employed, involving a single initial inoculation with either alga ( Jaagichlorella sp.) alone, or a model biofilm consisting of a combination of the alga ( Jaagichlorella sp.) with a fungus ( Knufia petricola). The samples underwent four months of weathering in a dynamic laboratory setup irrigated with deionized water to observe subaerial biofilm attachment and growth. The formation of subaerial biofilms was monitored with high resolution surface imaging, colorimetric measurements and Imaging Pulse Amplitude Modulated Fluorometry (Imaging PAM-F), with Imaging PAM-F proving the most effective. Statistical analysis revealed that by impacting surface pH value and water retention capability, surface structures significantly influence microbial growth and that the concrete’s bioreceptivity can be influenced through thoughtful design of the materials surface. The inoculation of algae combined with a fungus facilitated the formation of a stable subaerial biofilm, enabling algae to colonize a surface structure that it could not colonize alone. This finding highlights the importance of modelling synergistic interactions present in natural biofilms. KW - Bioreceptivity KW - Concrete KW - Biofilm PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-653105 DO - https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-025-02864-x SN - 1359-5997 VL - 59 IS - 2 SP - 1 EP - 18 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC AN - OPUS4-65310 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kruschwitz, Sabine A1 - Munsch, Sarah Mandy A1 - Telong, Melissa A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram A1 - Bintz, Thilo A1 - Fladt, Matthias A1 - Stelzner, Ludwig T1 - The NMR core analyzing TOMograph: A multi-functional tool for non-destructive testing of building materials N2 - NMR is becoming increasingly popular for the investigation of building materials as it is a non-invasive technology that does not require any sample preparation nor causes damage to the material. Depending on the specific application it can offer insights into properties like porosity and spatial saturation degree as well as pore structure. Moreover it enables the determination of moisture transport properties and the (re-)distribution of internal moisture into different reservoirs or chemical phases upon damage and curing. However, as yet most investigations were carried out using devices originally either designed for geophysical applications or the analysis of rather homogeneous small scale (< 10 mL) samples. This paper describes the capabilities of an NMR tomograph, which has been specifically optimized for the investigation of larger, heterogeneous building material samples (diameters of up to 72 mm, length of up to 700 mm) with a high flexibility due to interchangeable coils allowing for a high SNR and short echo times (50 - 80 m s). KW - Fire spalling KW - Moisture transport KW - Concrete KW - Cement hydration KW - Sensitivity KW - Supplementary cementitous materials KW - Frost salt attack PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-573755 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mrl.2023.03.004 SN - 2097-0048 VL - 3 IS - 3 SP - 207 EP - 219 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-57375 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, Sabine A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Bohlen, T. T1 - Reverse time migration: a seismic imaging technique applied to synthetic ultrasonic data N2 - Ultrasonic echo testing is a more and more frequently used technique in civil engineering to investigate concrete building elements, to measure thickness as well as to locate and characterise built-in components or inhomogeneities. Currently the Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT), which is closely related to Kirchhoff migration, is used in most cases for imaging. However, this method is known to have difficulties to image steeply dipping interfaces as well as lower boundaries of tubes, voids or similar objects. We have transferred a processing technique from geophysics, the Reverse Time Migration (RTM) method, to improve the imaging of complicated geometries. By using the information from wide angle reflections as well as from multiple events there are fewer limitations compared to SAFT. As a drawback the required computing power is significantly higher compared to the techniques currently used. Synthetic experiments have been performed on polyamide and concrete specimens to show the improvements compared to SAFT. We have been able to image vertical interfaces of step-like structures as well as the lower boundaries of circular objects. It has been shown that RTM is a step forward for ultrasonic testing in civil engineering. KW - Beton KW - Ultraschall KW - Concrete KW - Imaging KW - Ultrasonics KW - Reverse time migration PY - 2012 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-262952 DO - https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/128465 SN - 1687-8868 SN - 1687-885X VL - 2012 IS - Article ID 128465 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation CY - New York, NY, USA AN - OPUS4-26295 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gluth, Gregor A1 - Bernal, S. A. T1 - RILEM TC CUC: Carbon dioxide uptake by concrete during and after service life – Opening Letter N2 - The ability of cement to chemically bind CO2 in a carbonation reaction enables the material to act as a carbon sink, which could partly account for offsetting the CO2 emissions associated with cement production. In response to the many open questions in this context, the RILEM Technical Committee CUC was created in May 2024. The focus of the TC will be to facilitate discussions regarding the current approaches to estimate the CO2 uptake by cementitious materials (concrete and other construction products) during and after service life. This Opening Letter presents aspects of the motivation to establish the TC, a brief overview of the state of the art in the field, the scheduled work programme, and the anticipated impact of the TC outputs. Though it is not intended to be an exhaustive discussion of the challenges to be addressed, from what is summarized in this letter, it is clear that work is required to base estimates of CO2 uptake by cementitious materials on a data set that is as extensive, accurate and forward-looking as possible. It is anticipated that the inclusion of interdisciplinary perspectives and data from academia and industry will enable progress in the field. KW - Cement KW - Concrete KW - Recarbonation KW - Carbon dioxide uptake KW - Carbonation rate PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-623724 DO - https://doi.org/10.21809/rilemtechlett.2024.208 SN - 2518-0231 VL - 9 SP - 61 EP - 67 PB - RILEM AN - OPUS4-62372 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stohl, Leonie A1 - Manninger, Tanja A1 - Dehn, Frank A1 - von Werder, Julia T1 - Understanding bioreceptivity of concrete: material design and characterization N2 - The climate crisis is driving an increasing demand for ecologically oriented concepts. In the building sector, this demand includes not only the use of environmentally friendly materials but also the greening of urban areas. One promising approach is the development of bioreceptive concrete façades, which support the growth of green biofilms directly on their surfaces. These innovative façades are anticipated to deliver benefits comparable to those of macroscopically greened façades, such as enhanced biodiversity and improved air quality, while offering the advantages of being more self-sustaining and stable systems once fully established. However, the development of bioreceptive concrete presents substantial challenges. Due to the interdisciplinarity and novelty of this field, standardized methods for material characterization and bioreceptivity assessment are currently lacking. This study proposes an approach for evaluating surface properties crucial for bioreceptivity, developed on differently structured samples of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC). Existing methods and standards from concrete technology are critically reviewed and, where necessary, modified to meet the unique requirements of measuring bioreceptive material properties. Special attention is given to the surface pH value and water retention characteristics, as these are essential for promoting microbial growth and ensuring the long-term stability of green biofilms. The observed surface characteristics vary according to the imprinted surface structures, offering a spectrum of material properties and enabling the evaluation of their impact on bioreceptivity. The findings presented form the foundation for subsequent laboratory weathering experiments, which will be discussed in a complementary publication. KW - Bioreceptivity KW - Concrete KW - Biofilm PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-648180 DO - https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-025-02863-y SN - 1359-5997 VL - 58 IS - 10 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC AN - OPUS4-64818 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kruschwitz, Sabine A1 - Bischof, Eik A1 - Taffe, A. T1 - Multi-sensor investigation of concrete moisture using ultrasound, radar and microwave N2 - Moisture and salt loads of concrete can significantly change its microstructure and consequently lead to chemical and mechanical degradation. However, the non-destructive investigation of moisture and salt present in concrete is still difficult. In order to address and compare the sensitivity of different methods concrete samples with different pore systems realized by varying the w/z ratios have been fabricated. The focus of this study was put on the analysis of ultrasonic long and trans waves measured on the surface and in transmission mode. The results show clear dependencies of all applied methods. With the radar and microwave methods predominantly changes in the concrete moisture could be detected, whereas the different pore systems were not observed to alter the signals. In contrast for the ultrasound method also the ongoing hydration as well as the nature of the pore system strongly influenced the signals. As a consequence in a subsequent drying experiment it was also tried to delineate the effects of moisture and hydration. All specimens have been re-saturated under pressure and the drying experiment was repeated using the same multi-sensor approach. T2 - NDT-CE 2015 - International symposium non-destructive testing in civil engineering CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 15.09.2015 KW - Concrete KW - Moisture KW - Non-destructive testing KW - Ultrasound KW - Radar KW - Velocities KW - Microwave KW - Multi-sensor approach PY - 2015 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-347612 UR - http://www.ndt.net/?id=18322 SN - 1435-4934 VL - 20 IS - 11 SP - 1 EP - 4 PB - NDT.net CY - Kirchwald AN - OPUS4-34761 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shokouhi, Parisa A1 - Zoëga, Andreas A1 - Wiggenhauser, Herbert T1 - Nondestructive investigation of stress-induced damage in concrete N2 - The changes in the sonic surface wave velocity of concrete under stress were investigated in this paper. Surface wave velocities at sonic frequency range were measured on a prismatic concrete specimen undergoing several cycles of uniaxial compression. The loading was applied (or removed) gradually in predefined small steps (stress-controlled). The surface wave velocity was measured at every load step during both loading and unloading phases. Acoustic Emission (AE) test was conducted simultaneously to monitor the microcracking activities at different levels of loading. It was found that the sonic surface wave velocity is highly stress dependent and the velocity-stress relationship follows a particular trend. The observed trend could be explained by a combination of acoustoelasticity and microcracking theories, each valid over a certain range of applied stresses. Having measured the velocities while unloading, when the material suffers no further damage, the effect of stress and damage could be differentiated. The slope of the velocity-stress curves over the elastic region was calculated for different load cycles. This quantity was normalized to yield a dimensionless nonlinear parameter. This parameter generally increases with the level of induced damage in concrete. KW - Nondestructive testing (NDT) KW - Surface wave velocity KW - Concrete KW - Acoustoelasticity KW - Microcracking PY - 2010 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-215943 UR - http://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ace/2010/740189.pdf DO - https://doi.org/10.1155/2010/740189 SN - 1687-8094 SN - 1687-8086 VL - 2010 IS - Article ID 740189 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Hindawi Publ. Corp. CY - New York, NY, USA AN - OPUS4-21594 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Wolf, Julia A1 - Mielentz, Frank A1 - Wiggenhauser, Herbert A1 - Pirskawetz, Stephan T1 - Embedded ultrasonic transducers for active and passive concrete monitoring N2 - Recently developed new transducers for ultrasonic transmission, which can be embedded right into concrete, are now used for non-destructive permanent monitoring of concrete. They can be installed during construction or thereafter. Large volumes of concrete can be monitored for changes of material properties by a limited number of transducers. The transducer design, the main properties as well as installation procedures are presented. It is shown that compressional waves with a central frequency of 62 kHz are mainly generated around the transducer's axis. The transducer can be used as a transmitter or receiver. Application examples demonstrate that the transducers can be used to monitor concrete conditions parameters (stress, temperature, …) as well as damages in an early state or the detection of acoustic events (e.g., crack opening). Besides application in civil engineering our setups can also be used for model studies in geosciences. KW - Ultrasound KW - Transmission KW - Concrete KW - Damages KW - Cracks KW - Stress KW - Monitoring KW - Acoustic emission KW - Transducers KW - Coda wave interferometry PY - 2015 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-345632 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/s150509756 SN - 1424-8220 VL - 15 IS - 5 SP - 9756 EP - 9772 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-34563 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -