Our Infrastructure Crisis

Our Infrastructure
is Falling Apart
The Federal-Aid
Highway Act created
the interstate
highway system
Many structures built
using that Act are
50+ years old
Its only a matter of
time before they
collapse
The I-35 Mississippi River Bridge collapsed in 2007 during rush hour
traffic. The collapse killed 13 people and injured 60.
Our Dams are Failing
FEMA has classified 17,000 dams as a high hazard
70% of dams in America will be over 50 years old by 2020
Dam failures often cause billions of dollars in property damage and can be lethal

A map showing the

hazard categories of
the dams throughout
the United States.
Red and dark yellow
dots represent dams
at a higher risk of
failure.
Our Bridges are Crumbling
Over 55,000 bridges in the
US have been classified as
Structurally Deficient
That totals around 10% of
the number of bridges in
the US

A structure was built under the Greensfield Bridge in Pittsburgh

to catch falling concrete before the bridge was demolished in
2016. The bridge was over 70 years old.
Our Solution:

Fibrous Bioconcrete
How the Bioconcrete Works
Limestone-producing bacteria is placed in hydrophilic capsules and mixed into
concrete along with cellulose fibers, which add strength to the concrete
Bacteria produces limestone when exposed to water, a common agent of
concrete erosion

Bioconcrete has been

shown to repair cracks in
concrete, which would save
us millions of dollars in
repair costs.
The Agent of Action: Bacillus Sphaericus
Bacillus Sphaericus produces
calcium-based chemicals similar to
those found in limestone
B. Sphaericus has been shown to
help repair cracks in concrete,
which would ordinarily be
irreversible
Using B. Sphaericus in concrete
would reduce costs and frequency
of replacement of concrete
Strains of the bacteria Bacillus Sphaericus can
produce limestone when exposed to water. This can
be used to repair damage to concrete.
Obtaining Bacillus Sphaericus
A special strain of B. Sphaericus is used to
produce limestone.
Due to intellectual property rights, the process
by which this bacteria is manufactured is
unavailable to us
Due to the fact that numerous scientific studies
use this strain of bacteria, it can be assumed
that the manufacturing process is feasible.

Bacillus Sphaericus in a petri dish

Additional Reinforcement Using Cellulose Fibers
Cellulose fibers will be added to mixture to bolster the durability of the
concrete
Fibers will increase tensile strength, fire resistance and reduce overall
cracking

Cellulose Fibers can add

additional strength to
concrete. Combining Fibers
with bioconcrete will make this
concrete stronger as well as
able to repair itself.
Cellulose Reinforcement
Cellulose fibers will be added to concrete
as 1% of weight or .5% of volume during
the mixing process
Fibers will be 6 to 12 millimeters in length
the standard length of micro fibers in
concrete.
Cellulose fibers will be produced from
parts of plants that are commonly not
used like wood pulp.
Naturally-sourced cellulose fibers will be
added to the cement at industry standard
during the cement mixing process
Testing Bioconcretes:
Small and Large scale testing is required
before bioconcrete is made commercially
available
Testing is underway by professionals.
The necessary tests will be detailed in
later slides

The Strength of Concrete is tested using

compressors, such as the machine seen
above
 In Vitro Testing
Used to test the properties of the bacteria
itself
Bacterial heat tolerance will be tested using
heating elements and freezing
Testing compatibility with cellulose is
necessary to determine the feasibility of
bioconcrete
Chemical properties of bacteria and
limestone are examined
In Vitro Testing of the Bacteria will
provide insight regarding the
efficacy of the agent of action and
the bioconcrete
Small Scale Tests and Proof of Concepts
Repeated Stress (RS) testing will
measure the amount of pressure
necessary for damage to occur and the
extent of such damage
Bioconcrete used in RS Testing will
have water poured on it to trigger the
repair process. The process will be
observed to measure the rate of repair. A visual representation of capsules reacting to
water and releasing bacteria to repair concrete.
Repaired concrete will undergo RS Note that the repair process usually takes a
Testing again to measure the strength couple of weeks, not a few seconds.
of the repairs.
 Large Scale and On-Site Testing
Small structures will be built using
bioconcrete and will be observed over the
course of a few years to look for signs of
damage, as well as whether the bacteria
spreads beyond the structure and leaks into
the surrounding land.
Interactions between local flora, fauna, and
Small Concrete Structures will be built
bacteria and the bioconcrete will be
using bioconcrete to test for durability and observed.
scalability of bioconcrete, as well as
interactions between the bioconcrete and
Scalability of structures will be tested and
the environment calculated
Build with bioconcrete today for a brighter
tomorrow.