• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.27-33
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• 2016

In this study, Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber was used to increase strength (unconfined compressive strength and tensile strength) of bio-cemented sand using microorganism. Ottawa sand was mixed with PVA fibers having three fiber contents (0, 0.4, and 0.8%). The fiber mixed sand was treated 14 times by using Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) which included culture (2 times per day) during 7 days to improve its engineering properties. The Bacillus Sporosarcina pasteurrii (Bacillus sp.) was used for urease activity. The specimen was prepared as a cylindrical specimen of 5 cm in diameter and 10 cm in height. Unconfined compressive strength and tensile strength were measured after cementation. Moreover, calcium carbonate content and SEM analyses were performed with a piece of sample. An average value of unconfined compressive strength increased and then slightly decreased but an average value of tensile strength ratio increased with increasing carbonate content the in same condition. Unconfined compressive strength and tensile strength increased about 30% and 160%, respectively. A strength ratio of unconfined compressive strength to tensile strength representing the brittleness decreased from 8 to 4 when fiber content increased from 0.0 to 0.8%. Such bio-cemented sand can be applied into slope area to prevent its shear failure or increase its tensile strength.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.237-242
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• 2015

The use of calcite-forming bacteria (CFB) in crack remediation and durability improvements in construction materials creates a permanent and environmentally-friendly material. Therefore, research into this type of application is stimulating interdisciplinary studies between microbiology and architectural engineering. However, the mechanisms giving rise to these materials are dependent on calcite precipitation by the metabolism of the CFB, which raises concerns about possible hazards to cement-based construction due to microbial metabolic acid production. The aim of this study was to determine target microorganisms that possibly can have bio-corrosive effects on cement mortar and to assess multi-functional CFBs for their safe application to cement structures. The chalky test was first used to evaluate the $CaCO_3$ solubilization feature of construction sites by fungi, yeast, bacterial strains. Not all bacterial strains are able to solubilize $CaCO_3$, but C. sphaerospermum KNUC253 or P. prolifica KNUC263 showed $CaCO_3$ solubilization activity. Therefore, these two strains were identified as target microorganisms that require control in cement structures. The registered patented strains Bacillus aryabhatti KNUC205, Arthrobacter nicotianae KNUC2100, B. thuringiensis KNUC2103 and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia KNUC2106, reported as multifunctional CFB (fungal growth inhibition, crack remediation, and water permeability reduction of cement surfaces) and isolated from Dokdo or construction site were unable to solubilize $CaCO_3$. Notably, B. aryabhatti KNUC205 and A. nicotianae KNUC2100 could not hydrolyze cellulose or protein, which can be the major constituent macromolecules of internal materials for buildings. These results show that several reported multi-functional CFB can be applied to cement structures or diverse building environments without corrosive or bio-deteriorative risks.