Cementitious composites are the most widely used building materials in the world due to their low cost and wide adaptability. However, they are typically characterized by high compressive strength and low tensile strength, which greatly inhibits their engineering applications. This is because the composite, as a kind of multiphase and multi-scale material, is inclined to crack and fail when subjected to actions such as load, temperature, and humidity.

To improve the reliability of infrastructures, researchers have tried to endow materials with smart capacities such as self-sensing, self-healing, and self-adjusting for monitoring and repairing potential defects. Self-healing concrete is mostly defined as the ability of concrete to autonomously repair its small cracks.

Recently, three main technologies have been used to prepare self-healing concrete, including natural, chemical, and biological processes. Although these methods have improved the self-healing ability of concrete to varying degrees, some shortcomings are evident. For example, most natural processes can only partially fill the entrance of some cracks. When concrete is treated by biological methods, the pH, temperature, and moisture content inside the concrete are typically unsuitable for the growth of bacteria.

This Special Issue aims to collect the latest developments on crack repair of cementitious composites, including characterization, testing and detection of cementitious composites, properties, mechanisms, and models of cementitious composites, construction, maintenance, and reinforcement of cementitious composite structures. Potential topics for submissions include but are not limited to: