Act before it cracks: Innovative coating of concrete to protect bridges

Elastomers similar to paint coatings developed at the University of Luxembourg and the Technical University of Darmstadt, were proven to help detect and monitor potential concrete cracks in existing or future buildings. Many of the tunnels and bridge infrastructure in Europe is more than 50 years old, and are approaching end of life with important maintenance needs, posing the threat of more disastrous accidents, such as the Morandi Bridge in Genoa in 2018 in Italy (43 deaths and 16 injured).