Voronoi diagrams and self-healing cementitious materials: a perfect match

Voronoi diagrams are promising schemes for use in architecture and structural design. Integrated into building sciences they can result in structures with a high strength to weight ratio for any material. Furthermore, such structures are aesthetically appealing. However, it is difficult to cast such structures and some teething problems are still present. In this paper a case study is presented in which a Voronoi-like tessellation was used as formwork to manufacture a small cementitious plate. Cementitious structures are not very often thin and they are susceptible to cracking. In this research, a self-healing strain-hardening cementitious material was considered as a solution to this problem. Using strain-hardening cementitious materials, it was possible to produce a thin high-strength cementitious form that could can be easily cast and demoulded. In addition, the Voronoi structure showed outstanding healing capabilities. This principle may broaden the use of these aesthetically interesting materials as design applications in the future.