Cracks in concrete bridges and buildings often go unnoticed until they become serious, according to the team behind ReACT-SHM, a project from Jericho High School in New York. Reyansh Raut, Richard Nie, Jay Patel and Rayan Hasan placed second with the concept. They state that current monitoring systems are inefficient at detecting damage and cannot repair it. Their proposed system would use embedded Fibre Bragg Grating sensors and acoustic emission data to trigger the release of self-healing nanoparticles, guided by ultrasound towards crack locations. The listing says the approach aims to slow damage progression, reduce maintenance costs, enhance safety and extend infrastructure lifespan.
How does the self-repairing concrete technology detect and fix cracks
According to the Exploravision listing, the project placed second and comes from Jericho High School in Jericho, New York. The students named are Reyansh Raut, Richard Nie, Jay Patel and Rayan Hasan. The listing also names Coach Alexis Vandergoot and Mentor Samantha Sforza, who are noted as not appearing in the team picture. The entry is titled “ReACT-SHM: Responsive Concrete Technology”.The project website expands the name to Responsive Autonomous Concrete Technology Structural Health Monitoring and lists a “Novel Nanobot” alongside it. It states that the work was submitted to Exploravision 2026. It is organised into pages covering the background, the problem, the innovation, future work and sources.
Why does concrete infrastructure develop cracks over time
According to the project website, concrete infrastructure such as bridges and buildings develops small cracks over time because of factors like stress, weather or ageing. The team writes that these cracks are often not noticed until they become serious, which leads to expensive repairs or structural failure. The page pairs this with an image captioned concrete deterioration and cracking exposing corroded reinforcement. It states that current monitoring systems are inefficient at detecting damage and are also unable to repair it, so structures continue to weaken. The team presents this gap, between finding damage and fixing it, as the reason for the project.
How does ReACT-SHM detect and repair cracks in concrete
ReACT-SHM proposes a next-generation structural health monitoring system that “moves beyond passive damage detection toward active mitigation”. The system integrates embedded Fibre Bragg Grating sensors, acoustic emission monitoring and stress-responsive nanoscale agents. It says the system detects early microcrack formation and locally reinforces high-risk regions within concrete.The innovation is a responsive system that integrates embedded sensing, damage localisation and autonomous self-repair within concrete infrastructure. It states that, unlike current monitoring systems that only detect structural damage, this one uses sensors, including Fibre Bragg Grating sensors and acoustic emission sensor data. These sensors trigger the release and ultrasonic guidance of self-healing nanoparticles toward crack locations. The listing adds that this hierarchical, physics-guided approach aims to slow damage progression, reduce maintenance costs, enhance safety and extend infrastructure lifespan.
How could concrete improve the lifespan of buildings and bridges
The technology could in the future transform infrastructure by combining early damage detection with automated repair in a single system. The team says this would allow structures to maintain themselves over time. The site presents this as a possibility rather than a finished result. The website lists the advances it says would make this possible. It states that continued progress in materials, nanotechnology and sensor networks would allow improved nanoparticle delivery.
