Materials and Structures/Mat~riaux et Constructions, Vol.
31, October1998, pp 563-567
Self-sealing, autogenous healing and continued
hydration: What is the difference?
Nataliya Hearn
Assistant Professor,Department of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada MSS 1A4
Paper received:April 29, 1997; Paperaccepted:July 15, 1997
A B S T R A C T
It is well known that as concrete hydrates its perme-
ability decreases. Continued hydration, however, is not
the only mechanism which causes such reduction. Self-
sealing, which is largely attributed to the dissolution and
redeposition of hydrates, and autogenous healing of
cracks, can also significantly reduce the flow. This paper
reviews the relative effects of self-sealing, autogenous
healing and hydration.
1. I N T R O D U C T I O N
Durability of concrete structures exposed to different
environments has become a predominant concern in the
concrete industry. Penetrability, which includes perme-
ability, diffusion and absorption, of concrete to an aggres-
sive environment determines the deterioration rate.
Permeability testing of concrete, in order to control dura-
bility of the mix design on a significant project, is becom-
ing more common. A number of recent projects (such as
the Channel Tunnel) have included in their specifications
water permeability for assessing durability, even though
water permeability of saturated concrete is seldom encoun-
tered in ordinary concrete construction. Saturated water
permeability is chosen as it provides information on the
connectMty of the pore structure and is simple and rela-
tively quick to test. Saturated permeability of concrete
involves only one fluid transport mechanism, usually
obeying D'Arcy's law. It has, however, been frequently
reported that, during saturated water permeability tests,
the flow decreases in some cases by more than an order of
magnitude within the first 24 hours of testing. This time
dependent variation in flow can be due to continuing
hydration, autogenous healing and/or the self-sealing effect
1359-5997/98 9 RILEM
R i~ S U M i~
I1 est bien connu que Iorsque le bdton s'hydrate sa perm&-
bilitd ddcrdt. Cependant, I'hydratation continue n'est pas le
seul m&anisme responsable d'une telle rdduction. L'imper-
mdabilisation, en grande partie attribu& a la dissolution et h
la prdcipitation des hydrates, ainsi que lafermeture desfissures
peuvent ~galement rdduire de mani&e significative le flux.
Cet article passe en revue les effets relatifs h cette imperm&bi-
lisation, de lafermeture desfissures et de l'hydratation.
!ii i i i i i i
(SSE). The term SSE has been used to encompass both
autogenous healing and continued hydration. These three
phenomena, however, occur under different boundary
conditions and thus should be differentiated to clarify
water permeability testing and data analysis.
The interpretation of water permeability results is criti-
cal in the design of water retaining structures, estimation of
transport rates of aggressive elements and thus, service life
prediction. The reduction in flow is of particular impor-
tance in assessment of the mass transport process in crack
damaged concrete. Previous studies have shown consider-
able reduction in flow through large (up to 0.3ram) iso-
lated cracks [1] and uniformally distributed drying-shrink-
age cracks [2]. Mass transfer in cracked concrete, in
particular chloride ion diffusion, has been shown to
increase [3, 4]. At the same time, the studies on the reduc-
tion in flow in damaged concrete showed improved tight-
ness of concrete to water [2] and chloride ions [5] with
time. These results are supported by field studies [6] on
marine bridge columns, where significantly lower chloride
ion levels were found than would be expected from linear
extrapohtion of initial diffusion coefficients.
In the literature, the reduction in flow seems to have
sporadic occurrence, with some specimens exhibiting a
FechnicalCommittee 146-TCF
publishedas a TechnicalReport.
563
Materials and Structures/Mat6riaux et Constructions, Vol.31, October1998
decrease in flow, while others with similar composition do
not. The reporting of'this decrease has also been sporadic,
as some researchers only recorded the initial flows [1, 2],
while others [9] waited until constant permeability was
reached. There are merits for both procedures. It can be
argued that the initial flows, as in the case of absorption
tests measuring sorptivity, are more representative of the
concrete permeability in the "as is" state. The decrease in
the initial flow, however, can be significantly rapid (several
hours), so that depending on the operator and the time of
the first reading a difference of an order of magnitude can
be observed. Measurement of the permeability after flow
has stabilized is performed on a pore system which has
undergone modification, and may significantly increase
the length of testing, which may not be practical. Both
approaches, however, avoid addressing the mechanism of
the decrease altogether.
This paper reviews the reduction in flow due to SSE,
autogenous healing and continued hydration.
2. SELF-SEALING EFFECT
The SSE in concrete has puzzled researchers for over a
hundred years [10]. Among dozens of papers on water
permeability, very few address the effect of SSE on perme-
ability. In most studies, reasons for the decrease are
assumed without theoretical or experimental support.
Sometimes the apparent decrease in permeability is due to
the unsaturated state of the specimen at the start of the per-
meability test, and is incorrectly ascribed to SSE. This
mistake is especially common in investigations where only
the inflow is recorded and the through flow remains
unknown. The observed initial high flows result from the
filling of empty pores [11]. In many research papers on
water permeability, an average permeability over the test
period is used in data analysis, or permeability is taken at a
specified time, so that the issue of self-sealing is masked.
For instance, Butler [7] suggested that the first 24 hour
period gives a more representative permeability for con-
crete, while Dhir et al. [8] recorded only the initial perme-
ability results. Day et al. [13] questioned such practice, as
they found that the greatest decrease occurs within the first
24 hours of'flow.
The possible self-sealing mechanisms proposed in the
various studies can be summarized as follows:
1. air in the HCP matrix:
a) incomplete saturation of the test specimen [11, 13-
17] or
b) dissolution of air under pressure, into permeating
water [16, 18];
2. swelling of HCP [14, 18];
3. chemical interaction of water and HCP:
a) continued hydration of residual clinker [8, 14, 16,
19-21],
b) dissolution and deposition of soluble hydrates, such
as Ca(OH)2, along the flow path [8, 13, 16, 17, 22, 23],
c) carbonation of dissolved Ca(OH)2 [13, 14, 16, 20];
4. osmotic pressure [22]; and
5. physical clogging caused by downstream movement of
564
loose particles in the HCP matrix in a process analogous
to sediment transport and formation of a filter cake [8,
13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 21, 24].
The proposed mechanisms may be divided into two
groups: those that cause non-permanent reduction in
permeability, i.e. if the specimen is retested, the initially
high permeability level may be re-established; and those
that permanently modify the microstructure of the
tested specimen, thus changing its permeability charac-
teristics. The latter are of primary importance, as the
SSE is not a product of a particular testing procedure,
but results from the interaction between the microstruc-
ture and the permeating fluid.
2.1 False SSE
The false or non-permanent SSE includes air in the
HCP matrix and swelling of the hydration layers and
osmotic pressure. In the literature, as discussed above,
what is often interpreted as SSE is in reality due to
incomplete saturation. In some studies, flow into dry
concrete [14, 15] included both the rates of absorption
and through flow. In other studies, the curing regime
did not allow for complete saturation. It has been
observed [8, 13] that moist curing in a fog room is insuf-
ficient for complete saturation. Vacuum saturation tech-
niques are only effective if the sample is initially dry.
Day et at. [13] showed that evacuation under water (even
for 30 days) of a partially saturated sample (cured in a fog
room) did not produce any weight gain, while the same
sample under the hydrostatic pressure of a permeability
test gained weight equivalent to 25% to 50% of the
through flow. The problems of poor saturation are eas-
ily detected in permeability experiments. The two key
indicators are: unequal inflow and outflow at the start of
the test and weight gain during the test (Fig. 1).
In some experiments, apparent SSE may result from
gas dissolution in the permeant, when the permeant is
pressurised by gas without an interface. As the pressure
drops across the test specimen, the gas is released from
the solution resulting in pore blocking [18, 25]. This
type of pore blocking is reversible, and Markestad [18]
stated that use of de-aired water effectively eliminates
blockage of pores with air bubbles.
It is well known that movement of'water into or out
of a cement-bound matrix results in swelling or shrink-
age unless the HCP is stabilized by steam curing.
Swelling caused by expansion of the C-S-H gel layers
results in restriction of flow paths. The significance of
the swelling/shrinkage of the cement hydrate on perme-
ability was demonstrated by Hearn [27] in the propan-2-
ol/water replacement tests. It was shown that the dila-
tion process occurred during preliminary saturation
before permeation was started. Thus, the reduction in
flow due to swelling occurs during the saturation process
and not during permeability testing.
Dissolution of alkalies by permeating water may result
in concentration gradient causing osmotic pressure.
Powers et al. [26] indicated that the correction of perme-
Hearn

water. This results in the increased rate of hydration, and

dissolution and re&position of hydrates causing pore
blocking and thus reduced permeability. Analysis using

~
solvent replacement [26] and SEM [27] confirmed disso-
lution and re&position process as the major mechanism
[ L Saturation behind the SSE. Physical clogging has been the most
commonly quoted reason for the SSE; the evidence, how-
5Q. ever, has been scarce [8, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 24].

/ 3. AUTOGENOUS HEALING
TIME o)
The term autogenous healing refers to the ability of
32.[ cement to heal cracks in fractured concrete. This heal-
ing process is common in concrete water-retaining
2.3 L- structures, culverts and pipes. First detected by the
French Academy of Science in 1836, it has been studied
2.4 ) in detail, especially in connection with pipes and other
Din water-retaining structures [29, 30]. The white crys-
talline precipitate which fills and forms scar tissue over
~ 1.6 cracks results from either the reaction between calcium
~. D out hydrogen carbonate (Ca(HCO3) 2 from water and cal-
cium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) from the concrete, or the
carbonation of calcium hydroxide on exposure to the
0.8 %%,..-'.. ......
0..
atmosphere [1].
-- ~ "e"~ ~ ~ - o . e . o . o ~ . o . o . o _ e . o . i . o ~ ~ L~e@ o o. o,e
0.4- Analysis of the literature, however, has indicated that
the systematic investigations of autogenous healing phe-
0 I I I I I I I I nomenon have presented conflicting autogenous healing
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
TIME (hr) b) mechanisms. In the studies by Sorker and Deson [31],
Brandeis [32], and Turner [33], it was assumed that
Fig. 1 - a) Inflow and outflow rates for unsaturated concrete.
b) Inflow and outflow permeability during the self-sealing
autogenous healing was due to continuing hydration
process. Typical data from Hearn [28]. which bridged cracks with growth of hydration prod-

ability data for osmotic pressure is less than 10 percent.

Hearn [2] found it to be on the order of 2 percent. 2.5
26 Year Old Concrete in a Virgin State
2.0

2.2 Permanent SSE 1.5

1.0
The potential reasons for the permanent SSE include:
chemical interaction of water and HCP, osmotic pres- 0.5
sure, and physical clogging. Prior to previous work by 0 -
the author [2], the only thorough analysis of the self- 0 50 100 150
sealing phenomenon was published by Glanville in 1926 TIME (hr) o)
[14]. Glanville concluded that, depending on the applied 3.5
pressure used during testing and the amount of cement 26 Year Old Concrete After Drying

in the mix, the SSE is due to silting under high pressures

and continued hydration and swelling in the case of rich 2.5
mixes tested under lower pressures. Sixty-five years
2.0
later, Kermani [19] also stated that "the amount of SSE
attributable to each cause depends upon the conditions ~ 1.5
of the test and constituents of the concrete" (at high
pressures, physical clogging, and at lower pressures, i 1.0
swelling and continued hydration). ~ 0.5
Lawrence [16] found that drying and resaturation
0
results in a substantial increase in the SSE. Hearn [2] 0 50 100 150
confirmed these results (Fig. 2), attributing the "trigger- TIME (hr) b)
ing" of the SSE after drying to the shrinkage cracking, Fig. 2 - Typical permeability vs time data for virgin (a) and oven
which exposes previously unexposed hydrates to the pore dry/resaturated (b) concrete [28].

565
Materials and Structures/Mat~riaux et Constructions, Vol. 31, October 1998

ucts. Loving [29] was the first to pos-

10"1sI~_ 50% Hydration

'o1'I{\-"
tulate the carbonation reaction, after
discovering that calcium carbonate
deposits in cracks of pipe culverts. " D'F"
Lauer and Slate [34], in their work on
the effect of autogenous healing on ~E"
~ ,,,.,e ~- ~,
the strength recovery of cracked con-
"i
crete, confirmed that the sealing
material was indeed crystals of
CaCO 3 together with Ca(OH)2
deposits. The effect of continuing ~.
hydration, however, was not analyzed 0 "20
-I __ XI
" # ~ ~ W t C
even though the test samples were
young (1 to 28 days). Moreover, their
1r
investigation was conducted in non-
flowing water, and thus may not
directly correspond to the autogenous
healing mechanism for the flow Fig. 3 - Permeability vs e x t e n t o f h y d r a t i o n [2].
through concrete cracks. Clear [1]
conducted an in-depth investigation
of autogenous healing of cracks using
flowing water conditions. He found that CaCO 3 crys-
tals appeared only after prolonged exposure to water
flow (over 7 days), and attributed the initial substantial
reduction in flow to mechanical blocking of cracks. He
did not present evidence to support the mechanical
blocking hypothesis. The rate of healing depended on
the initial effective width of crack, with narrower cracks
sealing faster than the wider ones.
Review of existing research indicates that the carbon-
ation reaction model is that favoured to explain autoge-
nous healing. Other possible mechanisms such as con-
tinuing hydration or mechanical blockage by
water-borne debris have received scant attention, even
though they may well make a considerable contribution
to the healing process.
The two major differences between autogenous heal-
ing and SSE are (a) major cracks are not a prerequisite for
SSE; and (b) SSE is observed in a system closed to CO2,
where carbonation of dissolved Ca(OH)2 is not possible.
Although carbonation cannot occur in a closed system,
other mechanisms, such as continued hydration and/or
water-borne transport of loose particles, may partially
contribute to both autogenous healing and SSE.
4. HYDRATION
The effect of continuing hydration on the reduction
in the permeability is shown in Fig. 3. The permeability
drop due to hydration can be four orders of magnitude,
between the initial permeability of young paste and a
well hydrated system. In saturated permeability tests,
however, unless the specimens are tested at an early age,
it is expected that significant hydration has taken place,
so that the reduction in flow due to hydration would
have a minimal effect (Fig. 3). Such decrease is unlike
that found in SSE curves (Fig. 2b), where initial perme-
ability decreases rapidly.
\ \ Powers
,' ,x v \\
- :co "-..,. "~ .......
~\.. /60% Hydration ~---...~ ~Mindess and Young
~ + ---.e...~c = o.m
Hearn "---....,..
= 0.40 -o
67% Hydration--~,
I I I I I I
100 200 300 400 500 600 700
CURING TIME (hrs)
5. SUMMARY
SSE, autogenous healing and continuing hydration
can reduce the permeability of concrete by more than an
order of magnitude during permeability testing. In the
case of SSE and autogenous healing, the decrease is most
significant in the first 100 hours of testing. For mature
specimens, continued hydration has a minimal effect
during the course of permeability testing, and it is uni-
formally distributed.
The major distinction between the three phenomena
is the conditions under which they occur. The hydra-
tion will proceed as long as water is available and can
access the unhydrated material, and there is space for
deposition of hydration products. The SSE becomes
significant after extensive microcracking, usually caused
by drying. Autogenous healing is of importance where
most of the flow takes place through cracks exposed to
the atmosphere. Both SSE and autogenous healing are
flow dependant, while continued hydration may pro-
ceed under stagnant conditions.
There is also significant interdependence between
the three phenomena. The dependence of SSE and
autogenous healing on cracking is a function of the
increased dissolution process, once the previously unex-
posed hydrates come into contact with the pore water.
Ifunhydrated material is available, the hydration rate will
also be affected, as cracking of hydration shells will pro-
vide a path to the unhydrated material.
Since these three phenomena reduce flow in intact
and crack damaged concrete, analysis of concrete's
impermeability should take this internal healing into
account. In assessment of permeability data, initial and
final readings become significant, as they represent the
potential "immune" system of the material.
The understanding of these phenomena is not only
significant in the analysis of saturated water transport
through concrete, but also in other mass transport mech-
anisms. Interaction between water molecules and the

566
Hearn
cement matrix will occur at all levels of saturation.
Accounting for such interaction is particularly important
in connection with service life prediction. Concrete
capable of improved resistance with time to penetration
of water, and aggressive elements dissolved in it, will
perform significantly better than would be predicted by
models based on the initial permeability data.
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