Accelerated Autogenous Healing of Concrete Pipe Sections with Crack and Decalcification Damage
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 30, Issue 12
Abstract
Many concrete water-distribution systems are past their service life and need repair due to leaks associated with cracks. Autogenous healing of concrete cracks and leaks can sometimes occur if the chemistry of distributed water is favorable, whereas small leaks eventually cause pipe failures if water chemistry is unfavorable. This study evaluates autogenous healing of simulated potable-water concrete distribution pipe leaks. Cement mortar pipe sections with leaks created by controlled cracking, extremes of decalcification, and water chemistry are studied, with the trajectory of leaks (and autogenous repair) monitored by permeability. Cracked specimens show significantly high permeability compared with decalcified specimens. The healing solutions reduce the permeability of the damaged specimens by as much as a factor of 12.5 for cracked specimens and by a factor of 3.5 for decalcified specimens. The healing process essentially requires solutions with supersaturated amounts of calcium carbonate to significantly reduce permeability of the cracked or leached specimens.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1336616. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
References
Aldea, C.-M., S. P. Shah, and A. Karr. 1999a. “Effect of cracking on water and chloride permeability of concrete.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 11 (3): 181–187. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0899-1561(1999)11:3(181).
Aldea, C.-M., S. P. Shah, and A. Karr. 1999b. “Permeability of cracked concrete.” Mater. Struct. 32 (5): 370–376. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02479629.
ASTM. 2014. Standard practice for mechanical mixing of hydraulic cement pastes and mortars of plastic consistency. ASTM C305. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Başaran Bundur, Z., S. Bae, M. J. Kirisits, and Ferron, R. D. 2017. “Biomineralization in self-healing cement-based materials: Investigating the temporal evolution of microbial metabolic state and material porosity.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 29 (8): 04017079. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0001838.
Bazant, Z. P., S. Sener, and J.-K. Kim. 1987. “Effect of cracking on drying permeability and diffusivity of concrete.” ACI Mater. J. 84 (5): 351–357.
Bundur, Z. B., M. J. Kirisits, and R. D. Ferron. 2015. “Biomineralized cement-based materials: Impact of inoculating vegetative bacterial cells on hydration and strength.” Cem. Concr. Res. 67: 237–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2014.10.002.
Carde, C., G. Escadeillas, and A. François. 1997. “Use of ammonium nitrate solution to simulate and accelerate the leaching of cement pastes due to deionized water.” Mag. Concr. Res. 49 (181): 295–301. https://doi.org/10.1680/macr.1997.49.181.295.
De Muynck, W., D. Debrouwer, N. De Belie, and W. Verstraete. 2008. “Bacterial carbonate precipitation improves the durability of cementitious materials.” Cem. Concr. Res. 38 (7): 1005–1014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2008.03.005.
De Rooij, M., K. Van Tittelboom, N. De Belie, and E. Schlangen. 2011. Self-healing phenomena in cement-based materials. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.
Edvardsen, C. 1999. “Water permeability and autogenous healing of cracks in concrete.” ACI Mater. J. 96 (4): 448–454.
Edwards, M., J. L. Parks, and P. J. Vikesland. 2005. “Autogenous healing of concrete.” In Proc., American Water Works Association Water Quality Technology Conf. Denver, Colorado: American Waterworks Association.
El-Dieb, A., and R. Hooton. 1994. “A high pressure triaxial cell with improved measurement sensitivity for saturated water permeability of high performance concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res. 24 (5): 854–862. https://doi.org/10.1016/0008-8846(94)90005-1.
Gérard, B., D. Breysse, A. Ammouche, O. Houdusse, and O. Didry. 1996. “Cracking and permeability of concrete under tension.” Mater. Struct. 29 (3): 141–151. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02486159.
Gérard, B., C. Le Bellego, and O. Bernard. 2002. “Simplified modelling of calcium leaching of concrete in various environments.” Mater. Struct. 35 (10): 632–640. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02480356.
Hearn, N. 1998. “Self-sealing, autogenous healing and continued hydration: What is the difference?” Mater. Struct. 31 (8): 563–567. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02481539.
Hearn, N. 1999. “Effect of shrinkage and load-induced cracking on water permeability of concrete.” Mater. J. 96 (2): 234–241.
Hooton, R. D. 1986. “Permeability and pore structure of cement pastes containing fly ash, slag, and silica fume.” In Blended cements. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Jones, C. A., and Z. C. Grasley. 2009a. “Correlation of hollow and solid cylinder dynamic pressurization tests for measuring permeability.” Cem. Concr. Res. 39 (4): 345–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2008.12.010.
Jones, C. A., and Z. C. Grasley. 2009b. “Correlation of radial flow-through and hollow cylinder dynamic pressurization test for measuring permeability.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 21 (10): 594–600. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0899-1561(2009)21:10(594).
Jones, C. A., and Z. C. Grasley. 2009c. “Novel and flexible dual permeability measurement device for cementitious materials.” ACI Mater. J. 106 (2): 192–197.
Jonkers, H. M., and E. Schlangen. 2007. “Self-healing of cracked concrete: A bacterial approach.” In Proc., FRACOS6: Fracture Mechanics of Concrete and Concrete Structures, 1821–1826. London: Taylor & Francis.
Jonkers, H. M., A. Thijssen, G. Muyzer, O. Copuroglu, and E. Schlangen. 2010. “Application of bacteria as self-healing agent for the development of sustainable concrete.” Ecol. Eng. 36 (2): 230–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2008.12.036.
Li, V. C., and E. Herbert. 2012. “Robust self-healing concrete for sustainable infrastructure.” J. Adv. Concr. Technol. 10 (6): 207–218. https://doi.org/10.3151/jact.10.207.
Munday, J., C. Sangha, and R. Dhir. 1976. “Comparative study of autogenous healing of different concretes.” In Proc., first australian conference on engineering materials. England: Transportation and Road Research Laboratory.
Palin, D. 2017. “A cost-effective bacteria-based self-healing cementitious composite for low-temperature marine applications.” Ph.D. thesis, Materials and Environment, Delft Univ. of Technology.
Parks, J., M. Edwards, P. Vikesland, and A. Dudi. 2010. “Effects of bulk water chemistry on autogenous healing of concrete.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 22 (5): 515–524. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0000082.
Phillips, M. 1925. “Healed concrete is strong.” Concrete 10: 36.
Phung, Q. T., N. Maes, D. Jacques, G. Schutter, and G. Ye. 2014. “Microstructural and permeability changes due to accelerated Ca leaching in ammonium nitrate solution.” In Concrete solutions 2014, 431. San Diego: Concrete solutions.
Rose, J. L., and Z. C. Grasley. 2017. “Comparison of permeability of cementitious materials obtained via poromechanical and conventional experiments.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 29 (9): 04017083. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0001931.
Scherer, G. W. 2000a. “Measuring permeability of rigid materials by a beam-bending method: I, theory.” J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 83 (9): 2231–2239. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1151-2916.2000.tb01540.x.
Scherer, G. W. 2000b. “Thermal expansion kinetics: Method to measure permeability of cementitious materials, I, theory.” J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 83 (11): 2753–2761. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1151-2916.2000.tb01627.x.
Scherer, G. W. 2006. “Dynamic pressurization method for measuring permeability and modulus. I: Theory.” Mater. Struct. 39 (10): 1041–1057. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-006-9124-x.
Tang, M. 2017. “In-situ remediation of small leaks in water pipes: Impacts of water chemistry, physical parameters and the presence of particles.” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech.
Williams, S. L., M. J. Kirisits, and R. D. Ferron. 2017. “Influence of concrete-related environmental stressors on biomineralizing bacteria used in self-healing concrete.” Constr. Build. Mater. 139: 611–618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.09.155.
Yang, Y., M. D. Lepech, E.-H. Yang, and V. C. Li. 2009. “Autogenous healing of engineered cementitious composites under wet-dry cycles.” Cem. Concr. Res. 39 (5): 382–390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2009.01.013.
Ye, G., P. Lura, and V. K. van Breugel. 2006. “Modelling of water permeability in cementitious materials.” Mater. Struct. 39 (9): 877–885. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-006-9138-4.
Zhong, W., and W. Yao. 2008. “Influence of damage degree on self-healing of concrete.” Constr. Build. Mater. 22 (6): 1137–1142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2007.02.006.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 30 • Issue 12 • December 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 26, 2017
Accepted: May 17, 2018
Published online: Sep 12, 2018
Published in print: Dec 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Feb 12, 2019
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.