Abstract
Under accidental conditions, concrete containments of nuclear power plants often remain as final barrier to the environment. To evaluate the contribution of self-healing processes of cracked concrete containments, small scale experiments were conducted for given accident scenarios to examine the mineralogical processes on cement crack surfaces in contact with hot steam-air mixes. The surface analyses with ESEM, µ-RFA and microscope showed a calcite formation, where layer thicknesses increased along the exposure times until reaching a stable level. The potential for crack healing was principally demonstrated through flow measurements, where the outflowing mass decreased during the experiments along with increasing calcite formation.
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