Autogenous healing is common in underground drainage pipes
because of the presence of water on either side of the pipes. The non-moving
cracks in concrete pipes are sealed by calcium carbonate crystals from carbon
dioxide in air and calcium hydroxide in concrete in the process called
autogenous healing. The healed cracks are impermeable and behave even stronger
than the original.
Autogenous healing can also be adopted to combat corrosion. The
presence of water provides the basic conditions for both corrosion and
autogenous healing. Corrosion shall take place with rusting of steel. At the
same time, calcium carbonate from autogenous healing would be deposited on the
cracks and the location of rusting. At last, the two processes compete i.e.
disruption by volume expansion of rusting and the isolation of steel surface.