Crack healing in rocksalt via diffusion in adsorbed aqueous films: Microphysical modelling versus experiments

► Crack healing/sealing of excavation damaged zones in salt based waste repositories. ► Single crack healing models for cracks containing a thin adsorbed water film. ► Microphysical models are compared with single crack healing experiments. ► Crack disconnection (i.e. bottleneck-closure) is expected within a few years at laboratory humidity levels. ► However, longer times are needed under very dry conditions.