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Point of view
Concrete Repair
Technology
A Revised Approach
Is Needed
BY ALEXANDER M. VAYSBURD, PETER H. EMMONS, NOEL P. MAILVAGANAM,
JAMES E. MCDONALD, AND BENOIT BISSONNETTE
Just as walking is but a succession of interrupted falls, the entire history of human progress is a
succession of stumbling half-truths and misinterpreted facts. The accepted facts of today become the
recognized fallacies of tomorrow.
ACI Past President Herbert J. Gilkey (1950)
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article covers a broad field, hopefully in a thoughtprovoking manner. One should fully realize, however,
that an attempt to deliver comprehensive analysis and
offer solutions to concrete repair problems in one article
is too ambitious and quite an impossible task. Lets share,
however, Aristotles view that a plausible impossibility is
always preferable to an unconvincing possibility.
A COMPLEX PROBLEM
Concrete deterioration is a complex problem that
requires the designer to understand concretes microstructure (for diffusion of chemical species) and its
macrostructure (for permeation through cracks and
damage). The heterogeneity of the components in a
composite repaired structure requires an understanding
of the interaction of the existing materials and the repair
materials. In addition, it is also important to understand
that the durability of the repair is a function not only of
its basic components, but also how such components
(and the system as a whole) respond to the exposure
conditions of the structure. The durability of a repaired
concrete structure depends on its ability to resist a
variety of chemical and physical agents that attack all
parts of the composite structure with different degrees
of intensity, externally and internally.
There is a need for increased knowledge in many of
the research studies, design practices, and construction
practice in the concrete repair field. Too often, product
developers do not pay sufficient attention to the needs of
the marketplace. As a consequence, some materials are
often being developed and marketed without there being
demands from the field. If the hit-or-miss methods often
used in concrete repair were applied to new construction,
one wonders what would happen to some of our structures.
Analyses of failures of new and repaired sturctures
around the world clearly demonstrates that materials
contribute less to the problem, whereas design and in-place
workmanship are more influential. The basic principles
that affect repair durability are widely known, but very
little is being done to improve durability. More often than
not, many believe that the simple answer to the repair
problems is improving the compressive strength of the
concrete or accelerating its strength gain.
REPAIR MATERIALS
As we have accelerated the pace of concrete
construction, we have required cement-based materials
to become stronger sooner and to set faster. At the same
time, weve increased concretes brittleness and reduced
its resistance to cracking. We have damaged concretes
immune system. Concrete that continues to hydrate
offers increased resistance to aggressive agents. The
old-time concrete used to gain strength, density, and
the ability to resist environmental attack over its service
life; new concrete does not.
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TABLE 1:
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS OF PATCH REPAIR MATERIALS FOR STRUCTURAL COMPATIBILITY*
Property
RC
RC
Poisson's ratio
RC
RC
RC
Strain capacity
RC
Creep
Fatigue performance
RC
Chemical reactivity
Electrochemical stability
*Emberson, N. K., and Mays, G.C., 1990, Significance of Property Mismatch in the Patch Repair of Structural Concrete. Part 1: Properties of
Repair Systems, Magazine of Concrete Research, No. 152, Sept., pp. 147-160.
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SUGGESTED INITIATIVES
As we discussed previously, a lack of attention to
condition evaluation, design objectives and details, and
Concrete international
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References
1. Mays, G., and Wilkinson, W., Polymer Repairs to Concrete:
Their Influence on Structural Performance, Concrete Durability,
Katharine and Bryant Mather International Conference, SP-100, V. 1,
J. M. Scanlon, ed., American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI,
1987, pp. 351-375.
2. British Cement Association, Development of an Holistic
Approach to Ensure the Durability of New Concrete Construction,
Final Report to the Department of the Environment, BCA,
Crowthorne, UK, October 1997, 81 pp.
3. Paterson, A.C., The Structural Engineer in Content, Structural
Engineer, V. 62A, No. 11, 1984, pp. 335-342.
4. Urreta, J. I., Pathology Investigation of the Whole Road
Bridges of a Region: Methodology and Correlations, Proceedings of
Structural Faults and Repair 93, V. 1, 1993, pp. 13-22.
5. Hauser, R., Lessons from European Failures, Concrete
International, V. 1, No. 12, Dec. 1979, pp. 21-25.
6. Fraczek, J., ACI Survey of Concrete Structure Errors, Concrete
International, V. 1, No. 12, Dec. 1979, pp. 14-20.
7. King, N. P., Efficient Concreting Practice: A Review of Current
Procedures, Proceedings of International Conference Concrete2000,
E&FN Spon, 1993.
8. Hoff, G. C., Presidents Memo, Concrete International, V. 15,
No. 8, Aug. 1993, pp. 5-6.
9. Engineering News-Record, editorial, Dec. 1, 1988.
10. Mather, B., Realizing the Potential of Concrete as a Construction Material, Proceedings of the International Conference, Sheffield,
England, 1999, pp. 1-10.
Selected for reader interest by the editors.
Alexander M. Vaysbur
d , FACI, is a principal
urd
of Vaycon Consulting, a Baltimore, MDbased consulting firm that specializes in
concrete and concrete repair technology.
He is also an associate professor at Laval
University, Quebec City, QC, Canada. In
1996, he was awarded ACIs Wason Medal
for Most Meritorious Paper. In 2000,
Vaysburd received two ACI recognitions: the
Cedric Willson Award and the Construction Practice Award.
Pet
er H. Emmon
s , FACI, is President
eter
Emmons
and CEO of the Structural Group. He is
presently the Chair of the Strategic
Development Council, Past President of
ICRI, and Chair of ACI Committee 364,
Concrete Rehabilitation. In 2000, he
received ACIs Arthur R. Anderson Award
for outstanding contributions to concrete
technology and also was a co-recipient
of the ACI Construction Practice Award.
ACI member Noel P
P.. M
Mai
ailv
lvag
agan
anam
ai
lv
ag
an
am is
a principal research scientist with the
National Research Council (NRC) of
Canada. Prior to joining NRC in 1988,
he was the Director of Research for
Master Builder Technologies Canada
and the Vice President of Research and
Development for Sternson Ltd. He is
the author and co-author of numerous
papers in the concrete repair field.
Jame
s E. M
cDon
al
d , FACI, was instrumental
James
McDon
cDonal
ald
in the development of the Repair, Evaluation,
Maintenance, and Rehabilitation (REMR)
research program, a major Corps of
Engineers study to develop effective and
affordable technology for the evaluation
and repair of civil works structures. He is a
Fellow and Past President of ICRI and Chair
of TRRC. McDonald received ACIs Wason
Medal for Most Meritorious Paper in 1996.
s sonnett
e is an
ACI member Benoit Bi
Bis
sonnette
associate professor at Laval University.
He is actively involved in research on
durability properties of repair materials.
He is the author and co-author of more
than 60 technical papers in the concrete
materials field. Bissonnette is also active
in various professional organizations such
as ICRI and RILEM.
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