Arab Academy for Science and technology

Inspection, Maintenance, and Repair of Structures

Concrete Defects Due to Construction

April 2012

Submitted by: Sherif Ahmed Gamal Samy Department: Construction Reg. Number: 08109512 Submitted to: DR.Karim Helmy Submitted on: 7 / 5 / 2012

Introduction
Concrete is a very versatile material that can be cast in place with or without reinforcement, or precast or prestressed for achieving any required strength. At the same time it requires a proper understanding of the behavior and interaction of its constituents. Any negligence in any of the phases of its design, manufacture, and placement and maintenance would lead to its deterioration and ultimately failure to perform its intended function. There can be an enormous number of causes that can lead to the distress and deterioration of concrete. Some of them are: Accidental loading, Chemical reactions (acid attack, aggressive water attack, alkali-carbonate reaction, alkali silica reaction, sulphate attack and miscellaneous chemical attacks), construction errors, corrosion, design errors (inadequate structural design and poor construction detailing), erosion (abrasion, cavitations), freezing and thawing, settlement and movement, shrinkage (plastic shrinkage and drying shrinkage),temperature changes, fire and weathering. In this report only the design and construction defects leading to concrete deterioration and failure will be discussed. Two case histories are also presented in order to elaborate these issues.

Construction defects
Poor construction practices and negligence can cause defects that lead to the cracking of concrete and further lead to start of concrete deterioration. The construction defects can range from improper mixing, placing and curing to inadequate design and a premature removal of shoring. The construction defects are more likely to occur in new constructions as well as in repair and rehabilitation projects. Therefore a thorough understanding of these defects along with an aggressive inspection program is invaluable for avoiding serious deterioration problems.

Scaling, crazing and dusting of concrete

If additional water is added at the time of delivery of concrete in order to increase the workability of concrete it causes an increase in the water cement ratio of the concrete leading to a reduction in strength and durability of concrete. Which can be manifested in surface defects like scaling, crazing and dusting?

Improper alignment of formwork

Improper alignment of formwork leads to discontinuities in the concrete surface, which can lead to the cavitations (erosion) if the concrete is exposed to high velocity water.

Improper consolidation
If there were any air or water bubbles present at the surface of the formwork then bug holes would be caused. Similarly if the vibrator is not properly used during construction then honeycombing will also appear as shown in Figure 1. There may become big holes in the finished structure if the concrete is not properly consolidated as

shown in Figure 2. Cold joints are joints or discontinuities that may result from a delay in placement if sufficient time has elapsed to preclude the union of the material in two successive lifts as illustrated in Figure 2.Bug holes Honeycombing Cold joint

Movement of formwork
When the concrete is setting i.e. hardening the movement of the formwork can cause cracking in concrete which may later become a cause for the deterioration of concrete.

Improper location of reinforcing steel

The improper placement of steel in concrete may cause the steel to be ineffective or structurally inadequate. It can also cause durability problem for the concrete, as the cover requirements may be violated and eventually lead to the corrosion of steel.

Premature removal of shores or reshores

If the shores are prematurely removed then the concrete may not have attained its desired strength, which can at the least cause cracking in the structure due to overstressing and can even cause major failures as mentioned in the case studies.

Improper curing
Curing is the most important and unfortunately the most abused aspect of construction process. If concrete is not allowed to cure at proper humidity and temperature it will not be able to achieve the desired strength. The improper curing is manifested in cracking and surface disintegration.

Settling of the subgrade

If the sub grade is not properly prepared and there is any settlement in the period when the concrete has not gained enough strength then it can cause severe cracking in the concrete, which would further accelerate its deterioration