RESTORATION AND

REHABILITATION OF STRUCTURES
An overview of Restoration, Repair and
Rehabilitation Engineering
 Reinforced cement concrete construction in India is in practice
since the last 100 years but is being used extensively since about
five to six decades. Enormous investment is made to construct
these structures.
 Therefore essential to maintain them in a condition to serve the
purpose for which they were built.
 Since ,deterioration of RCC is a natural phenomenon and has
started exhibiting in large number of structures. Systematic
approach is needed in dealing with such problems.
 Identification of the causes of deterioration and consequent repair
at optimum cost needs scientific evaluation and solution.
•Rcc structures deteriorate slowly due to cyclic temparature,variation in
loading pattrens,overloading,physical causes and aggressive chemical attack
due to environment, etc.
• if not paid proper timely attention, these deteriorate rapidly and fail to
meet the functional requirements for its designed service life.
• various causes of deterioration like original construction defects, chloride
induced corrosion, carbonation of concrete, sulphate attack, cracking
due to thermal gradient, plastic shrinkage cracks and foundation
settlement, etc. are to be looked into, before adopting any strategy.
REPAIR: To replace or correct deteriorated, damaged or faulty material
materials, components or elements of structures.

REHABILITATION: The processes of repairing or modifying a structure

to a desired useful condition.

RESTORATION : The process of re-establishing the original appearance,

shape and materials of a structure.

RETROFITTING: Upgrading the existing structure to meet the enhanced

structural requirements in terms of load carrying
capacity of existing structural element or introducing
additional structural members integral to the existing
structure
DISTRESS IDENTIFICATION
• Before attempting any repair procedure,it is obligatory to
conduct a systematic condition survey and non destructive
Investigation to arrive at the true cause of distress or failure
this may require a thorough technical inspection and
understandin gof the behaviour of the structural element
under reference.
• In general the strength and quality of concrete in distress are
determined by conducting many tests which can be broadly
grouped into five catagories depending upon the purpose of
test as below
 In-situ concrete strength
Chemical attack
Corrosion Activity
Fire damage
Structural Integrity/Soundness

•In order to evaluate the performance of the structure and verify that
it fulfills its performance requirements, it is necessary to express
performance in terms of quantifiable physical quantities that
represent the performance.
• For example safety with respect to failure is verified by means of
such indices as flexural load carrying capacity of the member.
 DAMAGE CLASSIFICATION
Based on the condition survey and the data collected , it is crucial to
understand as to which class of damage the distress belongs to.
CPWD classifies damages into five groups as given below
 Class 0:- Final finishes affected and no structural cracks are
observed
 Class 1:-Final finishes abd concrete surface affected and no
structural cracks observed. Reinforcement not touched.
 Class 2:- Minor structural cracks observed and reinforcement
affected.
 Class 3:-Spalling of concrete cover, major structural cracks and cracks
along the reinforcement observed.Load carrying capacity
considerably reduced
 Class 4:- Major structural failure requiring replacement of
damaged structural element.

CONSIDERATION FOR REPAIR STRATEFY.

In the condition survey report, before arriving at the repair strategy,
It shall include the following considerations
•Identification of the cause of problem and its source is fundamental to
the success or failure of the repair. Alack of attention at this point can
put at risk the whole job
• for arriving an effective and economical solution, systematic
• documentation is essential, which will greatly facilitate in diagnosing
and making assesment of the extent of damage.
•Available space and accessibility will determine tte selection of repair
method and repair strategy.
•Accessibility to the areas for repairs needs considerations
•Depending upon the scope and scale of repairs, the repair strategy
has to suit and dovetail on the on-going activities in the building.
•The prioritization of repair and their sequencing are important
components for deciding the repair strategy.
•Major repair procedure may demand propping the structural member to
relieve a part or full component of the load acting on the member. if the
building needs extensive propping, vacating the building may become the
pre-requisite.
•Safety measures to prevent any immediate major mishap shall be
prescribed without loosing further time.
•The should also include requirements on safety measures to be adopted
during execution of repair job.
 DAMAGES AND RECOMMENDED REPAIR OPTIONS
CAUSES DAMAGE REPAIR OPTIONS

ELECTROCHEMICAL Corrosion Cracking Cathodic protection

Carbonation Electrochemical chloride
Extraction.

Chloride. Realkalization
Chemical inhibitors
Surface treatment
[impregnation]
patching
CHEMICAL Expansion Cracking Strengthening with additional
ASR RC Steel bonded plates carb
fibre bond
Strips external prestressing
Sulphates Sealing
Surface coating
Pure water Lixiviation Surface treatment
Loss of mechanical strength [impregnation]
patching
PHYSICAL cracking Injection
Shrinkage Sealing
Thermal stresses Surface coating
Freezing and thawing Surface treatment
[impregnation]

Abrasion Surface water spalling Patching

Cavitations and Strengthening with additional
impacts RC Steel bonded plates carb
fibre bond
Strips external prestressing

Fire Cracking
Spalling
Loss of mechanical strength
MECHANICAL Cracking Strengthening with
Different loads than Deflection additional RC Steel
the targeted ones Loss of mechanical strength bonded plates carb fibre
settlement errors in bond
execution. Strips external
prestressing

Source: presentation Edward CY YIU, Department of Real Estate abd Construction,

University of Hong Kong.
 Chapter-1
DURABILITY OF CONCRETE
 Durability is the ability to maintain integrity and strength over
time.
 The term durability of concrete is used to characterize in broad
terms the resistance of a concrete to a variety of a physical and
chemical attacks due to external or internal causes.
 External causes
1. Weathering.
2. Temperature variation.
3. Abrasion.
4. Electrolytic action and attack by natural or industrial liquids and
gases.
• Internal causes
1. Due to alkali aggregate reaction
2. Volume change due to the differences in thermal properties of
aggregate and and cement passte.
3. The permeability of concrete.
In general the following factors influence the durability of concrete.
• Water/Cement ratio
• Cement content
• Compaction
• Curing
• Quality of aggregate
• Workability
• Mix design
• Admixture
• Permeability
• Exposure condition
Each of the factors mentioned above ,jointly or in isolation controls the
susceptibility of concrete to deterioration.
Permeability is one of the important factors which controls the durability
of concrete.
Therefore the permeation properties of concrete would result in
assessment of durability of concrete. Permeability determines
I. Saturation of concrete with water.
II. Ingress of moisture and air.
III. Corrosion steel.
IV. Cracking and spelling of cover concrete.
V. Water-tightness of the structure.
VI. Thermal insulation properties.
Coadal Provision for Durability of Concrete
To improve the durability of concrete the IS 456-2000 has given some of
the guidelines.
• All three grades of OPC , 33grade, 43 grade, 53 grade and sulphate
resisting portland cement have been included.
• The permissible limits of solids in water have been modified keeping in
view the durability requirements.
• The clause on admixture has been modified and quality control aspect
while using admixture is explained.
• Minium grade of concrete for RCC work is M20
• Durability clause has been enlarged to include detailed guidance
concerning the factors affecting durability.
• The table of “ Exposure conditions” has been modified to include sever
and extreme exposure conditions.
•This clause also covers requirements of shape and size of member, depth
of concrete cover, concrete quality, requirements against exposure to
aggressive chemicals and sulphate attack, minimum cement requirement
and maximum w/c ratio, limits of chloride content, alkali silica reaction,
and importance of compaction, finishing and curing.
•Clause on quality assurance measures has been incorporated.
•Cover to reinforcement has been specified based on durability
requirement for different exposure conditions.
Protective measures may be established for
durable Design.
 The selected structural form.
 The concrete composition including special additions or
admixtures.
 The reinforcement details including concrete cover.
 Limiting or avoiding crack development and limiting crack
width.
 Additional protective measures such as coatings.
 Specied inspection and maintenance procedure including
monitoring procedures.
 special active protective measures such as cathodic
protection or monitoring by way of sensors.