Distress in structures

Thiruvannamalai.M
AP/Civil
MEPCO SCHLENK ENGINEERING COLLEGE

Distress -Overview
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Distress is defined as the physical deterioration or

breaking down of the structures into small fragments
or construction defect.
The distress in concrete structure is a result of
several degradation mechanisms that caused a
decreased in the integrity of the structure such as
acid attack, chemicals, chlorides or sulphates attack.
Meanwhile honeycombing occurs as a result of
construction defects due to improper construction
technique or poor workmanship. The level of distress is
often invisible and is only evident when there is a
significant reduction in the load carrying capacity.

Cases
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Construction Faults
Cracking
Disintegration
Distortion/Movement
Joint failure
Seepage
Spalling
Erosion

Causes of distress

Accidental loading
Chemical reactions (acid attack, aggressive
water attack, Alkali agg. Reaction, sulphate
attack)
Construction errors:
Adding water to concrete
Improper alignment of formwork
Improper compaction.
Improper curing
Improper location of reinforcing steel
Movement of formwork.

Continued
Premature removal of shores
Improper finishing of flat work
Improper Jointing
Corrosion of embedded metals
Design errors
Inadequate structural design
Poor design details (Insufficient reinforcement at re-entrant

corners, Inadequate provision for deflection and drainage, Incompatibility

of materials, Rigid joints between precast units etc.,)

Diagnosis
Preliminary Inspection
Visual inspection to characterize the
nature of the problem.
Location and pattern of cracking like
diagonal, longitudinal, transverse, vertical
and horizontal are also to be noted.
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Detailed Inspection
Checking strength of concrete (NDT - to
find out the root cause of cracks in the
concrete)
Chemical analysis on concrete
Corrosion test
Instruments:
o Crack microscope can be used to locate and
find out the width of the crack
o digital crack measuring gauge can also be
used for the same purpose

Continued
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a crack monitor can be used to monitor the

changes in the crack by taking observation
for a longer period (active craks).
Concrete endoscope and fiberscope are
also being used to find out the cracks
inside the concrete.
Cracks due to fire damage can be
evaluated by petrography.
To detect the leakages, voids inside the
concrete thermal imaging camera can be
used

Crack Pattern and its Causes

Continued