2:Causes and Detection of Damages

1) It is possible to defect the status of reinforcement with

rebar locator. If not suggest alternative to be used for.
Ans : Yes, it is possible to defect the status of reinforcement with
rebar locator.

2) Explain the concept of steel bar corrosion how does the

corrosion process takes place?
Ans : Concept of steel bar corrosion :
The resulting from the electrochemical reactions in which steel is
exposed to water then iron particles are lost to the water acidic
electrolytes. On the surface metals containing iron when they are
come in contact with the oxygen and also when metals are placed
under too much stress then metals begins to crack which are also
referred as corrosion.
• Corrosion process take place.
The corrosion is the reaction that takes place uniformly over
surface of material thereby causing a general thinning of
components and eventual failure of the material.

3) Give the various causes of plaster spalling ?

Ans : Freeze-thaw cycles
De-icing salts
Poor finishing techniques
Improper curing
A bad concrete mix

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4) State and explain various causes of damages ?
Ans :
1) Distress in structure :
Distress happens due to factors such as poor workmanship, lack
of maintenance, atmospheric effects, abuses, accident, natural
calamities, chemical reaction, etc. Distress is nothing but the
unwanted stresses produced due in the structure due to change in
functional use of structure, and lack of quality in construction.
2) Earthquake :
Earthquake is natural phenomenon that causes shaking of ground
y sudden release of energy from earth crust due to movement of
earth, volcanic eruption, or even man-made explosion. It is also
sate that nobody can stop the occurance of earthquake but it’s
intensity can be reduce up to certain extent. Earthquake causes
shaking of the ground and structure, which is resting on the
ground will subjected to motion at base. The base of the structure
moves but structure has tendency to stay in its position due to
inertia.
3) Wind :
Wind can causes major damages based on sheer of basic wind
velocity. Wind damages comes into to forms i.e. damages caused
by the wind damages cause by the tornadoes. A heavy wind in
which basic wind pressure is high may damage trees, power lines
and small structure.
4) Dilapidation :
Dilapidation is the term used to denote the decay & damage of a
structure due to contineous neglect in maintenance and repairs.

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Dilapidated building in which load bearing, walls and structural
members looks to collapse.

5) Flood :
When rivers overflow their banks which cause flooding. The
effect of flood is the damage of power of transmission, loss of
power, loss of lives, property damages, deterioration of health
conditions owing to water borne diseases resulting to need of
maintenance & repairs.
6) Dampness :
The capillary penetration form the ground up through the concrete
or masnory is referred as rising dampness. Dampness produces
the failure of roofing material, defective rain water goods,
degrading the detailing, plumbing problem etc. Dampness is one
of the major causes of damage due to water movements leads to
cause moist in the structure which is referred as dampness.
7) Corrosion :
Corrosion is the gradually destruction of materials usually metals
by electro- chemical reaction with their environment. The concept
of corrosion is the reaction that take place uniformly over surface
of material their by causing general failure of the material
8) Fire :
When the fire is not under controlled then it can be hazardous to
both building and occupants resulting to directly burn wholly
partially or losing same of it’s properties in particular strength and
it’s aesthetic appear. According to most common causes of fire
are cooking & heating equipment’s, electrical, smoking material,
internal fore setting.
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5) Write the importance of systematic approach for detection
of damages.
Ans : The primary step in the direction of systematic approach for
damage detection is to as certain the extent of damage and also
items of damages or decay. A systematic study of the defects is
necessary to overcome the deficiencies arising out of design,
specifications, construction and other consideration. The
inspection of structure may be different in nature depending upon
different cusses & purposes. The scope of damage detection or
investigation of damages becomes wider with uncommon defects
or damages and extent of accuracy required to identify the
damages.

6) List the sources of information for the investigation of

structural defects.
Ans : Structures.
Transportation.
Geotech.
Hydraulics.
Quantity Survey.
Project Management.
Survey.
Miscellaneous. Mages.
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7) State the importance of visual examination for diagnosis
defects in structure.
Ans : Visual testing is the oldest and most basic technique of
observations. It is one of the easiest inspection techniques to
perform and also reliable up to certain extent. Under this type of
inspection use of either or all human senses such as vision,
hearing, touch, smell or any non-specialized equipment for better
or clear visualization. The main purpose of visual inspection is to
observe and note down all the items of distress or design
deficiency and their locations supported by sketches and drawing.
The observation of investigation must be recoded in systematic
manner to ascertain whether the structure needs to undergo repairs
or strategy to be applied. The technique of visual observation in
which visual appearance of damage or defect in the structure gives
first alertness about the problems to the owner.

8) Explain in short, four stages to be followed for the

systematic approach of damage detection.
Ans :
• Preliminary Investigation :
In this investigation it is important to keep the deteriorated
structure in undistributed condition. During this investigation,
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state of mind should be simply collecting the data as available
and conducting the interviews of concern peoples in this type of
investigation, the best policy is to listen more speak less and
record the interviews of these peoples. Also discuss about the
environmental effects which leads to deterioration of concrete
structure and also observe the crack nature, if any.

• Errors in Design and Construction :Ji

Some of the causes in structures and their contents due to errors
in design and construction. Then various causes due to which
errors in design and construction are, sudden change in Cross-
section inadequate structure connection, imperfect geometry, soil
structure interaction, early removal of centring, poor detailing of
reinforcement, imperfect compaction of concrete, improper
placement of steel etc.

• Strengthening Requirements :
After knowing the results of various tests, study of available data
and relevant documents then causes of damages are well
identified. Further, by knowing the actual loads and
environmental exposure conditions during present and future
service it helps for proper planning for repair and maintenance of
structure.

• Study of Available Documents :

The study of available documents will help in defining the
unexpected damages and crack propagations. The design
documents usually provide the information on simplifying the
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assumptions with respect to structural behaviour, analysis method
and design loads etc.

9) State the importance of Non – destructive test used in RCC

Structure.
Ans :
a. Strength of existing concrete structure or structural
elements can also be evaluated by these test.
b. Minor cracks such as hair cracks, micro-cracks and deep
cracks in a concrete structure can be evaluated and
assessed.
c. These tests are generally used in investigation for the
repair works of structural components.
d. Moisture content, density, thickness, chemical contents,
pH measurement and reinforcement status can be
estimated and evaluated using these tests.
e. These tests used to evaluate the strength of construction
materials without causing damage.

10) Write the step by step procedure to perform rebound

concrete hammer on any of RCC elements.
Ans:

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1) Check the rebound hammer against the testing and will
before common cement of test to ensure reliability of results.
2) Identifying the testing location for the damaged or without
damaged structure.
3) Identify the pint of impact at least 20mm away from the edge
and mark with the marker
4) Remove the plaster and clean the target surface f concrete or
masnory work using appropriate technique.
5) Keep plunger of rebound hammer touching to the surface in
horizontal, vertical or inclined position as per suitability of
site condition.
6) Press he casing of hammer so that the impact spring around
the hammer will wind up around the plunger.
7) Release the dashpot button or release pin so that the hammer
mass attached to guide rod will impact on the target surface.
8) Based on the resistance offered by the surface in terms of
hardness, this mass will rebound back. Then due to
backword movement of attached mass, pointer on graduated
scale will remove accordingly.
9) Measure the reading on the graduated scale which the mass
is rebound back which is referred as Rebound Hammer (RN).
10.Repeat the above steps at least five more times on the same
point at the same surface with same position to get more
accurate observation by taking average of all observations.
11. By considering influencing factors moisture condition,
carbonation test location, test direction etc then accordingly
correct the rebound number using graph.

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 12) Find out the compressive strength of concrete against each
rebound number using correlation graph and over all quality of
concrete.

11. State the advantages and disadvantages of rebound

concrete hammer
Ans :
• Advantages :
a. It is simple procedural method of testing and commonly
adopted equipment.
b. This method is quick and less expensive.
c. This method is applicable to any surface of testing i.e.
horizontal, vertical or inclined surface.
• Disadvantages :
a) The result of these test are affected by parameters such
as size if specimen, rigidity, age of specimen and
moisture condition etc.
b) The compressive strength of concrete gives
approximate result.

12. State the various aspects to be considered while detection

of damages by visual observation.
Ans :
1) Verification of accuracy of the original drawing along with
collection of basic information any.
2) Identification of major alternations not shown on the original
construction documents.

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 3) Observe the location of honey combing in structural and non-
structural components.
4) Inspect the abnormal loads, patterns of loading and
deviations form the design loads.
5) Inspect the adjoining structure and type.

13. List the non-destructive testing methods for determination

of concrete strength in existing R. C. C. Structure.
1) Rebound concrete hammer test
2) Ultra-sonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) test
3) Rebar locator test
4) Crack detection micro-scope test
5) Chloride test
6) Sulphate attack test
7) pH measurement teat
8) Half-cell potential meter test
14) State the salient features of non- destructive test.
Ans : This method has been in use since from five decade’s and
is powerful methods for evaluating the existing concrete
structures with respect of strength and durability. In certain cases,
investigation of crack depth, micro-crack and progressive
deterioration are also studied by these test. The Non-destructive
testing method are simple to perform but the analysis and
interpretation of test results are not so easy.

15) State the procedure of ultra sonic pulse velocity with neat
sketch.

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1) Identify the target concrete surface and cleaned properly
then define two end points of application of ultrasonic
pulses.
2) Apply the acoustical coupling materials to both the points of
concrete.
3) Attach the transmitter and receiver end of the transducer to
the identified concrete surface of building components using
anyone of the ways. In particular it is better to consider
direct transmission pulse velocity arrangement.
4) Generate the ultrasonic pulses or waves of 50 to 60 kHZ
using electro-acoustical or ultrasonic pulse generator so that
it will pass through the transmitter and attached to concrete
and will reach to receiverned depending upon the
homogeneity of concrete mass.
5) note down the time of travel (T) of these waves and
displayed on display unit of electronic timing device in
second
6) Calculate the ultrasonic pulse velocity (V) of transmitted
waves as V= L/T in Km/s
7) Repeat all the above steps other location when defect of
damage extent is more. Calculate the average ultrasonic
pulse velocity of all such observations for the structural
components under consideration.
8) Determine the overall quality of concrete based on
calculated ultrasonic pulse velocity by using table.

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16) Write the factors affecting while measuring the pulse
velocity passing through concrete element.
Ans :
1) Material quantity and proportion of concrete mix.
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 2) Nature of concrete surface under test.
3) Moisture content and temperature of concrete.
4) Age of concrete at the time of test.
5) Influence of path length.

17) State the step by step rebar procedure.

Ans:
1) Calibrate the rebar locator test apparatus by using test block
with the known rebar details.
2) Identify the test surface and mark the target points on a
suitable grid pattern using marker.
3) Clean the test surface and make it smooth levelled by
removing the dust and other unwanted projections, if any.
4) Take the rebar locator connected with the path measuring
device and spot probe then move the same in horizontal and
vertical directions.
5) Mark the location of rebar when the position of river
displayed on the screen and note down the distance of bar
from the surface phone by display unit.
6) Now attach the diameter probe to the rebar locator and keep
the probe parallel to the located bar.
7) Observe and appropriate number of readings or as displayed
on screen and take mean value of these reading as diameter
of rebar.
8) Now attached the depth probe to the rebar locator and keep
it exactly over the identified bar location.
9) Note down the depth of concrete cover after getting an audio
signal beep sound and detected concrete is stored in memory

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 factors affecting the taste results
1) Arrangement of reinforcement and metal ties.
2) Variation in the iron content.
3) Use of aggregate with magnetic properties.

18) State the advantaged & disadvantages or procedure of

half cell potential meter.
Ans :
• Procedure :
1) Identify the rebar location.
2) Make a connection with reinforcement or can be required more
than one connection, if there is a discontinuity between
reinforcement.
3) Prepare the concrete surface weight in condition.
4) Measure the potential difference at regular intervals on
different points along the length of bar.
5) Draw the graph of potential verses location.
6) The graph of itself gives the idea of corrosion and its location
also.

• Advantages :

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 1) This method is suitable for in-situ evaluation, research
and development work.
2) Half-cell potential may be used at anytime during the life
of structure.
3) The half-cell potential test is inexpensive and simple to
perform.
4) This test method can be performed on structures with
ordinary and stainless steel reinforcement.
5) With the help of these test, whole structure is quickly
served and data analysis simple.

• Disadvantages :
1) Limited potential information between 220 NV and 350 mv
will be obtained from these test.
2) No information and corrosion rate of reinforcing bars.
3) Half-cell potential measurements should be taken only on a
free concrete surface.
4) This test examines a only a specified portion of affected
reinforcement.

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 • Steps involved in systematic approach :
Ans :
1) Preliminary Investigation
2) Physical Inspection
3) Material testing
4) Non-destructive test
5) Detailed Investigation
6) Study of available documents
7) Estimation of actual loads and environmental effects.
8) Errors in design and construction.
9) Retrospective analysis.
10)Strengthening requirements.
11) Relevant approaches to repair.

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