NATIONAL FORENSIC SCIENCES UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

FORENSIC STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

RESTORATION OF MACHINE
FOUNDATION WITH THERMOSET
POLYMER GROUT
SUBJECT : EVALUATION, REPAIR AND
REHABILITATION OF
STRUCTURES (RDMCE10)
PREPARE : ANDHARIA PRIYAM
D BY (101EGMTCE2021001)
GUIDED : PROF. R.J.SHAH
BY
MACHINE FOUNDATIONS
 A structure used to receive and transfer to the ground the
static load from a machine and the dynamic loads imposed
during the operation of the machine as a result of
imbalances in the moving parts.
 Due to the failure of machine foundations, significant losses
may suffered and hence timely restoration with proper
selection of materials and expert investigation plays a
decisive role in the success restoration process.

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MACHINE FOUNDATIONS

3
INTRODUCTION
 Foundation of heavy machine in a large industrial unit in
central Bombay were heavily damaged, resulting into the
loss in the quality of the casting produced from these
machines.
 It was observed that the quality of castings produced from
the machine improved immediately after the repairs and even
after 4 years of the repairs, the condition was satisfactory.

4
INTRODUCTION
 In this particular unit the Hermann machine happened to be
the most important machine used for casting of cast iron
components under sand bed.
 Due to heavy impact loads from the machine, the
foundation developed problems.

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PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS
 The problems on the foundations were not much visible
externally.
 The size of foundation was 2.5m x 3.35m x 1.85m and was
built in 1983.
 The castings produced from this machine were not upto the
mark and did not pass the quality control tests.

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 PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS
BASE PLATE
2.5m

1.85m
SIDE ELEVATION

BASE PLATE
3.35m
PLAN
3.35m
1.85m

FRONT ELEVATION

2.5m
7
PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS
 This was attributed to the weak foundation which did not
resist the impact loads.
 Earlier, some repair work was carried out to fix the bolts
and other parts with epoxy mortar which did not give
satisfactory results.
 These repairs were carried out twice in 6 years but were not
effective.

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity test was carried out to check
the strength and condition of concrete before
restoration.
 There were in total 3 machines (1 new Hermann
Machine and other 2 were old Hermann machines) and
it was decided to assess the life of all the 3
foundations.

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 UPV test is used to check
the quality of the concrete
and natural rocks.
 Strength and quality are
assessed by measuring the
velocity of an ultrasonic
pulse passing through a
concrete structure.

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 The ultrasonic pulse velocity method could be used to
establish:
1. The homogeneity of the concrete
2. The presence of cracks, voids and other imperfections
3. Changes in the structure of the concrete which may
occur with time

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
5. The quality of the concrete in relation to standard
requirements
6. The quality of one element of concrete in relation to
another
7. The values of dynamic elastic modulus of the concrete.

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Principle
 The ultrasonic pulse is generated by an electro-acoustical
transducer (any type of device that either converts an
electrical signal into sound waves or converts a sound
wave into an electrical signal).
 When the pulse is induced into the concrete from a
transducer, it undergoes multiple reflections at the
boundaries of the different material phases within the
concrete. 13
PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Principle
 A complex system of stress waves is developed
which includes longitudinal (compressional), shear
(transverse) and surface (rayleigh) waves.
 The receiving transducer detects the onset of the
longitudinal waves, which is the fastest.

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Principle
 Because the velocity of the pulses is almost
independent of the geometry of the material through
which they pass and depends only on its elastic
properties, pulse velocity method is a convenient
technique for investigating structural concrete.

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Principle
 The underlying principle of assessing the quality of
concrete is that comparatively higher velocities are
obtained when the quality of concrete in terms of
density, homogeneity and uniformity is good.

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Principle
 In case of poorer quality, lower velocities are
obtained.
 If there is a crack, void or flaw inside the concrete
which comes in the way of transmission of the
pulses, the pulse strength is weakened and it passes
around the discontinuity, thereby making the path
length longer. Consequently, lower velocities are
obtained. 17
PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Principle
 The actual pulse velocity obtained depends primarily
upon the materials and mix proportions of concrete.
 Density and modulus of elasticity of aggregate also
significantly affect the pulse velocity.

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 For higher velocities we can say concrete has
continuity and is of good quality.
 For slower velocities we can say concrete has many
cracks and voids.
 Pulse Velocity = width of the structure/ time taken by
the pulse to go through

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 The apparatus for ultrasonic
pulse velocity measurement
shall consist of the following:
a) Electrical pulse generator
b) Transducer - one pair
c) Amplifier
d) Electronic timing device.

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Procedure
o As said earlier, the ultrasonic pulse is produced by the
transducer which is held in contact with one surface
of the concrete member under test.
o After traversing a known path length L in the
concrete, the pulse of vibrations is converted into an
electrical signal by the second transducer held in contact
with the other surface of the concrete member.
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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Procedure
o Meanwhile, an electronic
timing circuit enables the
transit time (T) of the
pulse to be measured. The
pulse velocity (V) is given
by:
V = L/T
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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Procedure
o Once the ultrasonic pulse hits on the surface of the
material, the maximum energy is propagated at right
angles to the face of the transmitting transducer and
best results are, therefore, obtained when the
receiving transducer is placed on the opposite face
of the concrete member

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Procedure
o However, in many situations two
opposite faces of the structural
member may not be accessible
for measurements.
o In such cases, the receiving
transducer is also placed on the
same face of the concrete
members (surface probing). 25
PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Procedure
o Surface probing is not so efficient as cross probing,
because the signal produced at the receiving
transducer has an amplitude of only 2 to 3 percent
of that produced by cross probing and the test results
are greatly influenced by the surface layers of
concrete which may have different properties from
that of concrete inside the structural member.
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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Procedure
o To ensure that the ultrasonic pulses generated at the
transmitting transducer pass into the concrete and are
then detected by the receiving transducer, it is
essential that there be adequate acoustical coupling
between the concrete and the face of each
transducer.

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Procedure
o Typical couplants are petroleum jelly, grease, liquid
soap and kaolin glycerol paste.
o If there is very rough concrete surface, it is required
to smoothen and level an area of the surface where
the transducer is to be placed.

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Procedure
o If it is necessary to work on concrete surfaces
formed by other means, -for example troweling, it is
desirable to measure pulse velocity over a longer
path length than would normally be used.
o A minimum path length of 150 mm is recommended
for the direct transmission method involving one
unmolded surface and a minimum of 400 mm for the
surface probing method along an unmolded surface.
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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Procedure
o Since size of aggregates influences the pulse velocity
measurement, it is recommended that the minimum
path length should be 100 mm for concrete in
which the nominal maximum size of aggregate is 20
mm or less and 150 mm for concrete in which the
nominal maximum size of aggregate is between 20 to
40 mm.

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Influence of Test Condition
1. Moisture content of concrete and Surface Condition:
Pulse velocity through concrete increases with
increased moisture content of concrete. This
influence is more for low strength concrete than
high strength concrete. The pulse velocity of
saturated concrete may be up to 2 percent higher
than that of similar dry concrete. In general, drying
of concrete may result in somewhat lower pulse
velocity. 32
PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Influence of Test Condition
2. Influence of Path Length, Shape and Size of the Concrete
Member: As concrete is inherently heterogeneous, it
is essential that path lengths be sufficiently long so
as to avoid any error introduced due to its
heterogeneity.

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
o The shape and size of the concrete member do not
influence the pulse velocity unless the least lateral
dimension is less than a certain minimum value
Minimum
Transverse
Natural Frequency of Path Length Natural Frequency Dimension of
Transducers for Members
Different Path Length (mm) (kHz) (mm)
(Table 1 IS13311 Part – Upto 500 150 25
2 1992) 500 – 700 ≥ 60 70
700 -1500 ≥ 40 150
Above 1500 ≥ 20 300
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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Influence of Test Condition
3. Influence of Temperature of Concrete: Variations of the
concrete temperature between 5 and 30°C do not
significantly affect the pulse velocity measurements in
concrete. At temperatures between 30 to 60°C there
can be reduction in pulse velocity up to 5 percent.
Below freezing temperature, the free water freezes
within concrete, resulting in an increase .in pulse
velocity up to 7.5 percent.
35
PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Influence of Test Condition
4. Influence of Stress: When concrete is subjected to a
stress which is abnormally high for the quality of
the concrete, the pulse velocity may be reduced due
to the development of micro-cracks. This influence
is likely to be the greatest when the pulse path is
normal to the predominant direction of the planes of
such microcracks.

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Influence of Test Condition
5. Influence of Reinforcing Bars: The pulse velocity
measured in reinforced concrete in the vicinity of
reinforcing bars is usually higher than in plain
concrete of the same composition. This is because,
the pulse velocity in steel is 1.2 to 1.9 times the
velocity in plain concrete and, under certain
conditions, the first pulse to arrive at the receiving
transducer travels partly in concrete and partly in steel.
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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 According to IS 13311.1.1992,

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 The ‘Hioki’ Instrument from Japan was used for
ultrasonic pulse velocity test.
 Typical Foundation is shown.

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PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE

DETERIORATED
CONCRETE SCALE
★ FIGURES IN THE
BRACKETS ARE THE
1:25
VALUES OF THE
PULSE VELOCITY IN
km/s
Foundation of
Hermann Machine

NOTE : The pattern of

BEFORE REPAIR test location was
similar in other 2
41
machines.
PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Observations:
1. From UPV Test results it was observed that the
foundation of Machine 1 is sound as the strength values
were above 150kg/cm2.
2. In Machine 2, only at one corner the strength was
estimated to be 130kg/cm2, which was on lower side
where it appeared to be local deterioration and hence,
restoration was not necessary.
42
PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Observations:
3. Concrete in the new Hermann Machine (Machine 3)
definitely showed signs of deterioration in the upper
half. It was observed that the damage was progressing
downwards from the top.
4. With the type of impact loads the foundation had to
withstand, it was felt that the foundation might not last
long, if no remedial measures are undertaken.
43
 PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Observations:
LOCATION PULSE VELOCITY ESTIMATED
(m/s) STRENGTH OF
CONCRETE (kg/cm2)

Hermann Machine 1, concrete (1:2:4)

1 3900 190
2 3520 150
3 3520 150
4 3770 180
5 4220 220
6 4220 220
7 4220 220
8 3910 190
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 PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Observations:
LOCATION PULSE VELOCITY ESTIMATED
(m/s) STRENGTH OF
CONCRETE (kg/cm2)

Hermann Machine 2, concrete (1:2:4)

1 3600 160
2 3790 180
3 4000 200
4 4000 200
5 4240 225
6 3270 130
7 4000 200
8 4240 225
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 PULSE – ECHO TECHNIQUE
 Observations:
LOCATION PULSE VELOCITY ESTIMATED
(m/s) STRENGTH OF
CONCRETE (kg/cm2)

Hermann Machine 3, concrete (1:1.5:3)

1 3000 100
2 3500 150
3 4060 205
4 3720 170
5 4320 240
6 3440 145
7 3940 195
8 4190 220
46
REMEDIAL MEASURES
STEP 1 : Removal of the top BASE PLATE
layer of deteriorated concrete
near the base plate.
Here the concrete portion

1.85m
was soaked with oil and thus
required replacement.
2.5m

47
REMEDIAL MEASURES
 It was replaced using non- BASE PLATE
shrink thermoset mortar
after priming the sectional
area with low viscosity

1.85m
epoxy system.

2.5m

48
REMEDIAL MEASURES
 STEP 2 : Drilling into the body of the concrete upto
300mm depth and fixing the nozzles in position with
specialized high viscosity epoxy grout.
 The nozzles were provided at 300mm x 300mm grid pattern
on all four side of foundation.

49
REMEDIAL MEASURES
x – points where nozzles
BASE PLATE
are placed at 300mm x
1.85m
300mm grid

2.5m

3.35m SCALE
1:25
50
REMEDIAL MEASURES

*(Indicative images)
51
REMEDIAL MEASURES
 STEP 3 : Very low viscosity (between 2.0 to 5.0 centipoise)
thermoset polymer was used for injecting into the body of
concrete.
 This low viscosity thermoset polymer was MONOPOL.
Due to its low viscosity, it was able to penetrate all the
micro cracks honeycombs by virtue of its low viscosity and
on curing forms 3-D polymer matrix.

52
REMEDIAL MEASURES

53
REMEDIAL MEASURES
 ADVANTAGES OF MONOPOL
1. By virtue of low viscosity Monopol penetrates into the
concrete even through fine hair cracks and strengthens
the matrix.
2. Seals cracks/honeycombs in concrete under very low
pressure of 5 – 10 Psi.

54
REMEDIAL MEASURES
 ADVANTAGES OF MONOPOL
3. Grouting can be done by gravity pouring/pressure
grouting.
4. Excellent adhesion and chemical resistance.

55
REMEDIAL MEASURES
 The grouting was carried out using specialized equipment
and the injection pressure was maintained between 6 to 8
kg/cm2.
 The process of grouting was started from the bottom side of
one face and travelled upwards to cover all the faces of the
foundation.

56
REMEDIAL MEASURES

*(Indicative images)
57
EVALUATION OF RESTORATION
 The effectiveness of restoration process was ascertained by the
same UPV Test using ‘Hioki’ instrument.
 Results are in the form of graphs and tables given in further
slides.
 Also, the post restoration readings were taken only after 3
months of repair, the machine was under operation immediately
after repairs and shut-down could not be taken earlier.

58
 EVALUATION OF RESTORATION
AFTER BEFORE
REPAIR REPAIR
LOCATION PULSE ESTIMATED ESTIMATED
VELOCITY STRENGTH OF STRENGTH OF AFTER REPAIR
(m/s) CONCRETE CONCRETE
(kg/cm2) (kg/cm2)
Hermann Machine 3, concrete (1:1.5:3)
1 3500 160 100
2 3700 190 150
3 4200 230 205
4 3300 160 170
5 3900 210 240
6 4300 240 145
7 3800 200 195
8 4200 230 220
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EVALUATION OF RESTORATION

UPV Test Before and After Repairs for point 1 and 2 UPV Test Before and After Repairs for point 7 and 8
60
POST – RESTORATION BEHAVIOUR AND CONCLUSION

 Though the UPV Tests could not be carried out immediately

after repairs due to non-availability of shut down, the
behavior of machine was found to be truly satisfactory and
the casting production also improved.
 This was due to satisfactory response of the repaired
foundation which was able to take up the impacts after
grouting and sectional reconstruction.

61
POST – RESTORATION BEHAVIOUR AND CONCLUSION

 UPV readings after 3 months:

1. At location 1, the velocity improved more than 15%.
2. At all other locations velocity improvement was about
10%.
 The estimation of strength before repairs were dependent
on the UPV readings on concrete only. However, the
structure after repairs is a composite structure with both
concrete and thermoset polymer matrix filling all the gaps
in concrete. 62
REFERENCES
1. “Restoration of Machine Foundations with Thermoset
Polymer Grout” – M.K.Kamat
2. IS 13311 Part 1 – 1992 Non-destructive testing of concrete
- methods of test part 1 ultrasonic pulse velocity
3. Notes for UPV Test by Indian Railway Institute Of Civil
Engineering (Pune).
4. Methodology for repairs to cracks using Epoxy grout.

63
THANK YOU

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