Concrete Distresses Maintenance & Repairing techniques

Concrete distresses maintenance and repairing techniques are the most important subject for
strengthening or rehabilita on of the concrete structure’s, as well as a part of advanced concrete
technology. For understanding the concrete distresses, deteriora ons, classes of typical damages
subjected to diff. category of severity condi ons and iden fies the deteriorated patches, a visual
inspec on survey with skilled team require at first. In below the detailed discussion with repairing
processes are men oned.

Without proper techniques along with compa bility in between repair materials and substrate,
no maintenance work can success and will be less durable for longer me period. Hence not only the
losses of cos ng, also rework will be going on con nuous basis to repairing the same.

Before going to in details of maintenance and repairing of concrete sec ons first we have to
understand the why repairing required, what are the best possible strategies according to site
feasibility, what are the materials selec on process, what are the repairing process along with
techniques and longevity of the repair sec ons, means how long it will be maintenance free during in
his service condi ons once repairing done and being ready to in services.

Why concrete structures need repairing and rehabilita on ?

A er the execu on complete of the concrete structure and being used in service over the me
period (depending upon the exposure condi on and other factors influence) it may be deteriorated,
cracks or other surface types of distresses occurred on its top surface, which will drama cally reduce
the targeted service life which was es mated or predicted during its structural design and material
selec ons prior to execu on.

Hence, over the me, concrete structures face challenges like spalling, cracks, corrosion due to
harsh weather and chemical exposure.

Proper refurbishment is crucial for:

Restoring structural integrity
Preven ng further deteriora on
Ensuring safety & long-term durability
Preparing surfaces for addi onal waterproofing and protec ve sealer or coa ngs

To avoid this, we have to maintain the concrete with major/minor repairing in its periodical me so
that, no distresses can be further developed in large scale and to control the cost op miza on and
also enhance the safety of the structure.

Three ques ons to be addressed prior to developing a repair strategy-

For selec on any repairing techniques or strategy the following 3 points must be addressed properly
to make the repairing a most sustainable as well as durable in all respect-

1. What proper es are required to meet the condi ons and requirements ?
2. What materials/systems will provide the required proper es ?
3. How to choose the materials/systems with op mal cost, performance and risk ?

Without a ending the above men oned observa ons we can’t select any repairing process or
repairing materials for any specific repairing works.
 What are the materials selec on process for developing during repair analysis-

For any kind of repairing process material selec on is the most important part of this technique, as
lots of repair materials are available into the commercial market, but according to exposure
condi on of exis ng substrate and best compa bility along with bonding of repair material’s the
following 7 points must be addressed and should be verified/reviewed by owner/clients-

1. What are the performance of the requirements ?

2. What are the load carrying requirements ?
3. What will be the service/exposure condi on ?
4. What will be the opera ng condi on during placement of repair materials ?
5. What placement techniques is chosen ?
6. What characteris c are required for placement ?
7. Has the original causes of deteriora ons or distresses has been resolved or addressed ?

What are the best strategies for any kind of concrete repairing works-

For repairing works according to best prac ces there are 5 strategies are followed to make the work
more systema c, they are as men oned below-

 Strategy-1
-Durable repair materials, slightly be er than the substrate
 Strategy-2
-Durable repair materials
-Protec ve sealer/coa ng/membrane on concrete surface
 Strategy-3
-Significant Durable materials with filler, admixtures etc.
 Strategy-4
-Significant Durable materials with filler, admixtures etc.
-Protec ve sealer/coa ng/membrane on concrete surface
 Strategy-5
-Significant Durable materials with filler, admixtures etc
-Protec ve sealer/coa ng/membrane on concrete surface
-Protec ve system for steel by coa ng or other equivalent system
 For concrete patch repairing works, two important parameter’s during execu on are most
essen al as well as major key aspect to make the repairing works more successful & good prac ces
to op miza on in all respect, they are as below- Edge cu ng and Under cu ng .

 Edge Cu ng- Prior to start any repairing works, we have to iden fies the least perimeter of
the patch repairing area so that applica on of all materials will be less consumable, instead
of irregular shape of exis ng damaged area.

 Advantages of Edge cu ng-

Less bonding agent required
Less repair materials required as the perimeter found less as compared to irregular shape.
Easy to cu ng /breaking/dismantling the exis ng damaged area, layout should be as simple.
Easy for workmanship and avoid any kind of difficul es during repairing.

Typical examples of edge cu ng by diff. applica on of tools and its advantages as discussed
above.
  Under cu ng- It’s also the most important, if we don’t cut the substrate material’s under
the TMT bars, then old to new concrete joints will be a big problem and due to this, bonding
will not be in proper way, hence chances of debonding in future will be trigger through this,
which not uneconomical and also same rework for maintenance will be carried on for so on.

 Advantages of Under cu ng-

Proper grip in between old and new concrete
TMT bars cleaning to be easy in case of rus ng/ini a on of corrosion
Good bonding will be provided by this in between of TMT and new repairing concrete
materials

Typical view of under cu ng for diff. applica ons

Checklist for surface prepara ons procedure for any types of concrete repairing works-

For concrete damaged or deteriorated por on repairing or surface repairing patches including
of cracks repairing, the following observa ons cum sequence’s, as a checklist should be reviewed
prior to start patch repairing/surface/overlay on exis ng concrete sec ons-

Iden fies the patches with severity marking by visual survey through the
skilled/competent team.

Root cause analysis of patch repairing area to avoid re-maintenance in future in aspect of
cost op miza on.
(FDR/PDR) selec on required based on the classes of severity or damaged category wise.
Selec on of 5 repairing strategy as men oned above as per the best applicability.
List of specific tools which ensure the ease of the process and the good quality of the
repairing.
FQAP/FQP for only specific patch repairing along with SOP required.
Ensure the edge cu ng (less perimeter area) as men oned above.
 Ensure under cu ng of TMT bars/s rrups to bond in between of repair and substrate
materials.
Cleaning of debris from ongoing patches.
Cleaning of TMT bars/s rrups.
Cleaning of rusted por on of TMT bars/s rrups by diff. methods, if found TMT as rusted
condi on.
Protec on coa ng on TMT bars based on environmental effects.
Selec on of the repair materials as men oned in above.
Placing techniques of repair materials prior to start repairing.
Start execu on and sample collec on of repair materials to ensure the QC & data
analysis.
Applica on of curing and maintain the curing regime.
Protec ng coa ng/sealer/ layer required on concrete, if found necessary as per the
repairing strategy.
Removal of curing and clean the all foreign materials on repaired concrete surface and
ready for servicing.

Bonding in-between of repair and substrate materials is also important parameter in both of
repairing strategy and selec on of repair materials, without proper judgement this, bonding in
between two can’t be ensured accurately, as a result the failure of repairing or n number mes of
maintenance will be going on.

By applying bonding agent on substrate; for diff. types of vari es, we can ensure the proper bonding
in between of R & S materials, which trule essen la for any tupes of repairing works.
Materials selec on for concrete repairing works-

This is the main part of repairing techniques, in the market diff. types of materials are available
but according to site feasibili es and exposure condi on for diff. loca ons, the selec on of repair
materials are most valueable as important, due to improper materials selec on can not sucessfylly
complete the repairing works and in furture the n numer of me repairing work will be carried on,
which is not a best way to control any types of concrete repairing works.

However, the following observa ons should be mandatory during material slec ons-

A. Material selec on-

 User performance requirements
 Load carrying requirements
 Service/Exposure condi ons
 Placement techniques

B. Material proper es-

 Load carrying proper es

 Service/Exposure proper es
 External load/proper es
 Construc bility proper es
 Non-shrinkable/low shrinkage materials
 High early strength/GP2/Epoxy based/Micro-concrete based materials
 High tensile bonding with substrate.
 Appearance
In the case of load carrying proper es, the selec on of repair materials will be based on extremely
low compression creep to avoid uneven starin at same stresess with susbtrate and also should be
equal modulus of elas city with substrate to avoid unevn stress developed at same strain.

Now we talk about for ingredients of repair materials, which proper es and selec on of the
materials we men oned above, they are as follow-

 Binder
 Fine Agg.
 Coarse Agg.
 Special types of fillers
 Admixtures
 Polymers modifiers
 Fibers reinforcement
 Misleaous chemical modifiers

Binder as OPC for general repairing works, for special cases GP2/Micor-concrete/High eary strength
binder has select as per the project requirements and Fine agg. use in repairing materials to
op miza on of binder volume and enhance the mechanical proper es.
Addi on of coarse Agg. can reduce the drying shrinkage, agg./cement ra o plays a important role in
repairing works, some mes to addi on of special types of fillers enhance the impermeability of the
repair materials a er its final se ng and enhance also the secondary strength into the system.

Adding polymer into the repairing materials or pre-blending polymeric materials into the binder
significantly enhance the material proper es as well.
Adding fibers can enhance its both tensile strength and toughness of the repair material system and
control the shrinkage based cracking, as plas c synthe c fibers are hydrophilic in nature they reduce
the loss of moisture into the concrete sec on.

Chemical based modified compounds like admixture for workability , bonding agents for adhesive of
R and S, protec ve sealer as water proofing coa ng on concrete surface, abrasion resistance coa ng
on TMT or concrete surface etc; can enhance one step more durable and sustainable repairing works
as compared to normal patch repairing works.
Anatomy of concrete patch repairing typical cross sec on with diff. types of ac vi es with proper
showing of edge cu ng and under cu ng.

 Now, for further detailed guidelines for concrete surface repairing and overlay works on exis ng
concrete surface with special types of ac vi es are men oned here as below-

 General Surface prepara on by concrete repairing works

 Diff. types of surface removal or dismantled procedure for both FDR and PDR.
 Cleaning the reinforcement from contaminated substance by diff types of tools.
 Diff. types protec ons to protect the corroded steel into the exis ng concrete.
 Diff. types of placing methods for repairing works.
 Diff. types of coa ng for varie es of applica on as per the site requirements.
 Installa on of drainage system for special types of concrete rearing, where ground water
table located in higher side, capillary ac on or hydrosta c pressure e.g. of retaining wall,
bridge element, side drain, cross drain etc.
 Applica ons of diff. types grou ng and 3 types of applica ons as per site feasibility.
 UHPC thin overlay on concrete slabs & concrete road sec on.
 Water proofing system by protec ve coa ng/sealers.
 Curing applica on for maintenance works along with advantages.
 Reference codes for concrete repairing and maintenance related works.
 General surface prepara ons procedure are divided into 4 steps-
 Locate the area
 Remove the deteriorated concrete por on
 Edge cu ng and under cu ng
 Cleaning of the marked repairing sec on by all means.

 Diff. types of surface removal or dismantled procedure for both FDR and PDR are as below-
 Hydro removal by water pressure 100-200 MPa for par al depth
 Water jet removal for par al depth
 Rotary Milling machine for surface removal
 Hand Held Pneuma c for full depth removal
 Pneuma c/Hydraulic mounted breakers for full depth removal
 Hydro demoli on by water pressure 100-300 MPa for full depth removal
 Cleaning the reinforcement from contaminated substance by diff types of tools as below-
 Needle scalers
 Water cleaning
 Abrasive blast cleaning
 Power Wire brushing

 Diff. types protec ons to protect the corroded steel into the exis ng concrete are as below-

When the corrosion of reinforcement into the exis ng concrete structures exceeds and spalled the
concrete surface, then without applying one of the above men oned treatment’s for reinforcement,
the maintenance cum repairing work can’t be sustain for longer me period.
 Diff. procedures for placing of repair materials works as men oned below-
 Trowel applica on- for general types of all repairing works like, trowelable and non-sagging
 Dry packing- by GP2/Micro-concrete cohesive mix applica ons for various types of repairing
sec on
 Form and cast in-situ- for full depth/par al depth patch repairing works with low shrinkage,
workable mixture and low W/C ra o, e.g. pavement repairing, slabs, beams, columns etc.
 Form and pumping- for inaccessible opening for pouring of repair materials and mass
volume of concrete repairing work, e.g. retaining wall, major volume of slab, retrofi ng
works, columns jacke ng etc.
 Preplaced agg./Grouted preplaced mix- applica on by pressure or injec on grou ng for
cri cal area patch repairing like, column, beam and slab joint por on in a building, also
ver cal and over-head elements, column enlargement etc.
 Dry Mix Shotcrete- based on the site requirement when all dry mixed sprayed through
nozzle at that me liquid admixture and other nozzle water being mixed and sprayed on the
repairing sec on.
 Wet Mix Shotcrete- all repairing materials mixed and sprayed through the nozzle and apply
on any cri cal surface may be ver cal or overhead por on, by applying skilled nozzle men.

 Diff. types of coa ng/protec ve sealer/barrier for varie es of applica on as per the site
requirements, are men oned as below-
Protec ve sealer on reinforcement bars/s rrups-
 Alkaline slurry coa ng/Composite polymer cement coa ng CIP
 Fusion bonded epoxy coa ng on TMT bars based on factory made
 Zinc coa ng on reinforcement bars/s rrups etc.
 An corrosive/corrosion resistant coa ng applying on both reinforcement/structural
steel
 PU based coa ng on mild steel/structural steel
 Vinyl coa ng on TMT bars

Protec ve sealer/barrier/coa ng on concrete surface-

 An -carbona on coa ng applica on for concrete structure above ground level to

height, like under the bo om of sun-shed, interior side face of columns etc
 UV-degrada on resistance coa ng for high rise sky scrapper/tower and tall buildings
 Oxida on coa ng for concrete structure above ground level to height
 Water permea on resistance coa ng for founda on protec on and basement area
 Water proofing coa ng on roo op/lintel beam/sun-shed
 Alkaloid coa ng on concrete surface to prevent corrosion
 Abrasion resistance coa ng on industrial concrete floors
 Chemical resistant coa ng for chemical industrial factories
 Weather resistance coa ng
 Special types of industrial epoxy based floor coa ng
 An slip coa ng on floors
 PU based coa ng on repair concrete surface or exis ng concrete surface
 Low-viscosity epoxy resin based materials applica on for crack repairing works
 Generally, coa ng are 2 types as per laying procedure one is self-levelling and other is roller
applied. Coa ng on concrete surface can enhance the durability of the Cover-Crete of the concrete
structures which governs the durability, few microns coa ng can help to func on as several
millimetres of extend the cover.

During applica on of coa ng the following observa on needs to be addressed carefully-

Industrial floor coa ng with many types of applica on

 Installa on of drainage system a major important part of concrete maintenance and repairing
works, as most of distresses found on concrete side has been occurred through the water
permea on into the concrete surface and later several types of reac ons in presence of moisture
can significantly damage the concrete sec on either be surface cracks or ini a on corrosion of
reinforcement inside the concrete, which will reduce the durability and its designed service me.

Installa on of weep holes, sand blanket in horizontal posi on, perforated pipes, geo-synthe c
membrane, water stopper, French drain & granular back filling from hydrosta c pressure side of
the concrete structure are essen al to protect the water permea on into the concrete surface.
Typical cross sec on for installa on of water permea on protec on for side wall, cross drain
and weep hole installa on for retaining wall ver cal side face.

The following possible chances to accumulate the water inside the concrete surface or may
penetrate into the concrete structures, they are as below-
 Applica ons of diff. types of grou ng and 3 types of placement procedures as per site
feasibility- For concrete maintenance and repairing works, the applica on of powder grout
GP2 and low viscosity epoxy based grout for very thin applica on are most essen al, before
arriving in details for grouts, we should know about –

Why grout materials are required to repairing works?

Grout materials basically required to fill the voids into the concrete sec on for small or
precise area only. Actually, voids are two types-
Filling Voids / Accidental voids means large scale of entrapped air present into the
hardened concrete, honeycombs, any types of cracks occurred into the hardened concrete
etc.
Design voids means created by skilled men like pavement joints, wall ver cal joints to
avoid expansion due to concrete materials and so on.

The applica ons of Grouts materials are as below-

To fill the voids of base plate of steel columns, very thin area of patch repairing, epoxy -
low viscosity based material filling for bridge element’s, like bo om of bearings, ducts etc.
To fill the all types of cracks, created by plas c se lement, plas c shrinkage, diff. of
thermal gradient, F & T effects during cold weathering only, high heat of hydra on for mass
concrete or HSC etc,
For stabiliza on of soil strata control, tunnelling works to prevent water permea on
through the cracks or rocks.
Soil densifica on.

The applica ons/placement procedures of Grout are generally divided into 3 process
subjected to as per the site requirement’s as below-

 Filling the grout by gravity- For accessible large voids, gravity grou ng by
filling by force of gravity, where width of major cracks more than > 1.00 mm

 Filling by Pressure/pressure grou ng- For in-accessible area, applica ons for
small voids by applying pressure, about 2-20 kg/m2, where width of minor
cracks < 0.2 mm

 Filling by Injec ng grou ng- For accessible/in-accessible area, narrow voids,

also filling by applying pressure about more than 20 kg/m2, where width of
nano-cracks less than 0.2 mm
 Strata consolida on by pressure grou ng/ injec on grou ng

Cracks filling/sealing by injec on grou ng by applying sleeves and nozzles

Typical picture during cracks filling by low-viscosity epoxy resin based materials

 UHPC thin overlay on concrete slabs & concrete road sec on- Now a days repairing works,
especially for surface distresses on concrete road or slabs, a very thin overlay 12-15 mm will
be maintained by UHPC materials.
UHPC is also known as RPC as high pozzolanic materials used in to mixture, i.e. It’s called as
Reac ve Powder Concrete. Also, it known as UHPFRC, as micro fine steel fibers are added
into the mixture.
Generally, it’s a mixture of three types of mixture are- SCC, HPC and FRC.
  Water proofing system by protec ve coa ng/sealers are also most vital parts of repairing and
maintenance, to prevent water permea on from outside into the concrete.
Generally two types system/approaches are considered for water proofing purpose, as
below-

External water proofing- in this system bitumen impregnated membrane laid over the
roo op and parapet wall or other associates parts of building which are prone to water permea on.
Also, polymer modified based sealer available for external coa ng on concrete surface to resist the
water intrusion or acts as a water barrier.

Internal water proofing system- in this two part of water resistance acts are followed; one
is Integral water proofing system, which is adding and properly mixing into the fresh concrete prior to
pouring, typically react as water repellent or hydrophobic in nature and other ac ng as water
proofing admixture, which filled the concrete pores a er hardening by crystalline par cles and
sealed the pores against intrusion of moisture, so that it is also known as Crystalline water proofing
admixture.

 Curing applica on for maintenance works along with advantages- Repairing concrete surface
curing is essen al to carry for longer durability and strengthening the repair sec on to resist
all types chemical a acks/acid a acks, sulphate a acks, chloride a acks, any types of
degrada on by typical exposure condi ons etc.

Curing can be done by many way for ver cal structure wet hessian cloths and applying water
to wet for con nuously and for horizontal surface, wet burlap, hessian cloths, water
stagna on by ponding, curing compounds in single coat or two coa ng system, membranes
and vapour barrier applica on for mass concre ng works to prevent any moisture losses
inside the mass concrete sec on and reduce the temp. gradient to prevent massive thermal
shocks by applica on of thermal blanket’s.
Now, one point to be considered regarding curing that, curing can help the concrete cover zone area
only, not applicable for core crete/heart crete in centre posi on of the concrete sec on, as curing
water can penetrate only the cover zone of the concrete sec on, as a er the cover zone the good
quality of concrete permeability reduce which is impossible to penetrate the moisture from curing.

Due to this Cover crete governs the durability and heart crete govern the strength of the concrete
sec on. So concrete cover plays an important parameter for long me durability and sustainability
for whole concrete sec on, so negligence or compromising the cover depth can be more harmful for
overall concre ng works.

 Reference codes for concrete repairing and maintenance related works-

 ACI 224R-01- Control of Cracking in Concrete Structures
 ACI 224.1R-07- Causes, evolu on and repairing of concrete crack’s in concrete
 ACI 364.1R-19- Guide for Assessment of Concrete Structures before Rehabilita on
 ACI 546-23- Guide to Concrete Repair
 ACI 546.2R-20- Guide to Underwater Repair of Concrete
 ACI 546.3R-14- Guide to Materials Selec on for Concrete Repair
 ACI 546.4R-20- Jobsite Quality Control and Quality Assurance of Cemen ous
Packaged Materials
 ACI 562-21- Assessment, repair and Rehabilita on of Exis ng Concrete Structures
 ACI 563-18- Specifica ons for Repair of Concrete in Buildings
 ICRI 310.1R-08 Guideline for Surface Prepara on for the Repair of deteriorated
concrete Resul ng from Reinforcing Steel Corrosion
 ICRI 330.1-2006 -Guideline for selec on of concrete strengthening system

Prepared By- Sasanka Dey.