UNIT-2

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DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
2.1 Purpose of Assessment
• Reinforced concrete is comprised of two basic materials, steel and
concrete. The two materials work in a synergetic fashion when
constructed properly to provide composite components which have
very strong structural characteristics.
• Concrete is strong in compression but weak in tension but steel is
strong in tension and little in compression. Therefore, in order to
construct structural elements which are long lasting, economical, and
have both compressive and tensile capacity, steel is combined with
concrete to harness the compressive strength of concrete and tensile
strength of steel.
• Beams are horizontal structural components that support floors,
ceilings, roofs or decks and carries load perpendicular to the
longitudinal axis of the beam and load tends to cause the bending of
• Columns are vertical structural components that support beams and
other structural elements. The compressive loads carried by columns
are primarily parallel to the vertical or longitudinal axis of the column.
Uniform concentric load is applied, comp. load occurs within the
columns cross section and are distributed between the concrete and
steel reinforcement
•Eccentric load is applied to a column, bending will occur in column,
with outer section of column in tension and inner section being in
compression. The tension load within the column carried by steel and
compression load carried by concrete.
• Cast-in-place buildings are erected using temporary forms that
concrete is placed into and then forms removed and failure will occur
throughout the concrete member and/or its connections.
• Precast buildings elements generally formed off-site and then
shipped to be assembled on-site using some type of anchoring device
2.2 Rapid Assessment

The rapid structural safety assessment should performed in the following

ways

1. Review the entire outside of the structure.

2. Enter the building only if necessary to determine the extent of

damage.

3. Determine what extent of damage found in the structural and non-

structural elements.

4. Secure all areas that need to be isolated and post UNSAFE signage.
•The objectives of rapid structural safety assessment is to quickly inspect
and evaluate the concrete structure and determine if the damage
structure is unsafe for personnel within the building and rescue personnel
accessing the building.
• Two primary concerns need to be considered when performing this
assessment of the structure that has sustained structural damage.
• Assessment includes quick evaluation of the building structural
components (eg. Beams, columns, slabs etc.) and non-structural
components (Eg. Structural debris, partition walls, ceilings, glass, pipe
anchoring etc)
• If there are any visual signs of structural and/or non-structural damage,
then the specific building area needs to be isolated, secured, and marked
as UNSAFE.
•The rapid structural damage assessment would note the major failures
within the structure including major structural elements of beams,
columns, and roof and floor decks. The on-scene commander should be
notified immediately of the risk, and the area secured and marked
UNSAFE.
•The rapid non-structural damage assessment would note the major
failure within the building structure such as structural debris, partitions,
ceilings, glass and piping.
• Concrete is a brittle material and, therefore, has a tendency to
fragment into small. Dense, hard pieces with rough edges. Settlement or
shifting of damaged structure may cause fragments to fall resulting in
serious harm to personnel and/or additional damage to remaining
structure
• Depending on the structural and non structural elements within the
building matrix and their relation to rescue/recovery activities, there may
be varying importance on the ability of these elements to provide
adequate support. For ex. Failure of a column at ground level may cause
failure of the remaining structure above that columns, or failure of beam
above an area where rescure/ recovery workers are operating may cause
collapse of floor.
•The ability to perform a rapid structural safety assessment is likely to
require a good flashlight(or headlamp), because adequate lightening is
not available in or around the remaining structure. In addition, a note
book, pen or pencil, spray paint and camera will be needed for the
assessment.
• Personnel performing the rapid structural safety assessment in and
around the remaining structure should wear appropriate personal
protective equipment (PPE). At a minimum PPE should include a hardhat,
2.3 Investigation of Damage
The investigation of reasons for damage to structures is largely a matter
of gathering information by observation, studying records and asking
questions, supplemented if necessary by a certain amount of testing, and
then interpreting the information thus obtained.
The general procedure for an investigation can be briefly summarized as
given below :
1. Documentation of damage.
2. Visual observation.
3. Measurements on geometrical parameters such as deflections and
deformations
4. Experimentation for evaluating the material properties and behaviour
5. Interpretation and analysis of test results
6. Analysis of the building its damaged state taking in to account the test
results obtained during investigation.
7. Formulation of repair measures.
1. Observation
Texture of concrete surface may suggest possibility of chemical attack,
leaching of the matrix or in the case of sulphate attack, whitening of the
concrete. Rust stains often indicate corrosion of reinforcement but they
may caused by contamination of aggregates. Relatively straight cracks
usually indicate excessive but fairly uniform tensile strain. Cracks caused
by unidirectional bending will be widest in the zone of max. tensile stress
and will taper along the length, while cracks caused by direct tension will
be of roughly uniform width.
2. Questioning
Record of mix proportions, sources of materials, cube test results,
weather conditions etc may be available, particularly for recent built
structures. It is always useful to ask questions of as many as possible of
the people who were concerned with the design or construction
2.4 Damage Assessment Procedure
The first key step of investigation is to make a diagnosis of the defect or the
failure of the building.
The important steps are
1. Visual Inspection.
2. Study of available documentation
3. Estimation of actual loads and environmental effects
4. Diagnosis.
1. Visual Inspection
Any damaged structure, as a first step, requires an extensive visual
inspection followed by documentation of the details. A perusal of the
documentation, supported by photographs.
2. Study of available documentation
Study of available documentation will give some idea on the history of
construction. Original quality, analysis and design methods with assumption
made, and the type of materials used. A comparison of adjacent buildings
3. Estimation of actual loads and environmental effects
• It is generally found that there is, in majority of the cases, the load acting
on the structure will be much different from the load assumed in design
calculations.
• cracking or any other damage may, sometimes attributed to the fact that
these loads or certain load combinations were not considered in the analysis
and design.
• Effect of temperature changes a hostile atmosphere would impose
serviceability and durability problems and also result in undesirable effects in
foundations.
4. Diagnosis
• In any investigation, diagnosis of the cause or causes of damage is of prime
of importance and difficult too.
• A proper and reliable diagnosis can be made only by the conducting a
systematic investigation using proven test methods and experienced
Flow chart for damage assessment
2.5 Evaluation of surface and structural cracks

• The cracks in a structure are broadly classified in to two categories:

• Superficial cracks.

• Structural cracks.

• The structural cracks may be active and dormant.

• A crack where a movement is observed to continue is termed active,

whereas the crack where no movement occurs is termed dormant or

static.
• The following information may help in diagnosing the cracks

1. Whether the crack is new or old.

2. Type of crack, i.e., whether it is active or dormant.

3. Whether it appears on the opposite face of the member also, pattern of

the cracks.

4. Soil condition, type of foundation used, sign of movement of ground, if

any,

5. Observations on the similar structures in the same locality,

6. Study of specifications, method of construction used and test results at

the site, if any,

7. Views of designer, builder, occupants of the building, if any

8. Weather during which the structure has been constructed

 The evaluation of cracks is necessary for the following
purposes:
1. To identify the cause of cracking.
2. To assess the structure for its safety and serviceability.
3. To establish the extent of cracking
4. To establish the likely extent of further deterioration
5. To study the suitability of various remedial measures,
6. To make a final assessment for serviceability after repairs.
 Apart from visual inspection, tapping the surface and listening to the sound
for hollow areas may be one of the simplest methods of identifying the weak
spots.
 The suspected areas are then opened up by chipping the weak concrete for
further assessment.
 The comparative strength of concrete in the structure may be assessed to a
reasonable accuracy by non-destructive testing and by tests on the cores
2.6 Testing systems of hardened concrete

There are number of testing systems available and they could be used on

structures to assess the quality of concrete and steel.

Testing system of hardened concrete can be divided in to three categories

1. Non-Destructive Testing System(NDTS)

2. Semi Destructive Testing Systems(SDTS)

3. Destructive Testing Systems(DTS)

1. Non-Destructive Testing System (NDTS): To assess the quality of

concrete in its damaged state without any disturbance of surrounding

concrete.

2. Semi Destructive Testing Systems (SDTS): To assess the quality of

concrete in its damaged state with partial disturbance of surrounding

concrete.

3. Destructive Testing Systems (DTS): To assess the quality of concrete

with complete disturbance of surrounding concrete (loaded up to failure).

2.6.1 Destructive Testing System (DTS)

 The most common destructive test is load test and is used to assess the

strength of concrete. Load testing is sometimes used as an alternative

method of assessing structural capacity.

 Load tests are usually carried out for one of the following reasons

• There are still doubts about the satisfactory performance of the structure

under load after a survey and local testing.

• It is difficult or impossible to determine inadequate information about the

structure and its materials.

• Verification of structural analysis in cases where the complexity of

structural forms does not lend itself to analysis

 The following aspects were set for during the testing

programme:

• To conduct the load test on the beam up to 1.25 times the designed live

load.

• To monitor the deflections and recovery of the beams during

incremental loading and unloading.

• To compare the actual deflections with that of theoretical deflections

(a) Assessment of existing concrete structures
 It has been learnt that concrete structures requires a closer inspection, not
only after construction but also periodically at regularly interval.
 The quality control measures during construction are Workability test on
concrete
Compressive strength of concrete samples.
 It is well known fact the results of the above tests do not reflect on true
quality of concrete, existing in concrete structures because the quality of
concrete depends on many factors such as mixing, transporting, placing,
compacting and curing of concrete
 Assessment of quality of concrete is necessary to ensure that the quality of
execution is satisfactory and to identify any deficiency so that they can be
rectified. This can be achieved by conducting some in-situ tests like non-
destructive and partially destructive on the structures besides visual
inspection.
(b) Load test on structures
 This is a method of assessing the strength of the in-situ of concrete
member. In most cases, this test is performed for the proof of structure
capacity, not for suspect or critical location.
 The principle aim of this test is to demonstrate satisfactory performance
under an over load, above the design working value. This is usually judged by
measurement of deflections under this load which may be sustained for a
specified period.
Procedure
 A live load of 1t/sqm was taken for imposed load calculation plus dead load
as Floor finishing load and partition wall load were also considered. Thus
imposed load was taken as 1.25times live load as per IS:456-2000 clause
17.6 page no.30
 The load was imposed on the beam as UDL spreads over an area of 55.5
sqm. Thus a total load of 84t was arrived at and imposed in 12 stages of 7t
each at an interval of 15 minutes.
 Dial gauges and electric strain gauges were fixed at different locations.
 Separate platform was provided to read and record the deflections from
dial gauges, strain from strain indicator during loading and unloading.
 Total time for maximum load was 26hrs and the maximum load was
kept for more than 43hrs during which creep effect was monitored and
the time taken for unloading was 32 hrs during which deflection recovery
was monitored.
 The recorded and theoretical deflections were compared.
 As per IS:456-2000, the deflections due to imposed load only shall be
recorded. If within 24hrs of removal of imposed load, the structure
doesnot recover at least 75% of the deflection under superimposed load,
the test may be repeated after a lapse of 72hrs.
 If recovery is less than 80%, the structure shall be unacceptable.
 As per clause [Link], the maximum deflection in mm shown
during 24hrs under load is less than 40l2/D
Load test on structures