REPAIR AND REHABILITATION OF CONCRETE STRUCTURES

Abstract

Reinforced cement concrete (RCC) as a construction material has come into use for the
last one century. In India, RCC has been used extensively in the last 50- 60 years. During this
period, we have created a large number of infrastructural assets in terms of buildings, bridges,
sports stadiums etc., which are lifelines for the civilized society. These have been created with
huge investment of resources. We cannot even dream of recreating such assets out of limited
national resources. It is therefore more essential to maintain them in functional condition.
Since, deterioration of RCC is a natural phenomenon and has started exhibiting in a large
number of structures, a systematic approach is needed in dealing with such problems.
Identification of the causes of deterioration and consequent repair/rehabilitation strategy at
optimum cost needs a scientific evaluation and solution.
As a result, the factors considered necessary for durability of RCC buildings are many times
not given due importance during construction and/or during maintenance. In the international
scenario also, deterioration of RCC had been drawing attention of the practicing civil engineers
for quite some time. They have accordingly, made certain advancement in the field of
protection, repairs, rehabilitation, strengthening and retrofitting of the existing RCC structures
taking advantage of the advancement in the materials science, more particularly the polymer
science. The knowledge in this area among the Civil Engineers in India is still at infancy stage
and needs development and systemic dissemination.