2017531 Assessmentoffiredamagedstructures

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Fingertip Assessment of firedamaged structures

Description
Mostfiredamagedstructurescanbesuccessfully
repaired,thisbeingthemorecosteffectivesolutionthan
demolitionandreconstruction.Beforecarryingoutany
repairitisnecessarytodeterminetheextentofthe
damagetotheconcreteandreinforcementandhencetheir
residualstrengths.Guidanceonassessmentisgivenin
ConcreteSocietyTechnicalReport68,Assessment,
designandrepairoffiredamagedconcretestructures.

Thereareanumberofonsiteandlaboratorybased
techniquesavailabletoaidinthediagnosisofreinforced
concretecondition.Techniquesconductedonsiteinclude
visualinspection,nondestructivetestingandtheremoval
ofconcreteandreinforcementsamples,whichmay
subsequentlybeexaminedand/ortestedinthelaboratory.
Onsitetestsincludehammersoundings,reboundhammer
(Schmidthammer)andultrasonicpulsevelocitytesting.
Laboratorytestsincludepetrographicexamination,core
testingandreinforcementtesting.

Itmaybesufficienttotakesoundingsonthedamaged
concretetodeterminethedegreeofdeterioration.The
ringofsoundconcreteandthedullthudofweak
materialarereadilydistinguished,andthistestmaybe
successfullydonewithahammerandchiseltodetermine
thedepthtowhichtheconcretehasbeendamaged.

Forthesakeofassessment,itisgenerallyassumedthat
concreteheatedtoabove300o Chaslostallitsstrength.In
manycasesthistemperaturecoincideswithachangein
colouroftheconcretetored/pinkthus,identifyingthe
boundaryforthepink/redzoneidentifiesthelimitof
damagedconcrete.However,thiscolourchangewillnot
beevidentwithalltypesofaggregatesandhencea
physicalassessmentoftheconcretestrengthshould
alwaysbecarriedout.

Theremaybebenefitinsupplementingthenormalonsite
regimewithsomenondestructivetesting.Therebound
testgivesameasureofthesurfacehardnessofthe
concretesurface.Althoughthereisnodirectrelationship
betweenthismeasurementofsurfacehardnessand
strength,anempiricalrelationshipexists.Duetotheneed
foraflatsurfacetotestandasalargenumberoftestsis
desirabletoreducetheeffectsofvariability,therebound
hammerisnotgenerallysuitableforuseonspalled
surfaces,whichisoftenthecasewithfiredamaged
concrete.TheUPVtestfortheestimationofconcrete
strengthiswellestablishedbutagainthereisno
fundamentalrelationshipbetweenpulsevelocityand
strength.Althoughanestimationofstrengthcanbe
obtainedbycorrelation,themethodhasperhapsagreater
potentialforcomparingknownsoundconcretewith
affectedconcrete.Othermethodsthathavebeenless
frequentlyusedincludethepenetrationresistancetest
(Windsorprobe)andtheBREinternalfracturetest.

Petrographicexamination(seeseparateentry
PetrographictestsandConcreteSocietyTechnicalReport
71,Concretepetrography:anintroductoryguideforthe
nonspecialist)isthedefinitivetechniquefordetermining
thedepthoffiredamageinconcrete.Itisperformedin
thelaboratorybyexperiencedconcretepetrographers,
usingopticalmicroscopes.Itisinvaluableindetermining
theheatinghistoryofconcreteasitcandetermine
whetherfeaturesobservedvisuallyareactuallycausedby

http://www.concrete.org.uk/fingertipsnuggets.asp?cmd=display&id=893 1/2
2017531 Assessmentoffiredamagedstructures
heatratherthansomeotherfactor.Inadditiontocolour
changesoftheaggregate,theheatingtemperaturecanbe
crosscheckedwithchangesinthecementmatrixand
evidenceofphysicaldistresssuchascrackingand
microcracking.

Furtherinformationmaybefoundinthefollowingentries:
Design/Approach/Redesignoffiredamaged
structures
Repairandstrengthening/Repairtechniques/Repair
offiredamagedstructures.

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