Concrete Condition Evaluation and Damage Assessment

Learn more about the common industry standards for conducting condition appraisals of concrete structures.

Concrete is used to build structures of all types with many different exposures. Some concrete structures, especially buried structures, marine structures, and structures exposed to deicing salts, like parking garages and bridges in northern U.S. states, need periodic maintenance to achieve their optimal service life. A key part of a good maintenance program is the condition appraisal to detect problems and serve as the basis for repairs. This topic will introduce you to the common industry standards for conducting condition appraisals of concrete structures, typical visual inspection techniques, both common and complex non-destructive techniques for detecting hidden conditions, common laboratory tests to evaluate current conditions of the concrete and receptiveness to repair, and load testing concepts sometimes needed to determine existing strength or to test the effectiveness of repairs. This material will be useful for building owners that purchase engineering condition appraisals of concrete structures, engineers planning and conducting condition appraisals of concrete structures, and contractors that perform repairs to concrete structures.

Learning Objectives

• You will be able to identify and be familiar with guidance documents.
• You will be able to recognize common tools and strategies for field inspection.
• You will be able to discuss laboratory test and evaluation tools.
• You will be able to review applications of in situ load testing.