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MASTER OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
AT
CRACKS IN BUILDINGS
CAUSES AND PREVENTION
A SEMINAR
SUBMITTED BY
TARSEM LAL
UNIVERISTY ROLL NO.81402105009
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD OF DEGREE
OF
MASTER OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
AT
DECLAREATION
I hereby declare that Seminar entitled CRACKS IN BUILDINGSCAUSES AND PREVENTION submitted for the M. Tech Degree is
my original work & the seminar has not formed the basis for
award of any degree, associate ship, fellowship or any other
similar title
PLACE: JALANDHAR
DATE: 20.11.2010
TARSEM LAL
DAVIET JALANDHAR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I extend my deep sense of gratitude and indebtedness to my guide
Prof. Sanjeev Naval, Head, Department Of Civil Engineering, DAV Institute
of Engineering & Technology, Jalandhar, for his kind attitude, invaluable
guidance, keen interest, immense help, inspiration and encouragement
which helped me in carrying out my present work.
I am grateful to him for giving a lot of freedom, encouragement and
guidance, and the faculty members of Civil Engineering Department, DAV
Institute of Engineering & Technology, Jalandhar, for providing all kind of
possible help throughout for the completion of this seminar work...
I am also thankful to the Technical Laboratory Staff of DAV institute of
Engineering & Technology, Jalandhar for helping me during the experimental
work. It is a great pleasure for me to acknowledge and express my gratitude
to my classmates and friends for their understanding, unstinted support.
Lastly, I thank all those who are involved directly or indirectly in completion
of the present seminar work.
TARSEM LAL
ROLL NO: 81402105009
ABSTRACT
Cracking in structures is of common occurrence and engineers are
often required to look into their causes and to carry out suitable repairs and
remedial measures. For repairs and remedies to be effective, it is essential
that the engineer should have proper understanding of various causes of
cracking. For investigating the causes it is necessary to observe carefully
location, shape, size, depth, behavior and other characteristics of the cracks,
and to collect information about specifications of the job, time of
construction and past history of the structure. It will also be necessary for
the engineer to know as to when the cracks first came to notice and whether
the cracks are structural or non-structural.
Structural cracks are those which are due to incorrect design, faulty
construction or overloading and these may endanger the safety of a building.
Non-structural
variations,
cracks
elastic
which
are
deformation,
due
creep,
to
moisture
chemical
changes,
reaction,
thermal
foundation
Architectural
design
of
Contents
CHAPTER 1 ..............................................................9
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER 2 ............................................................ 12
LITERATURE SURVEY ................................................................................ 12
2.1 MOISTURE CHANGES ......................................................................... 12
2.3 THERMAL VARIATIONS ....................................................................... 20
2.4 ELASTIC DEFORMATION ..................................................................... 26
2.4 MOVEMENT DUE TO CREEP ................................................................. 27
2.5 MOVEMENT DUE TO CHEMICAL REACTION ............................................ 29
2.6 FOUNDATION MOVEMENT AND SETTLEMENT OF SOIL ............................. 32
2.8 CRACKING DUE TO VEGETATION ......................................................... 34
CHAPTER 3 ............................................................ 35
THE CASE STUDY ..................................................................................... 35
3.1 BACKGROUND ................................................................................... 35
3.2 INVESTIGATION ................................................................................ 37
3.3 REPAIR PROPOSALS ........................................................................... 41
3.4 REPAIR WORK ................................................................................... 42
3.5 REPAIR WORK EVALUATION ................................................................ 43
CONCLUSION .......................................................................................... 46
REFERENCE ............................................................................................. 49
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1: Relation between mix proportion and drying shrinkage of cement
concrete mortar
Figure 2.2: Effect of variation in water content of concrete on drying
shrinkage
Figure 2.3: Effect of Aggregate Size on Water Requirement of Concrete
Figure 2.4: Effect of Temperature of Fresh Concrete on Water Requirement
Figure 2.5: Details of bearing at the supports for a roof slab of large span
Figure 2.6: Phenomenon of creep for a Visco-Elastic material
Figure 2.7: Cracking and Upheaving of a tile floor due to Sulphate Action in
base concrete
Figure 3.1: Building Layout
Figure 3.2: Cracks in the beams
Figure 3.3: Nipples & cracks after injection
Figure 3.4: Loading the roof (Load test)
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 1: MOISTURE MOVEMENT OF SOME COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS
TABLE 1: GENERAL PRECAUTIONS FOR AVOIDANCE OF SHRINKAGE CRACKS
IN THE USE OF SOME COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS
TABLE 1: COEFFICIENT OF THERMAL EXPANSION OF SOME COMMON
BUILDING MATERIALS (WITHIN THE RANGE 0C to 100 C)
TABLE 1: HEAT REFLECTIVITY COEFFICIENT OF SOME COMMON BUILDING
MATERIALS
TABLE 1: A GENERAL GUIDE FOR PROVISION OF MOVEMENT JOINTS
IN BUILDINGS
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Modern structures are comparatively tall and slender, have thin walls,
are designed for higher stresses and are built at a fast pace. These
structures are, therefore, more crack-prone as compared with old structures
which used to be low, had thick walls, were lightly stressed
and
were
built at a slow pace. Moreover, moisture from rain can easily reach the inside
and spoil the finish of a modern building which has thin walls. Thus
measures for control of cracks in buildings have assumed much greater
importance on account of the present trends in construction.
Cracks in buildings are of common occurrence. A building
component develops cracks whenever stress in the component
exceeds its strength. Stress in a building component could be caused
by externally applied forces, such as dead, live, wind or seismic
loads, or foundation settlement or it could be induced internally due
to thermal variations, moisture changes, chemical action, etc.
Cracks could be broadly classified as structural or non-structural.
Structural cracks are those which are due to incorrect design, faulty
construction or overloading and these may
endanger
the
safety of a
of
structural
weakening.
structural
cracks may,
In
generally
course
because
do
not
directly
of time, however,
of penetration
result
sometime
in
non-
of moisture through
thus
may render the structure unsafe. Vertical cracks in a long compound wall
due to shrinkage or thermal variation is an instance of non-structural
9
cracking.
building, but may look unsightly, or may create an impression of faulty work
or may give a feeling of instability.
Cracks may appreciably vary in width from very thin hair cracks barely
visible to naked
points.
In
case
of
symmetrical structures,
the centre of the structure acts as a fixed point and movement takes place
away from the centre. A building as a whole- can easily move in the vertical
direction, but in the horizontal direction,
sub-structure
of
the
and foundation
superstructure.
on
certain
properties
cracks may be wider but further apart, or may be thin but more closely
spaced. As a general rule, thin cracks,
even
though
closely
spaced
and greater in number, are less damaging to the structure and are not so
objectionable from aesthetic and other considerations as a fewer number of
wide cracks.
11
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY
In order to be able to prevent or to minimize occurrence of cracks, it is
necessary to understand basic causes of cracking and to have knowledge
about certain properties of building materials. Principal causes of occurrence
of cracks in buildings are as follows:
a)
Moisture changes,
b)
Thermal variations,
c)
Elastic deformation,
d)
Creep,
e)
Chemical reaction,
f)
g)
Vegetation.
burnt
shrink
on
timber,
etc.
Expand on
inter-pore
pressure
depending on molecular
with
structure
porosity
of
a material.
Reversible Movement
a)
Materials
having
very
small
burnt clay bricks, igneous rocks, limestone, marble, gypsum plaster, metals,
etc. The use of these materials does not call for many precautions.
b)
for
Materials
having
small
example, concrete,
to
moderate moisture
sand-lime
movement,
as
mortars, etc. In the use of these materials some precautions in design and
construction are necessary.
Based on research, range of reversible moisture movement of some of
the commonly used building materials is given in Table 1.
TABLE 1 MOISTURE MOVEMENT OF SOME COMMON BUILDING
Material
MATERIALS
No.
percent)
(1)
(2)
(3)
i)
0.002 to 0.01
ii)
0.006 to 0.016
iii)
0.017 to 0.04
IV)
Sandstone,
0.01 to 0.05
sand-lime
bricks, concrete
block's
v)
VI)
Cast-stone,
dense
0.04 to 0.05
concrete, cement
0.02 to 0.06
lime mortars
vii)
Auto-clayed aerated
concrete, clinker
0.03 to 0.08
concrete
viii)
Marble
Negligible
ix)
0.000 8
x)
5 to 15
xi)
3 to 5
13
17
11
INITIAL SHRINKAGE
Initial
shrinkage,
which
is
occurs in all building materials or components that are cement/limebased, for example, concrete, mortar, masonry units, masonry and
plasters. This shrinkage is one of the main causes of cracking in
structures. Influence of these factors on shrinkage is as follows:
a) Cement content as a general rule, richer the mix, greater the drying
shrinkage. Conversely,
the shrinkage. For the range of aggregate content generally used for
structural concretes, increasing the volume of aggregates by 10 percent can
be expected to reduce shrinkage by about 50 percent 8. Relation
between
17
Figure 2.1: Relation between mix proportion and drying shrinkage of cement
concrete mortar
14
b) Water content Greater the quantity of water used in the mix, greater
the shrinkage. Thus a wet mix has more shrinkage than a dry mix which is
otherwise similar. That explains why a vibrated concrete, which has low
slump, has lesser shrinkage than a manually compacted concrete, which
needs to have greater slump. In terrazo and concrete floors, use of excess
water in the mix (commonly resorted to by masons to save time and lab our
on compaction and screeding) is one of the principal causes of cracking in
such floors. A typical relation between water content and drying shrinkage is
shown in Fig. 2.2.3
d)
Use
of accelerators Use
of calcium Chloride
as
accelerator
in
20
proper curing is started as soon as initial set has taken place and it is
continued for at least 7 to 10 days, drying shrinkage is comparatively less,
because when hardening of concrete takes place under moist environments,
there is initially some expansion which offsets a part of subsequent
shrinkage. Steam curing of concrete blocks at the time of manufacture
reduces
their
liability
to
shrinkage
as
high
temperature
results
in
precarbonation 6.
f)
dust in aggregates
finessilt,
clay,
fine
and
Rightly,
therefore, specifications
well
as
uncrushed
g) Humidity Extent
of
shrinkage
of ambient air. Thus, shrinkage is much less in coastal areas where relative
humidity remains high throughout the year. Low relative humidity may also
cause plastic shrinkage in concrete.
h) Composition of cement Chemical composition of cement used for
concrete and mortar also has some effect on shrinkage. It is less for
cements having greater proportion of tricalcium silicate and lower proportion
of alkalis like sodium and potassium oxides. Rapid hardening cement has
greater shrinkage than ordinary Portland cement.
j)
Temperature
an
important
factor
which
influences
the
water
17
freshly
laid
cement
concrete
set
due
to
happens if concrete surface loses water faster than bleeding action brings it
to top of concrete at the surface results in shrinkage and as concrete in
plastic state cannot resist any tension; short cracks develop in the material.
These cracks may be 5 to 10 cm in depth and their width could be as much
as 3 mm. Once formed these cracks
stay
clay
bricks
(or
other
clay products)
are
fired,
because
also water that forms a part of the molecular structure of clay, is driven out.
18
bricks
start
of
bricks
falls
down,
the moisture-
of
its
chemical
and
in
the
irreversible.
case
temperature,
as
result,
water
absorption
avoid
cracks
in
brickwork
after
these
are
removed
from Kilns
11
termed
as
'temperature reinforcement'.
effect in concrete and is more effective if bars are small in diameter and are
thus closely spaced, so that, only thin cracks which are less perceptible,
occur 6.
19
Thermal
co-efficient
for
brickwork
as
given
above is for
18
18
17
MATERIAL
(1)
(2)
(3)
i)
5 to 7
ii)
10 to 14
concrete
iii)
Sand-lime bricks
iv)
Stones:
a) Igneous rocks
11 to 14
8 to10
(granite, etc)
v)
VI)
b) Limestones
2.4 to 9
c)
1.4 to 1 1
Marble
d) Sandstones
7 to 16
e) Slates
6 to 10
Metals:
a) Aluminum
25
b) Bronze
17.6
c) Copper
17.3
d) Lead
29
11 to 13
Wood
21
gradient
of
in
the
component, resulting in
concrete
roof
slabs,
as
the
material has low conductivity, thermal gradient is quite appreciable and that
causes the slab to arch up and also to move outward due to heat from the
sun. This results in cracks in external walls which support the slab and in the
internal walls that are built up to the soffit of the slab. It is thus very
necessary to provide a layer of adequate thickness of a suitable material
preferably with a good reflective surface over concrete roof slab in order to
minimize cracking in walls.
c) Provision of an Insulating or Protective Layer
If there is a layer of an insulating or heat absorbing material
as protective cover to
acting
d) Internally
Rise
Generated Heat
heat gained from an external source but also due to heat generated
the
material
TABLE
within
HEAT
REFLECTIVITY
CO-EFFICIENT
OF
SOME
COMMON
BUILDING
MATERIALS
Sr.
Material
Reflectivity Co-efficient
No
(1)
(2)
(3)
i)
Asphalt
0.09 to. 17
ii)
G.I. sheets
0.10 to 0.36
0.29 to 0.58
iv)
Brickwork (exposed)
0.30 to 0.58
v)
0.34 to 0.65
iii)
concrete
vi)
Granite (reddish)
0.45
Vii)
Aluminum paint
0.46
viii)
Aluminum sheets
0.47
ix)
Marble (white)
0.56
x)
White paint
0.71
xi)
Whitewash
0.79 to 0.91
23
of
structures
for
unrestrained
movement
of
parts,
by
'control joint' and when the joint permits sliding movement of one
component over another it is termed as 'slip joint. Information given in
Table 5 is intended to serve as a general guide in this regard.
TABLE 5: A GENERAL GUIDE FOR PROVISION OF MOVEMENT JOINTS INBUILDINGS
Type of Structure
Movement of Joints
1.
2.
to 6m length
3.
structure
4.
new structure
5.
Compound walls
6.
Concrete pavement
7.
Chajja
8.
RCC Railing
wider
for
which
IS:
4326-1976
'Code
of
practice
for
19
.
25
When a
there is not much vertical load above the supports, ends of beam/slab curl
up causing cracks in supporting masonry.
Figure 2.5: Details of bearing at the supports for a roof slab of large span
26
c)
When
two
materials,
having
built side by side, under the effect of load, shear stress is set up at the
interface of the two materials,
resulting
in- cracks
at
the junction.
but
also
exhibit
gradual
and
slow
time-dependent
certain
situations,
creep
has
a beneficial
effect
on
the
For
example,
and slow, have less damaging effect on a structure because of creep in the
material. Similarly, if process of curing of concrete and masonry is
discontinued
gradually,
thereby
slowing down
the
pace of drying of
these items, shrinkage stress gets relieved due to creep, and cracking due to
shrinkage is lessened.
MEASURES FOR PREVENTION OF CRACKS DUE TO CREEP
Though it may not be possible to eliminate cracking altogether,
following measures will considerably help in minimization of cracks due to
elastic strain, creep and shrinkage:
1)
2)
3)
Do
not
provide
brickwork
removal
of centering
When brick
brickwork
5)
an
RCC
column,
defer
as much as possible.
undergo initial shrinkage and creep before taking up plaster work. Also,
either provide a groove in the plaster at the junction or fix a 10 cm wide
28
strip of metal
mesh
or
lathing
over
load, for example, cantilevered beams and slabs, removal of centering and
imposition of load should be deferred as
month)
so
that
concrete
load.
materials
result
in
in
products,
weakening
of
masonry,
concrete
of
sulphate
attack
in
a)
b)
c)
proportion
of
tri-calcium
high so as to cause long spells of dampness in the base concrete, the latter
will in
course
of time
swell
up
resulting
15
Figure 2.7: Cracking and Upheaving of a tile floor due to Sulphate Action in base
concrete
30
In
case
of
structural
concrete
in soil exceeds 0.2 percent or in ground water exceeds 300 ppm, use very
dense concrete and either increase richness of mix to 1:1/5:3 or use
sulphate resisting Portland cement/super-sulphated cement or adopt a
combination
of the
two
the soil.
b)
dampness
to
in masonry.
most
conditions
direction
of reinforcement
in
line
with
32
Effect
in
such
depth from the surface and below that depth it becomes negligible. Roots of
fast growing trees, however, cause drying and shrinkage of soil to greater
depth . Effect of soil movement can be avoided or considerably reduced by
taking the foundation 3.5 m deep and using moorum, granular soil or quarry
spoil for filling in foundation trenches and in plinth. Variation in moisture
content of soil under the foundation
of
building
Use
of
under-reamed
piles
all
could
be
round
the
other
cracks
22
an
existing structure.
horizontal
extension
work a deep groove should be formed separating the new work from the old.
If the existing structure is quite long (20 to 25 m), the old and new work
should be separated by an expansion joint with a gap of about 25 to 40 mm
so as to allow some room for unhindered expansion of the two portions of
the building.
spread horizontally on all sides to the extent of height of the tree above the
ground and when trees are located close to a wall; these should always be
viewed with suspicion.
Figure 2.7: Cracking of a compound wall due to growing roots under the
foundation
34
CHAPTER 3
THE CASE STUDY
A case study for causes of cracks and the repair of the main roofing
beams of Hall concrete slab will be presented. This chapter includes the
following:
1- Background
2- Investigation
3- Repair proposals
4- Repair work
5-
3.1 BACKGROUND
The afflicted structure forms part of the Gram Shabha Hall at Lohian.
The building was designed for 500 persons. The building is one story and
it consists of Main Hall with area 20x 30m, kitchen, store , and rooms for
persons. Figure 3.1 shows the layout of the building.
The building was under construction and the work was reached the
finishing stage. Attention was drawn towards the main beams in the Hall
where structural distress in the form of flexural and shear cracking had
been observed. Cracking was first noticed in August and by September; it
had progressed to the extent that the client requested immediate action
by the contractor. Figure 3.2: shows the cracks in the beams.
35
36
3.2 INVESTIGATION
An investigation process was carried out in order to determine the
causes of cracks. The investigation process basically consists of reviewing
technical information, condition survey of the site for visual inspection,
specific field tests to check for strength, reinforcement details, etc. The
investigation process carried out in order to determine the causes of
cracks of Halls beams was included the following phases:
Visual Inspection
The first signs of deterioration in concrete buildings are usually fine
cracks and rust stains which may be accompanied by spalling of concrete.
Visual Inspection is the first step to be taken in order to prepare a
complete investigation to determine the cause, nature and extent of
deterioration. Based on the visual inspection for the main beams of the
Hall, it was observed the following:
37
Cracking of all 12m and 16m span T-beams running along the
length of the building has been observed in the roof slab.
The cracking follows patterns characteristically associated with
flexural and shear failure.
Flexural cracking was spaced at about 200mm intervals along the
span and had extended 600mm up the web of the section.
Diagonal shear cracking was found to be approximately 600mm in
length initiated at approximately 0.5 meter from the support.
Cracks vary in size, from fine cracks (<0.3mm) to large (<2.0mm).
38
Field Investigation
The purpose of this investigation was to determine the compressive
strength and structural adequacy of concrete in the structure, as a result
of visible cracks and doubt in the quality of concrete.
A total of five (5) cores were drilled from the beams of the Hall roof
using a rotohammer drill with a nominal 6 mm bit drilling a hole 30-35
mm deep into concrete
21
after calculating the average cross sectional area of each core. The test
results are shown in the table below and the complete report is attached
in the Appendix.
Core
#
Density
Compressive Strength
(N/m3 )
( N/ mm2 )
21100
12.2
21710
14.1
21620
13.5
22300
14.5
22240
14.9
4
5
39
Therefore,
The lowest individual core compressive strength required:
40
Epoxy Injection
In this solution all cracks should be injected with liquid epoxy resin
type Araldite of grade (GY 25) or equivalent 9.
This solution is acceptable if the factor of safety is reduced from 3.0
to 1.5 and no additional loads to the roof in the future. Also, the beams
must be tested after the completion of the repair work by using load test.
Epoxy Injection easing The Section of The Beams
This solution for keeping the factor of safety equals 3.0 as it is
required by Buildings Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete. In this
solution a new layer of reinforcement should be fitted around the beams
and a layer of concrete pumped using shotcrete.
As an alternative for this solution, steel plates can be installed and
fixed with beams by using epoxy resin bonded to increase the strength of
the beams for the flexure and shear strength.
After reviewing the proposed solutions and the conditions of the
building, the solution of epoxy injection was selected.
continue to the other side of the beam, the nipples were installed
in both sides with staggered distribution.
3- The cracks surfaces were sealed with epoxy in order to keep the
injected epoxy from leaking out.
4- After drying the sealed epoxy, injection process was started using
epoxy. The injection was executed using injected system for
epoxy. The injection was started at the lowest nipple until the
epoxy level reaches the nipple above. The lower nipple was then
capped, and the process was repeated at the higher nipples until
the crack completely filled and all nipples were capped (Figure 3).
The injection process was continued until all cracks completely
injected.
5- After drying the epoxy, the nipples and surfaces sealed were
removed.
6- Information about each crack was recorded in tables include the
crack
After the completion of epoxy injection work, load test was carried
out on the repaired beams in order to ensure the effectiveness of the
repair work and to ensure the integrity for those beams.
The
44
was
calculated
Maximum deflection = Lt2/2000xh.
The results showed that the allowable deflection equals 6.4mm and the
CONCLUSION
Generally
speaking,
additions
and
regard
to
year
of
etc?
What are the specifications of that part of the structure where cracks
have occurred?
When the cracks were first observed? Have
widened
or extended?
the
cracks
since
latter case,
what
is
part
may
be
removed
through
or
not,
cracks
What are the starting and ending points of the cracks? Have these any
relation with the openings and weak sections in the buildings? Do the
46
cracks start above DPC or do these pass through DPC and extend to
the foundation?
What are the geometries of the cracks, that
is,
have cracked
Are the cracks accompanied by a bow in the member, if so, what is the
extent of bow? A bow will indicate buckling of the -member due to
compressive force.
Are there any signs of continuous dampness in the area affected by
cracks? Is the area subjected to severe exposure to rain? Are there
any indications of leakage of water from any source, such as water
supply lines, storage stands, drains, rain, etc.
Are there any signs of general or local subsidence around the
building? Is the building built on shrinkable clay soil? Does it have
shallow foundation? Are there any special features about the growth
of vegetation around the structure?
Do the bricks used in the-job contain excessive quantities of soluble
sulphates? Does the soil or ground water under the structure contain
excessive quantities of soluble sulphates?
Some guidance has also been given for diagnosing causes of cracks that
may have occurred in a structure and suitable remedial measures, where
feasible, have been suggested.
48
REFERENCE
1. ACl manual of concrete practice, Part 1 1976, American Concrete
Institute.
2. Concrete in sulphate-bearing soils and ground waters, British Research
Establishment Digest-174.
3.
224.
in
buildings,
Indian
Standards Institution
6. IS: 456-2000 Code of practice for plain and reinforced concede (third
revision), Indian Standards Institution.
7. IS.-383-1970 Specification for coarse and fine aggregates from natural
sources for concrete (second revision), Indian Standards Institution.
8.
Jai Krishna & Jain (OP), Plain and reinforced concrete, 1968, Vol. 11,
in
reinforced
concrete.
Indian
remedial
measures.
of modern building,
Office, London.
18. Thomas KANNATH ,The performance of high rise masonry structures.
Performance of Buildings Structures,
19. IS: 383-1970 Specification for coarse and fine aggregates from natural
sources for concrete (second revision), Indian Standards Institution.
20. Planning and design of tall building, 1972, Vol. III. Proceedings of
International Conference held at Lehigh University.
50