Concrete Structure Management

Construction projects are undertaken to meet a variety of business, service and aspirational objectives and needs. The success of a building or an element of infrastructure depends on how well it meets the owner's needs and interests or those of the users. Recent changes in owner attitudes to construction are reflected in an increasing interest in through-life costs, i.e. not only the capital costs of construction but also the operational costs associated with a structure's functional performance for a defined life span. The owner can greatly improve the likelihood of achieving the value they seek from the facility by being intimately and effectively involved in the definition of performance requirements at the start of the construction procurement process. The objective of fib Bulletin 44 is to provide guidance to owners of concrete structures on: the management of their concrete structures (buildings and infrastructure) as part of their business goals or the service objectives of their organization; best practice in the management of concrete structures; their responsibilities with respect to the management of their concrete structures; the wider context and issues of service life design; information and direction needed by the supporting professional team of architects, engineers, specifiers, contractors and others. This Guide also provides background information on topics such as deterioration processes and technical procedures used for the management of concrete structures, including reference to international standards for the protection and repair of concrete structures. These activities are illustrated by application examples/case histories and by a section addressing frequently asked questions. A brief review is made of some potential future developments.

The recent worldwide boom in industrial construction and the corresponding billions of dollars spent every year in industrial, oil, gas, and petrochemical and power generation project, has created fierce competition for these projects. Strong management and technical competence will bring your projects in on time and on budget. An in-depth explorat

The idea of preparing a technical document for the repairs and interventions upon concrete structures goes back to the former fib COM5: Structural Service Life Aspects, being the goal of the then TG5.9. After a long period of reduced activity, and taking into account the reorganization of fib commissions that meanwhile took place, on June 2017 a different approach was proposed to push forward the task of TG8.1 (formerly TG5.9). The (new) goal of TG 8.1 was to deliver a ‘how-to-do’ guide, gathering together protection, repair, and strengthening techniques for concrete structures. Chapters are intended to provide both guidelines and case-studies, serving as support to the application of fib MC2020 pre-normative specifications. Each chapter was written by an editorial team comprising desirably at least a researcher, a designer and a contractor. Templates have been prepared in order to harmonize the contents and the presentation of the different methods. Following the writing process, chapters were reviewed by experts and, after amendments by the authors, they underwent a second review process by COM8 and TG3.4 members, as well as by different practitioners. For each protection, repair and strengthening method addressed in this guide, readers have a description of when to adopt it, which materials and systems are required, which techniques are available, and what kind of equipment is needed. It then presents a summary of stakeholders’ roles and qualifications, design guidelines referring to most relevant codes and references, the intervention procedure, quality control measures and monitoring and maintenance activities. Due to the extent of the guide, it was decided to publish it as bulletin 102, addressing protection and repair methods, and bulletin 103, addressing strengthening methods. We would like to thank the authors, reviewers and members of COM8 and TG3.4 for their work in developing this fib Bulletin, which we hope will be useful for professionals working in the field of existing concrete structures, especially those concerned with life-cycle management and conservation activities. As noted above, this Bulletin is also intended to act as a background and supporting document to the next edition of the fib Model Code for Concrete Structures, which is currently under development under the auspices of TG10.1 with the working title of "fib Model Code 2020".

This report is the result of the work of the former FIP Commission 10: Management and strengthening of concrete structures, which replaced to the former FIP Commission 10: Maintenance, operation and use in 1995. The former CEB Commission V: Operation and Use and in particular its Task Group 5.4: Assessment, maintenance and repair also played a role in this report. When in 1998 the FIP merged with the CEB to form the fib, the well advanced writing was completed by a small editorial group. The purpose of the report is twofold: to give an overview of the issues relating to the management of concrete structures in general and to add details about assessment and remedial action, as these are important technical aspects of management and maintenance systems. The more general aspects of asset management are dealt with in Chapter 1, aimed at owners and decision-makers. Chapters 2 and 3, aimed at consultants and contractors, deal with decision-making in the assessment process. A review of remediation techniques is given in Chapter 3, intended to help in the selection of remedial actions rather than in their execution. The report also includes some significant appendices regarding load testing, monitoring and fire, and also special considerations related to seismic retrofitting. Appendix 1 offers keywords that the various actors in this field could use for a common language.

Demolishing and rebuilding is becoming less and less of an option, and developing trends such as the growth of PFI are directing attention to whole life costing. With the relentless drive towards greater sustainability, proper asset management of the existing infrastructure will become increasingly important in the future. This authoritative book draws together deterioration and repair/remediation with practical asset management. Despite the wealth of information there is a lack of clear guidance on how to carry out a practical assessment of concrete structures and manage repair in the field. Accordingly, this book gives solid practical guidance on assessment, and outlines when and how to act. The focus is on engineering aspects and decision-making, in terms of perspective, procedures and principles, while giving references for matters of detail such as test methods and the mechanisms of deterioration. It links deterioration to deficiencies in design, detailing, materials and construction quality. It then gives examples of how asset management systems have evolved for different types of structure in different countries. It shows how to move forward from inspection and diagnosis, through different methods of damage or structural assessment, to the selection of the optimum method of repair or remedial action. The concept of progressive screening is proposed – that is, only going as far as is necessary to reach a decision with confidence. The author has drawn on over thirty years experience on concrete durability and, in particular, on his involvement in three recent European-funded projects, involving collaboration between the owners of structures and researchers.

This guide to good practice focuses on the techniques for the repair and strengthening of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures - covering the planning, design, implementation and monitoring of repair and strengthening projects.