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Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 2

2. PROJECT DETAILS ....................................................................................................... 3

3. DIAGNOSIS & EVALUATION OF CONCRETE STRUCTURES USING NON

DESTRUCTIVE TECHNIQUES ..............................................................................................4

4. NDT METHODS & THEIR OPERATING PRINCIPLES ......................................................5

a. SURFACE HARDNESS TEST ......................................................................................6

b. COVER SURVEY/ REBAR ORIENTATION TEST .........................................................7

c. HOMOGENEITY by ULTRASONIC PULSE VELOCITY ............................................... 8

5. FIELD APPLICATION METHOD ..................................................................................10

6. TEST DATAS ...............................................................................................................13

a. SURFACE HARDNESS ............................................................................................14

b. COVER SURVEY/ REBAR ORIENTATION ...............................................................25

c. HOMOGENEITY.....................................................................................................26

7. SUMMARY OF TEST RESULTS .....................................................................................27

8. PICTORIAL PRESENTATION ......................................................................................29

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1. INTRODUCTION

“create acme associates” was founded in 1999 as a totally specialized agency

for investigation, diagnosis and rehabilitation of structures. Investigations are for
deterioration due to ageing, functional deterioration, earthquake damaged
structures, and blast damaged structures. The Non – Destructive Testing Unit was
established later on expansion of services necessitated us to enlarge into Proof
Checking of designs, Quality Audit and Third-Party Inspection etc.

“create acme associates”, develops, innovative methods for condition

assessment, Post Restoration Non-Destructive Testing and Residual Life Analysis of
structures.

“create acme associates” assists owners, Contractors, Engineering Consultants in

rehabilitation of structures damaged due to blast, Earthquake, age, offer
diagnosing using innovative technologies.
“create acme associates” has long track of expertise in investigation and
diagnosis of structures for their serviceability and performance. The investigation
is carried out using wide variety of Non-Destructive Testing instruments for
condition assessment. All necessary additional data also collected for laboratory
investigations.

Investigations are carried out for buildings, infrastructures, hydraulic structures,

plants, etc.

1. Assessment of structures damaged by Earthquake, blasts, fire,

functionally deteriorating.

2. Assessment of quality of construction.

3. Assessment of structure for further expansion / change of use.

4. Assessment of ageing structures for safety and serviceability.

We perform:

 Onsite inspection when and where possible. Our engineers examine the
problem first-hand and make recommendations for further evaluation.
 Offsite evaluation where distance and time do not permit. Client in
consultation with our engineers send a sample(s) for appropriate testing
and report back to the client on condition of the structure.

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2. PROJECT DETAILS

Project Name: Retrofit Work of Care Home Building

Address: Dhapakhel, Lalitpur
Test Location: Beam, Column and Slab
Tests Conducted: Schmidt Hammer, Homogeneity Test/
Ultrasonic Pulse velocity Test and Rebar Orientation Test

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3. DIAGNOSIS & EVALUATION OF CONCRETE STRUCTURES USING NON

DESTRUCTIVE TECHNIQUES

Non Destructive Testing is defined as a method used to investigate the integrity of

an object, material or system without impairing its future usefulness or the use of
noninvasive techniques to determine the integrity of a material, component or
structure

More and more structures of today require use of building material which results
in high performance. These materials and the structures need to be assessed for
their conditions. Damage is localized by non-destructive methods without
inflecting new damage on the examined by the test method themselves. The
technological advances in this field and the knowledge thereof help avoid
additional expenditure.

Non-destructive test methods are applied to concrete structure for four primary
reasons:

• Quality control of new construction;

• troubleshooting of problems with new construction;
• Condition evaluation of older concrete for rehabilitation purposes; and
• Quality assurance of concrete repairs.

Nondestructive test methods are increasingly applied for the investigation of

concrete structures. This increase in the application of NDT methods is due to a
number of factors:

• Technological improvements in hardware and software for data collection and

analysis;
• The economic advantages in assessing large volumes of concrete compared
with coring;
• Ability to perform rapid, comprehensive assessments of existing construction;
and
• Specification of NDT methods for quality assurance of deep foundations and
concrete repairs.

Traditionally, quality assurance of concrete construction has been performed

largely by visual inspection of the construction process and by sampling the
concrete for performing standard tests on fresh and hardened specimens. This
approach does not provide data on the in-place properties of concrete. NDT
methods offer the advantage of providing information on the in-place properties
of hardened concrete, such as the elastic constants, density, resistivity, moisture
Content and penetrability characteristics.

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4. NDT METHODS & THEIR OPERATING PRINCIPLES

Some of the important NDT methods and their operating principles are briefly
described herein: The NDT methods are categorized as “Mechanical” methods
and “Electrical” methods. Mechanical methods are further divided into seismic,
ultrasonic, hammer and acoustic methods. Electrical Methods are further divided
in radar, resistivity and electromagnetic methods.

Method Adopted for Testing of various RC Components:

Mechanical Method:

a. SURFACE HARDNESS TEST

b. HOMOGENEITY TEST/ ULTRASONIC PULSE VELOCITY TEST
c. REBAR ORIENTATION TEST

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a. SURFACE HARDNESS TEST

INTRODUCTION:
Surface Hardness Tests are of indentation type and include impact hammers like
rebound hammers. These are used only for estimation of concrete strength. It is
also known as impact hammer test or accelerometer test, and is based on the
principle that rebound of an elastic mass depends on the hardness of the surface
against which the mass impinges. It measures the elastic rebound of concrete
and is primarily used for the estimation of concrete strength and for comparative
investigations.

OBJECTIVE:
The surface hardness test could be used for (IS: 13311 Part 2-1992):
- Assessing the likely compressive strength of concrete with the help of
suitable co-relations between rebound index and compressive strength.
- Assessing the uniformity of concrete.
- Assessing the quality of the concrete in relation to standard requirements,
and
- Assessing the quality of one element of concrete in relation to another

Note: The rebound hammer method can be used with greater confidence for
differentiating between the questionable and acceptable parts of a structure
or for relative comparison between two different structures.

DESCRIPTION:
The hammer consists of a spring-controlled mass that slides on a plunger within a
tubular housing. When the plunger is pressed against, the surface of concrete, it
retracts against the force of the spring. When completely retracted the spring is
automatically released. On the spring-controlled mass rebound, it takes the rider
with it along the guide scale. By pushing a button, the rider can be held in
position to allow readings to be taken.

Test: Surface Hardness

Equipment: SCHMIDT HAMMER, Proceq, Switzerland

FACTORS AFFECTING THE RESULTS OF SURFACE HARDNESS

TEST:
The factors that can affect the results of the surface hardness tests are as follows:
- Surface smoothness
- Age of material being tested
- Moisture Content
- Type of Cement
- Carbonation of concrete depth
- Type of coarse aggregate

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b. COVER SURVEY/ REBAR ORIENTATION TEST

INTRODUCTION:

Cover Survey/ Rebar Orientation test is carried out to locate the Reinforcement
bars and to estimate the diameter as well as the depth of cover of the bar. Such
equipment is called COVERMETER. The pulse current method is adopted for
detecting cover in concrete. The basic principle of this method is the interaction
between the reinforcement bars and low frequency electromagnetic Field
generated by the equipment (Magnetic Flux Method).

The provision of sufficient cover thickness is possibly the most important aspect of
preventing corrosion. If the cover is not achieved with reasonable consistency,
structures will fail prematurely, possibly spectacularly.

Test: Cover Survey, Clear Cover Contour,

Rebar Orientation/ Detection
Equipment: PROFOMETER, Proceq, Switzerland
PROFOSCOPE, Proceq, Switzerland

OBJECTIVE:
The objectives of cover meter are as follows:
- Quality control to ensure correct location and cover to reinforcement bar
after concrete placement
- Investigation of concrete members for which records are not available or
need to be checked
- Location of reinforcement as a preliminary to some other form of testing in
which reinforcement should be avoided or its nature taken into account
- Location of buried ferromagnetic objects other than reinforcement

LIMITATIONS:
The limitations of the method are as follows:
- It is very slow and labor intensive.
- The results are affected by the presence of more than one reinforcing bar
in the test area by laps, by second layers, by metal tie wires and by
supports.
- The iron content in the aggregates also affect the readings
- The accuracy is reduced if rough or undulating surfaces are present.
- Interference effects will occur if metallic objects are present nearby such
as window fixings, scaffoldings, steel pipes etc.

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c. HOMOGENEITY by ULTRASONIC PULSE VELOCITY

INTRODUCTION:
This method is also known as stress wave propagation Method. In this method,
Ultra Sonic Waves are transmitted through the Transducer which travels through
the concrete and is received by the Receiver. The time taken by the wave to
travel through the concrete is measured and relating it with the path length the
velocity is calculated.

The method is based on the principle that the pulse velocity passing through the
concrete is primarily dependent upon the density and elastic properties of the
materials and is independent of geometry. The equipment consists essentially of
an electrical pulse generator, a pair of transducers, an amplifier and an
electronic timing device for measuring the time interval between the initiation of
a pulse generated at the transmitting transducer and its arrival at the receiving
transducer.

OBJECTIVE:
Measurement of the velocity of ultrasonic pulses of longitudinal vibrations passing
through concrete may be used for the following applications:

- determination of the uniformity of concrete in and between members

- measurement of changes occurring with time in the properties of concrete
- correlation of pulse velocity and strength as a measure of concrete quality
- determination of the modulus of elasticity

The test is used to assess the homogeneity and quality of concrete. Any flaws or
any deterioration of concrete can easily be detected. This test is even to
estimate strength of in-situ concrete.

When a region of low compaction, voids or

damaged material is present in the concrete
under test, a corresponding reduction in the
calculated pulse velocity occurs and this enables
the approximate extent of the imperfections to be
determined. As concrete matures or deteriorates,
the changes, which occur with time in its structure,
are reflected in either an increase or a decrease,
respectively, in the pulse velocity. This enables
changes to be monitored by making tests at
appropriate intervals of time.

Test: Uniformity / Homogeneity Determination

(Voids, Cracks, Delamination, Honey Combing
etc.)
Equipment: PUNDIT LAB, Proceq, Switzerland

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a) Effects of defects on travel time of ultrasonic pulse; and

(b) schematic of through-transmission test system.

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5. FIELD APPLICATION METHOD

For carrying out various Non-Destructive Tests, different element of the structures
(beam / column / slab) was marked by a grid and the grid locations were
numbered. In an area not exceeding 300 mm square, no. of readings were taken
(10 consistent readings were required). The locations at which readings were
taken, was not closer than 25 mm. The surface preparation was done prior to
carrying out the tests, thus, the surface was smooth, clean and dry.

NB.: Any areas which are rough due to poor compaction, grout loss, spalling or
tooling must be avoided.

REBOUND HAMMER: All beams, columns and slabs were scanned at 0.3 m
intervals.

The readings at a location (300 x 300 mm Square) were averaged and all
readings differing from the average by a number more than 7 were discarded.
The average value of remaining readings was taken. If more than two readings
differed from the average by more than 7, all readings were discarded and fresh
readings were taken.

Select a concrete surface that is:

• Smooth, dry, and fixed in place
• At least 4 inches (or 102 mm) thick
• Mature— at least 14 days old
• Free of any decay or scaling

Surfaces to Avoid

Avoid testing concrete that is:

• Frozen
• Honeycombed or excessively porous
• Known to have rebar 2 cm or less below the surface
• Carbonated on the surface

COVER & REBAR DETECTION: COVER & REBAR DETECTION: All beams, columns
and slabs were scanned at a height 0f 1.00 m from the base & for proof checking
all beams, columns and slabs were scanned at an interval of 0.5 m.

Rebar Readings are taken after the formation of a grid. The reading is taken at
the Least Magnetic Disturbance Location.

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Note:
- As the alignment of reinforcement bars are assumed to be symmetrical,
hence cover survey/ rebar detection tests were carried out for 2 adjacent
faces in RC – Members (Beam & Column)
- Data provided for cover survey/ rebar detection shall be read as follows:
COVER ← 45/22 → BAR DIAMETER
- The unit for the above data shall be in mm.
- Details for cover survey/ rebar detection shall be followed as per modified
X – Section drawing provided by ‘create acme associates’

ULTRASONIC PULSE VELOCITY: All beams, columns and slabs were scanned at
0.75 m intervals.

To make measurements of pulse velocity by placing the two transducers on

either:
- opposite faces (direct transmission)
- adjacent faces (semi-direct transmission): or
- The same face (indirect or surface transmission).

These three arrangements are shown in Figs. (a), (b) and (c).

FIG. (a): Direct transmission. FIG. (b): Semi-direct transmission.

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Figure (c): Indirect or surface transmission.

Where possible the direct transmission arrangement should be used since the
transfer of energy between transducers is at its maximum and the accuracy of
velocity determination is therefore governed principally by the accuracy of the
path length measurement.

The Following should be taken into consideration during testing:

- Test should be conducted in smooth/ Uniform Surface
- Proper Couplant should be used.
- Moist surface should be avoided
- Avoid areas with rebar congestion.

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6. TEST DATAS

a. Surface Hardness
b. Cover Survey/ Rebar Orientation
c. Homogeneity

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a. SURFACE HARDNESS
1.Floor: Ground
Element: Column
Location: C-1

2.Floor: Ground
Element: Column
Location: C-2

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3.Floor: Ground
Element: column
Location: C-3

4.Floor: Ground
Element: Column
Location: C-4 (Staircase Side)

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5.Floor: Ground
Element: Beam
Location: MB-1

6.Floor: Ground
Element: Beam
Location: MB-2

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7.Floor: First
Element: Beam
Location: MB-3 (Staircase Side)

8.Floor: First
Element: Column
Location: C-4 (Staircase Side)

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9.Floor: First
Element: Beam
Location: MB-1

10.Floor: First
Element: Beam
Location: MB-2

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11.Floor: Ground
Element: Slab
Location: S-2

12.Floor: Second
Element: Beam
Location: MB-2

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13.Floor: First
Element: Column
Location: C-1

14.Floor: First
Element: Column
Location: C-2

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15.Floor: First
Element: Column
Location: C-3

16.Floor: Ground
Element: Slab
Location: S-1

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17.Floor: Second
Element: Column
Location: C-2

18.Floor: Second
Element: Column
Location: C-4 (Staircase Side)

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19.Floor: Second
Element: Beam
Location: MB-3 (Staircase Side)

20.Floor: First
Element: Slab
Location: S-1

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21.Floor: First
Element: Slab
Location: S-2

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b. COVER SURVEY/ REBAR ORIENTATION

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c. HOMOGENEITY

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7. SUMMARY OF TEST RESULTS

a. SURFACE HARDNESS using REBOUND HAMMER TECHNIQUE / SCHMIDT

HAMMER

Rebound Hammer Test: The rebound hammer nos. indicates the surface
hardness, and as it works on the basic assumption that higher the hardness
of surface of the concrete, higher is the strength. The summary of the
surface hardness test is as follows:

TEST COMP.
S. No. ELEMENT Floor REMARKS
POINT STRENGTH (MPa)
1 Column Ground C-1 14.5
2 Column Ground C-2 12.5
3 Column Ground C-3 11.5
4 Column Ground C-4 17.5
5 Beam Ground MB-1 9.0
6 Beam Ground MB-2 19.5
7 Beam First MB-3 39.5
8 Column First C-4 21.0
9 Beam First MB-1 24.0
10 Beam First MB-2 13.5
11 Slab Ground S-2 15.0
12 Beam Second MB-2 11.5
13 Column First C-1 24.0
14 Column First C-2 8.5
15 Column First C-3 17.0
16 Slab Ground S-1 22.5
17 Column Second C-2 20.0
18 Column Second C-4 23.0
19 Beam Second MB-3 54.5
20 Slab First S-1 10.0
21 Slab First S-2 14.5

b. COVER SURVEY/ REBAR ORIENTATION

Clear Cover Contour: The scanning indicates that the clear cover/ reinforcement
spacing/ reinforcement numbers/ tentative reinforcement size provided is
uniform / not uniform in various RC Components.

Rebar Detection: The scanning indicates that the various dimensions of rebars in
the various RC Components.

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c. HOMOGENIETY of Concrete using ULTRASONIC PULSE VELOCITY

USPV test assesses and indicates the integrity & uniformity of concrete
components. U.S.P.V results do not indicate directly the strength of concrete;
however, they are useful in assessing the variability of concrete quality over the
entire structure. The sample test results are confirming the interpretation of
rebound hammer test that the variability of concrete quality in the structure is
within acceptable limits.

As per IS Code [IS13311 (Part 1): 1992],

S. No. Pulse Velocity Concrete Quality Remarks
1 Above 4500 m/s Excellent
2 Between (4500 – 3500) m/s Good
3 Between (3500 – 3000) m/s Medium
4 Below 3000 m/s Doubtful *

*If the concrete quality falls under the doubtful category as per the velocity reading, it signifies
that there is a high probability of presence of Voids/ Honey Combs in the concrete.

Velocity more Than 4.5 Km/s Indicates Excellent Quality of Concrete. Range of
velocity 3.5 to 4.5 Km/ sec indicates quality of concrete, which is better than the
normal requirements of acceptability. Concrete above 3.0 Km/ Sec can be
considered as satisfactory. Concrete below 3.0 Km/ Sec is of doubtful nature.

As the clear cover is very high, the reinforcement bars could not be detected at
several locations.

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8. PICTORIAL PRESENTATION
Homogeneity Test:

Surface Hardness Test:

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Rebar Orientation Test:

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