Repair of concrete beams - a case study

This paper reports results of a study conducted to investigate the causes of cracks noted on concrete beams in a student facility on a university campus. Cracks were noted on the beams within 6 months of construction. They increased in size within a month. Field and laboratory investigations were conducted to assess the causes of cracking of the beams. The compressive strength of the concrete cores taken from the beams was found to be less than the specified strength. The cracks were repaired by epoxy injection and the structural integrity of the repaired beams was assessed by conducting load tests. The deflection of the repaired beams, under the imposed test loads, was less than that specified by ACI 318 indicating the efficiency of the repair procedure utilized.