Book Description

PREFACE Repair and Rehabilitation of structures is a topic that has gained considerable importance in the past three decades. Building structures for the residential, commercial and infrastructure applications have to be inspected and maintained in order to fulfil the functional purpose of the particular structure. Especially in the case of infrastructure, wherein the capital costs are high, timely repair and rehabilitation is vital to keep the wheels of a country’s logistics chain in good shape. To ensure such tasks are implemented properly, the correct choice of materials and repair methodology along with proper assessment strategies are needed. Repair and Rehabilitation has therefore become a specialized field of expertise based on the wide variety of construction chemicals now available. Target Readership The book covers in full the topics prescribed for the Master’s Degree students of Engineering. However, given the fact that a vast number of building structures require urgent attention to implement proper repair strategies, a wide gamut of the topics are covered to facilitate a single knowledge source for consultants and academics alike. Book Material The Book starts with a short historical perspective on the type and load path of traditional building structures, materials used and a comparison made with the present. Causes, nature and types of deterioration of structures are discussed at length for structural and non -structural elements. Damage assessment methods, both qualitative and quantitative methods are dealt, starting with visual inspection evaluation procedures, data collection for building structures with particular emphasis on earthquake damaged structures. A comprehensive list of materials with their basic physical and chemical characteristics used in construction-chemical admixtures, coatings, non-metallic FRP reinforcements, anchor fasteners and materials for seismic base isolation are listed. Repair methodology is explained in a detailed manner for various types of buildings structures including underwater repair. Case studies of Repair and Restoration of some buildings and Infrastructure projects including Dams including the Takami and Makubetsu Dams in Japan, Morandi Bridge Italy, and prestressed concrete footbridgein Florida, are enumerated to present the practical assessment and repair methodologies adopted. The special topics covered in this book are Structural health monitoring and Demolition techniques, Repair and restoration of Heritage structures with typical case studies such as the leaning Tower of Pisa etc. Lastly, Research topics in this emerging area of repair are suggested. R N Krishna A R Santhakumar