Structural Integrity Assessment by Destructive Testing and Non-Destructive Testing

Abstract

Integrity assessment of various components of concrete structures is becoming increasingly important for both economic and safety reasons in Bangladesh context. Non-engineered constructions of buildings are very common in Bangladesh. There are many reinforced concrete (RC) frame buildings which have been constructed without any consideration to resist earthquake forces or without following current code of Earthquake Resistance Design. For such type of seismically deficient buildings, a quick Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) and Destructive Testing (DT) assessment could be a good approach for safety measurement of buildings within considerable cost. Destructive and Non-Destructive tests are widely applied to study the mechanical properties and integrity of concrete structures. In this study, a six (6) storied reinforced cement concrete (RCC) garments factory building was selected and assessed its structural integrity through DT and NDT testing.  To evaluate the condition of existing structures against different loading patterns, several destructive and non-destructive tests have been conducted. As non-destructive testing, Ferro-scanner, Rebar detector, Ultrasonic device, rebound hammer have been introduced to assess building vulnerability. As destructive testing, cylindrical specimens (cores) from different structural elements have been collected to determine the compressive strength of the in-situ concrete.  The present work deals with DT and NDT on existing structural elements and major findings obtained from the analysis of the surveyed data.