Identifying The Causes Of Crack Patterns: Cracks Mapping & Visual Inspection

It is essential to determine the type and cause of the cracks developed in concrete structure by  cracks mapping  or visual inspection. Additionally, it would take less time and effort to determine the cause of cracks initiation.

What are the types of crack patterns and their causes?

  1. Cracks due to earthquake – Seismic forces can be seen as cracks in both beams and columns.
  2. Cracks due to bending and shear forces – Vertical cracks in the centre of a beam caused by bending moments, and inclined or diagonal cracks close to the beam supports caused by shear stresses.
  3. Cracks due to column settlement – Cracks caused by differential column settling can be found at the top of the settled column and on the top side of the slab next to the settled column.
  4. Cracks due to ground condition changes – Low-temperature cracks are depicted in (a) above, while dryness-related crack maps are given in (b).
  5. Cracks due to concrete settling – The cracks that run horizontally reveals concrete settling is the reason for it.
  6. Cracks due to sinking of timbering – Such types of cracks in reinforced concrete elements are the result of improper formwork.
  7. Cracks due to bowing of formwork – Cracks along the length of the formwork that have significantly bent or deflected.
  8. Map of cracks caused by abnormal set of cement – A pattern of cracks has formed as a result of the unusual cement setting.
  9. Cracks due to insufficient reinforcements – Cracks that have formed as a result of insufficient reinforcing ratio. The beam’s span was where the cracks started to appear.
  10. Cracks due to atmospheric conditions – Because of fluctuations in the climatic conditions, such as high temperatures or wetness, a pattern of cracks appeared in the structural wall.
  11. Crack pattern of fire effect – Reinforced concrete columns and beams that have developed cracks as a result of exposure to fire.
  12. Cracks due to non-uniformity of admixture – The cracks found to be caused by non-uniformity of admixture in concrete.
  13. Cracks due to steel rusting – Steel bar rusting, which is brought on by carbonation and chloride ions, is a common reason for structural damage.
  14. Cracks due to concrete sinking – Around the steel bars is where the cracks first appeared and then grew.
  15. Cracks due to loss of workability – Resulted from mixing concrete for too long or too long time of concrete transportation.
  16. Cracks due to unsuitable process at construction joint

Key Takeaways

It is important that we should learn and identify the crack patterns accordingly. The importance of identifying the crack patterns includes:
  1. Safety – It is arguably the most vital factor to consider when identifying about concrete cracks. Cracks in concrete can occasionally be a sign of a building’s structural stability. As a result, a crack in the concrete could indicate the impending catastrophic failure of a key component of the building’s structure, such as a concrete post, the perimeter foundation, or the basement wall.
  2. Reduce repair cost – Property owners will have a better notion of what mitigating measures to use, where to use them, and how to employ them if they are aware of the fundamentals of concrete cracks, their causes, and the various repair choices. A shrinking crack is an illustration of this. Shrinkage cracks may appear exceedingly foreboding and worrisome to the untrained eye. If the property owners don’t take reasonable precautions, they may find up spending more than necessary to address what is typically a cosmetic issue.
  3. Evaluate of urgency of repair – Understanding the fundamentals of concrete cracks will help property owners determine how urgently repairs must be made. For instance, cracks caused by one-time, uniform foundation settlement may not need repairs as urgently as cracks which are still an active problem. Knowing about concrete cracks can at the very least help property owners understand how important it is to seek professional guidance when faced with various forms of concrete cracks.
In order to create a usable image of why and how to address these cracks , cracks on a plan are mapped out, including joint positions, joint types, and any places of constraint which is known as cracks mapping.

Dilapidations Surveys , commonly referred to as Condition Reports, are thorough examinations done to document the state of an existing concrete slab. Dilapidation studies typically examine surface deterioration, excessive staining and pollution, as well as wear and tear on the concrete slab.

Structural Repairs (M) Sdn Bhd offers a variety of dilapidation surveys, from surface condition to in-depth structural inspections and analysis. We have more than 30 years of experience in this industry.

We do provide free consultation! Please do not hesitate to contact us if you see cracks on your building structures!

Our team will be happy and glad to assist you.

Kindly visit to our website at  https://structuralrepairs.com.my/ or contact us at Tel: +603-91731728/29 Whatsapp: +60 12-334 9113
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