2.4—Reinforcement repair
The most frequent cause of damage to reinforcing steel is
corrosion. Other possible causes of damage are fire,
chemical attack, and accidental cutting. The following basic
preparation and repair procedures may be used for all of
these causes of damage.
After the cause of the damage has been determined, it is
necessary to expose the steel, evaluate its condition, and
prepare the reinforcement for the repair techniques. Proper
steps to prepare the reinforcement helps ensure that the
repair method meets the requirements for the longevity of
the repair solution.
An inexpensive (on a short-term basis) and common
approach to repair of reinforcement corrosion is to replace
concrete only where spalls or delaminations have occurred.
Generally, this approach leaves chloride-contaminated concrete
surrounding the repaired area that is highly conducive to
continued corrosion. The repairs may actually aggravate
corrosion in the area adjacent to them. This is known as the
halo or anodic effect and is discussed more extensively in
Section 4.3.5.
2.4.1 Removal of concrete surrounding steel—The first
step in preparing reinforcing or prestressing steel for repair
or cleaning is removing the deteriorated concrete
surrounding the reinforcement. Care should be used to
ensure that further damage to the reinforcing or prestressing
steel is not caused by the process of removing the concrete.
Impact breakers can heavily damage reinforcing or
prestressing steel if the breaker is used without regard to the
location of the reinforcement. For this reason, a covermeter
or reinforcing bar locator, along with a copy of the structural
drawings (if available), should be used to determine the depth, size, quantity, and approximate location of the
reinforcement in the concrete.
Once the larger areas of unsound concrete have been
removed, a smaller chipping hammer should be used to
remove the concrete in the vicinity of the reinforcement.
Care should be taken not to vibrate the reinforcement or
otherwise cause damage to its bond to concrete adjacent to
the repair area. Drawings and specifications should provide
guidance on development length and lap splices. Specific
language should be provided in the documents that every
precaution be taken to avoid damaging or cutting existing
reinforcement during the concrete removal process
(Section 2.2.2). In addition, no reinforcing bar is to be cut or
removed without the approval of the engineer of record.
Additionally, the engineer should be aware that, in many
instances, the reinforcement is not stressed to the same level
after the completion of the repair, unless the structural
component being repaired has the live and dead loads
removed before and during the repair process. In all cases,
shoring requirements should be reviewed before removing
concrete or cutting reinforcement. The contractor is usually
responsible for shoring. The contract documents should
provide adequate information to the contractor, including
warning, when appropriate, where the contractor should
properly provide the required bracing and shoring.
a) Quantity to remove—All weak, damaged, and easily
removable concrete should be chipped away. If the reinforcing
bars are only partially exposed after all unsound concrete is
removed, it may not be necessary to remove additional
concrete to expose the full circumference of the reinforcement.
When the exposed reinforcing steel has loose rust, corrosion
products, or is not well bonded to the surrounding concrete,
the concrete removal should continue to create a clear space
behind the reinforcing steel of 6 mm (0.25 in.), plus the
dimension of the maximum size aggregate of the repair
material (ICRI 03730).
b) Inspection of reinforcing steel—After all deteriorated
and some sound concrete have been removed, reinforcing steel
should be cleaned and carefully inspected. The inspection
should determine whether the reinforcing steel is capable
of performing as intended by the designer. Damaged
reinforcement may have to be replaced or supplemented,
and the responsible engineer should be consulted. Project
specifications should include criteria whereby decisions
concerning repair or replacement can be made during the
project as reinforcement is exposed, such as lap tables to
establish splice lengths, alternate mechanical splice
parameters, or both, on the project drawings.
c) Cleaning reinforcing steel—All exposed surfaces of the
reinforcement should be thoroughly cleaned of all loose mortar,
rust, oil, and other contaminants. The degree of cleaning
required depends on the repair procedure and material selected.
For limited areas, wire brushing or other hand methods of
cleaning may be acceptable. Generally, sandblasting is the
preferred method. When cleaning the steel and blowing
loose particles out of the repair area after cleaning, neither
the reinforcing steel nor the concrete substrate should be
contaminated with oil from the air compressor. For this reason, either an oil-free compressor or one that has a good
oil trap is recommended.
Freshly cleaned reinforcing steel may rust between the
time it is cleaned and the time concrete is placed. If the rust
that forms is tightly bonded to the steel such that it cannot be
removed by wire brushing, no action is required. If the rust
is loosely bonded so as to inhibit bond between the steel and
the concrete, the reinforcing bars should be cleaned again
before repair material is placed. A protective coating may be
applied to the reinforcement after the initial cleaning has
been completed.
2.4.2 Repair of reinforcement—Mild reinforcing steel and
prestressing steel are used in concrete structures, and two
different repair procedures are necessary. Depending on the
condition of the exposed reinforcement, a decision for a
repair alternative can be made.
2.4.2.1 Mild reinforcing steel—For reinforcing steel, one
or two repair alternatives may be necessary: replacement of
deteriorated bars or supplementing partially deteriorated bars.
Which alternative to use is strictly an engineering decision
based on the purpose of the reinforcement and the required
structural capacity for the reinforced member.
a) Replacement—One method of replacing reinforcement
is to cut out the damaged area and splice in replacement bars.
The length of the lap should conform to the requirements of
ACI 318. If welded splices are used, welding should be
performed in accordance with ACI 318 and American
Welding Society (AWS) D1.4. All welding and cutting
should be performed by a welder AWS certified to the
requirements of AWS D1.4. Butt welding should be avoided
due to the high degree of skill required to perform a full
penetration weld because the back side of a bar is not usually
accessible. Welded splices for bars larger than 25 mm
(No. 8) might present problems because the embedded bars
may get hot enough to expand and crack the surrounding
concrete. Special precautions are necessary when welding
adjacent to unbonded or bonded prestressing steel. Reinforcing
steel splicing can be used to mechanically butt splice the
ends of reinforcement.
Another method of splicing bars is to use mechanical
connections. ACI 439.3R describes commercially available
proprietary mechanical connection devices. Mechanical
connections should meet the requirements of ACI 318.
b) Supplemental reinforcement—This alternative is
selected when the reinforcement has lost cross section, the
original reinforcement was inadequate, or the existing
member needs to be strengthened. The allowable loss of
cross-sectional area of the existing reinforcing steel and the
decision to add supplemental reinforcement should be evaluated
on a case-by-case basis and is the responsibility of the
engineer. The damaged reinforcing bar should be cleaned in
accordance with the guidance in Section 2.4.1.c. The
concrete should be chipped away to allow placement of the
supplemental bar beside the old bar. The length of the
supplemental bar should be equal to the length of the deteriorated
segment of the existing bar plus a lap-splice length on
each end equal to the lap-splice requirements for the
smaller bar diameter, as specified in ACI 318. The supplemental bar may also be lap welded to the original bar in
accordance with AWSD 1.4. When supplemental reinforcement
is placed to strengthen a section, techniques discussed
in Chapter 5 should be considered. Supplemental reinforcement
may be used in some situations to provide additional
anchorage of the concrete repair materials by providing
mechanical anchorage if a bond failure should occur. This
mechanical anchorage is important on repairs to building
façades or overhead repairs.
c) Coating of reinforcement—New and existing bars that
have been cleaned may be coated with epoxy, polymercement
slurry, or a zinc-rich coating for protection against
corrosion. The coating should be applied at a thickness less
than 0.3 mm (12 mils) to minimize loss of bond development
at the deformations. Reinforcing bars that have lost
their original deformations as a result of corrosion and
cleaning have less bond with most repair materials. Coating
of these bars further reduces the bond with repair materials.
Care should be taken during the coating process to avoid
spillage on the parent concrete. Some materials, such as
epoxy or zinc-rich coatings, could act as a bond breaker
between the new repair material and the original concrete.
Other coating materials, such as polymer-cement coatings,
may contain corrosion inhibitors for the reinforcing steel and
bonding agents for the new to old concrete.