Concrete became the most preferred material for building construction years ago.  Just to give you some idea about the immensity of concrete — according to Wikipedia, “The cement industry in the United States produced 82.8 million tonnes of cement, worth US$9.8 billion in 2015, and it was used to manufacture concrete worth about US$50 billion.”

 

 

Even if you do not know the statistics, you can easily tell from your experience in the construction industry how concrete has replaced other building materials.

We are not going into the history of concrete; instead, we are looking into the role of concrete scanning, coring and testing in a concrete structure.  The moment a concrete structure is erected, there is an immediate need for concrete scanning, coring and testing.

Role of Concrete Scanning

Concrete scanning is the process of inspecting concrete structures and locating subsurface features. It is performed using a non-destructive technique, like GPR scanning.

   

Concrete structure maintenance engineers use concrete scanning with GPR for void detection during a maintenance visit.

Electrical technicians use concrete scanning to locate rebar’s, PT cables and electrical conduits that help minimize the risk of damaging PT cables or electric wires during a drilling process.

Structural engineers use concrete scanning to measure the slab thickness, and detect reinforced steel bars, to inspect a concrete structure and propose changes.

Role of Concrete Coring

Concrete coring is the process of making precise circular cuts in concrete using coring equipment.  Every large scale project requires coring operations to facilitate the finishing works.  The application of concrete coring includes:

 

 

Creating precise circular openings in walls and slabs for plumbing, electrical, cabling and HVAC installation operations.

Use of concrete coring by quality testing engineers to extract a concrete core from the existing structure for strength testing.

Used for creating openings for utility construction.

Role of Non-Destructive Concrete Testing  

Concrete testing is a process of performing various tests on a concrete structure to find its structural properties, like compressive and tensile strength.  Common non-destructive concrete testing techniques include Windsor probe testing; Anchors pull testing and concrete delamination testing.

   

Windsor probe concrete testing is used to measure the compressive strength of concrete to ensure its structural integrity.

Anchors pull testing is used to measure the pull-out strength of industrial fixings including Anchor bolt, scaffold anchors and safety lifeline anchors. It helps to ensure legal compliance and safety in the construction industry.  Engineers perform this test to determine the reliability and load capacity of fixings.

Sounding is used for detecting concrete delamination in the concrete structure. Maintenance engineers use it to diagnose and repair concrete structures.

If you need any concrete testing services, at Concrete Insight we offer a complete solution covering a wide range of services including GPR for concrete scanning, core drilling, Windsor probe testing and other testing services.