STRUCTURAL APPRAISAL OF REINFORCED CONCRETE BUILDINGS - MATERIAL ASSESSMENT AND VISUAL INSPECTION . PROCEEDINGS OF 3RD INTERNATIOAL CONFERENCE ON DETERIORATION AND REPAIR OF REINFORCED CONCRETE IN THE ARABIAN GULF, BAHRAIN, OCTOBER 21-24 1989. VOLUME 1.

Structural appraisal of existing buildings is fast becoming an important activity in the world of structural engineering especially in reinforced concrete buildings. More and more structures are now suffering from defects, deterioration and failures, which could be attributed to several factors ranging from improper maintenance to gross misjudgement during the design process. In reinforced concrete, strength assessment of materials namely steel and concrete, analysis of the structural system and visual inspection, all play important roles in the general structural appraisal of existing structures. Visual inspection is an important feature in any in-situ testings regardless of the aims of the test programme. Visual inspection can provide valuable preliminary information on the causes of defects in the structure and it may form a basis for the structural appraisal of the affected building. This paper attempts to show how visual features and non-destructive testings can indicate standard of workmanship and degree of structural serviceability and material deterioration in reinforced concrete buildings - especially from the Malaysian scenario.(A) For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 828897.