Research on Repair of RC Columns presented at the XIV DBMC - Ghent, Belgium

One of the sessions was held at the mezzanine with exposed timber trussed frames

Prof. Andres Oreta presented the research, "Investigation of Concrete Mixtures for the Concrete Cover Repairs of RC Square Columns," an undergraduate research by Anna Francesca Del Castillo, Romwell Louis Tan and Sarah Linette Cornejo at 14th International Conference on Durability of Building Materials & Components (XIV DBMC) held at University of Ghent, Belgium on May 29-31, 2017. The venue was "Het Pand", a former Dominican monastery which is also the cultural centre of the university. 

The paper explores the effect of various types of concrete mixtures  in the repair of the concrete cover of rectangular RC columns.  In this study, two types of admixtures – one with waterproofing admixture and another with water reducer admixture were used as a replacement to the “spalled “ concrete cover. The repaired columns were tested uni-axially to investigate the effect of the concrete cover on the axial capacity of the columns. Based on this study, the concrete mixture with the water-reducing admixture replacing the  damaged concrete cover of  rectangular columns showed the most positive effects such as (a) a significant increase of  the confined compressive strength, (b) an increase in the ductility as reflected by the large displacements at the peak and ultimate conditions, and (c) reduction in the lateral strain of the steel ties at peak values showing its effectiveness in confinement of the RC column.

Among the interesting and related researches presented in the plenary and keynote sessions were:

• 3D printed concrete - beyond durability? 
• Advanced high-resolution X-ray CT as a characterization tool to study building materials
• A novel approach towards conservation of the world heritage RC building in Japan
• Durability of Concrete Prepared with Ternary Binder Systems Involving Limestone and Calcined clay
• SEACON Project : sustainable concrete using seawater, salt-contaminated aggregates, and non-corrosive reinforcement
• Physical and mechanical properties of recycled concrete aggregate exposed to natural and accelerated carbonation
• Improving the quality of various types of recycled aggregates by biodeposition
• Applicability of non/minor destructive test methods for evaluation of material properties of existing timber structures
• The influence of estimated service life on the embodied emissions of zero emission buildings (ZEBs) when choosing low-carbon building products
• Probabilistic evaluation of the concrete durability subject to accelerated decay by salt crystallization

The venue was "Het Pand", a former Dominican monastery

Acknowledgement: Dr. Jason Maximino Ongpeng for the ISI publication, VCA Faculty Development Funds for ISI Publications