Different Types of Failures in RCC

Buildings with Case Studies

Home » Different Types of Failures in RCC Buildings with Case Studies

Types of failures in reinforced concrete buildings such as failure due

to poor concrete quality, reinforcement corrosion, failure of
foundations due to soil etc. with case studies are discussed.

In small residential buildings the quality of construction is seldom

questionable. The reason varies from poor building material quality
to lack of knowledge of good construction practices. Most of the
times, engineers are ignored by individual house owners and
masons are given sole responsibility of both design and
construction.

Almost all structural engineers practicing in India will agree that

99% of the failures of structures in India are not due to design
failure. Explaining the different aspect of construction that a normal
home builder, engineer or contractor needs to remember.

Case Studies of Different Types of Failures in

Reinforced Concrete Buildings:
Case 1: Failure of RCC Column Due to Corrosion of Reinforcement
Observation month : October, 2015
Site condition : Good quality soil, 1 km from sea coast
Observation : Excessive rust in dowel rebars in column
Investigation : The foundation was completed 3 months back and the
dowels were exposed to atmosphere unguarded for 3 months in the
rainy season.
Precaution to be taken : If a rebar or dowel is kept exposed, it should
be covered with cement sand slurry and the coating needs to be
applied every fortnight.
Case 2: Failure of Building Due to Improper transfer of load
Observation month : November, 2015
Site condition : Good quality soil, No engineer consulted
Observation : Poor workmanship (Improper transfer of load due to
poor centering)
Investigation : The centering was done by a normal mason and
proper techniques were not used. Also due to congestion of rebars
at beam column junction the mason avoids compaction which leads
to honeycombing.
Precaution to be taken : Centering has to be done by training centering
masons and site supervision by engineers is necessary during
foundation centering, casting and casting at every slab. Compaction
needs to be done homogeneously at every stage of construction
Case 3: Failure of Reinforced Concrete Structure due to Poor concrete
mix and water quality
Observation month : August, 2015
Site condition : Good quality soil, design by engineer ignored during
construction
Observation : Poor concrete mix and water quality
Investigation : The water quality was not checked before use. After
testing it was found that the concrete did not achieve the desired
strength of 20 MPa due to poor quality of concrete mix and water.
Precaution to be taken : The quality of all building material (cement,
stone chips, sand and water) needs to be checked before mixing.
Also the pH of water should be more than 6, i.e. not acidic. Any
deviation from design should be approved by the structural
engineer.
Case 4: Failure of RCC Structure due to use of Beach Sand in
Construction
Observation month : August, 2015
Site condition : Good quality soil, 1 km from sea coast
Observation : Deep cracks in ground floor columns and concrete
chipping all over the building
Investigation : Beach sand (high salinity) was used for construction.
Also ground water (without chemical testing done) was used in
concrete.
Precaution to be taken : The quality of building materials should follow
the quality norm as mentioned in IS 456: 2008 Section 2. The detail
is given in the chart.
 Fig: Deep cracks formed in RCC Column, Rebar gets exposed
Case 5: Structural Damage to Failure of Soil
Observation month : August, 2015
Site condition : Good quality soil, Good construction quality, no soil
testing done
Observation : Column bars bent due to sudden thunderstorm and
landslide
Investigation : The soil was not tested before construction. Hence
when sudden thunderstorm came and flooding at site occurred, the
soil of straight cut walls failed and the landslide occur.
Precaution to be taken : Soil has to be tested for both chemical
properties and strength before design and construction starts. The
side wall of excavated site should have a slope of more than 30
degrees. In case of weak soil, micropile or wooden sheet pile needs
to be used to arrest soil.
Article by: Priyanka Gupta, Manager, Tata Steel Ltd.