Carrying out patch repairs to historic concrete buildings and structures needs to be done carefully if their cultural value and significance is to be maintained. This often means repairs using custom designed materials and mixes for compatibility with the original concrete, and with great care paid to good workmanship. But with most repairs, commercial mixes are used which are not compatible with the host concrete but are justified because they adhere well, cure quickly and require limited skills to implement. A research collaboration has been established to test the performance of both approaches. The Performance Evaluation of Patch Repairs on Historic Concrete Structures (PEPS) began in 2018 and is a collaboration between the Getty Conservation Institute, Historic England and the Laboratoire de Recherche des Monuments Historiques. Its purpose is also to better understand key design and specification parameters and application methods. The research is based on assessing case studies in USA, England and France within a variety of climatic and environmental conditions, typologies and repair materials. This paper will present the methodology adopted to evaluate the repairs in the first phase. This will also include historical research on the specification and application of the repairs, preliminary field assessment and some testing.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present current challenges in concrete conservation and how the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) is responding to these challenges. The Concrete Conservation Project initiated by the GCI is aimed at advancing the practice of conserving historic concrete structures through the creation and dissemination of information. Design/methodology/approach The scope of the project was defined through discussions in experts meetings, development of annotated bibliography and literature review. The project proposes to face the identified issues with the dissemination of information on case studies, development of guidance documents, training opportunities and scientific research. Findings Despite the existing well-established repair industry for concrete structures generally, current data on concrete repair do not meet the needs of conservation professionals, there is little information on the efficacy and durability of existing repair solutions, shortage of training opportunities, and there is a lack of technical guidelines focused on concrete conservation. Originality/value Conserving concrete is a nascent area of preservation practice facing multiple challenges. Reinforced concrete is the most commonly used building material of the twentieth century. As the heritage of the twentieth century is increasingly recognized as worthy of conservation, conserving concrete has become a priority. The history of this material reveals a story of innovation, radical advancement in material and structural engineering, and correspondingly daring responses by architects, together creating a huge array of reinforced concrete structures from the ordinary to the extraordinary.
While there have been many studies on the performance criteria of concrete patch repairs, there are few specific studies on the long-term performance of patch repairs designed to preserve the aesthetic significance of the original fabric of culturally significant concrete structures. In order to address this issue, the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), Historic England (HE) and the Laboratoire de Recherche des Monuments Historiques (LRMH) commenced work on an international collaborative research project, ‘Performance Evaluation of Patch Repairs on Historic Concrete Structures’ (PEPS). Begun in 2018, the PEPS project aims to produce practical guidance that will help those repairing historic concrete through the assessment of case studies in the USA, England and France within a variety of climatic and environmental conditions, typologies and repair materials. The operational phases of the research project consist of in situ tests and laboratory analysis performed on both the original concrete and previous patch repairs. This paper provides an overview of the assessment methodology that has been developed by an inter-disciplinary team of professionals working in the field of concrete conservation, and includes a variety of traditional and non-traditional non-destructive, mechanical, chemical, and electro-chemical characterization and diagnostic techniques.
The development of reinforced concrete through the 20th century has resulted in a wealth of culturally significant concrete structures around the world. However, as a relatively modern material durability issues were not fully understood at the time of construction, and many of these structures require ongoing interventions as a result. While there is now a general acceptance of the importance of concrete heritage from this era, there few widely accepted guidelines on the approach to its preservation and conservation. In particular, despite many studies and published guidance on concrete repair and the performance of concrete repairs, there are few on the long-term performance of patch repairs designed to match the aesthetic of the original while simultaneously keeping loss of the original fabric to a minimum. As a response to this challenge, three institutions, the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), Historic England (HE) and Laboratoire de Recherche des Monuments Historiques (LRMH) are collaborating on The Performance Evaluation of Patch Repairs on Historic Concrete Structures (PEPS) to produce practical guidance that will help those repairing historic concrete. This paper provides an overview of the assessment methodology that has been developed as part of this international collaboration.
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