1

Cracking and Leakage at Reinforced

Concrete Pomona Reservoir 5C

Piotr D. Moncarz, Ph.D., P.E.

Patxi Uriz, Ph.D., P.E.

Reservoir 5C
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Introduction and Summary

ƒ Concerns about integrity and serviceability
ƒ Exponent inspections and analysis Reservoir 5C

ƒ Design and construction errors led to inadequate

performance
ƒ Structural safety of the tank not significantly
impacted
ƒ Heightened repairs and maintenance required Defects

Exponent Evaluation
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Walls
ƒ Wall concrete quality is good
ƒ Excessive temperature and shrinkage cracking Shrinkage Analysis
ƒ Design-reinforcement inadequate to control
cracking
ƒ Additional future cracking likely
ƒ Defective construction led to wall patching and
build-up
ƒ Continued additional maintenance required: Reinforcement Design

ƒ Inspection for new cracks

ƒ Repair of cracks on interior face of exterior walls
ƒ Repair of wall patching

Interior Wall Patches

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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Roof
ƒ Roof concrete quality is good
ƒ Large cracks found
Roof Exterior Cracking
ƒ Excessive temperature and shrinkage cracking
ƒ Design-reinforcement inadequate to control
cracking
ƒ Additional future cracking likely
ƒ Heightened inspection and maintenance Roof Interior Cracking
required

Reinforcement Design
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Floor
ƒ Initial repairs complete
ƒ Repairs require monitoring
ƒ Repair of new cracks required
ƒ Seepage from underdrain ~520 gal/day Slab on Ground

ƒ Loss rate is relatively low

ƒ More accurate test, if desired Designation Maximum amount of
water loss to meet
designation

HST-NML No measurable loss

HST-025 0.025% per day

HST-050 0.050% per day

HST-075 0.075% per day

HST-100 0.100% per day

HST-VIO Visual inspection

only
Seepage
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Recommendations
ƒ Repair of roof and wall cracking:
ƒ Use Exponent outlined approach (February 2007 report):
ƒ Estimated material cost for walls ~$312,000
ƒ Estimated material cost for roof ~$720,000
ƒ Prices DO NOT include design, planning, contracting, and supervision
ƒ Continue repairs with current method
ƒ Develop inspection and repair protocol
ƒ Heightened inspection and repair frequency
ƒ Repairs of concrete patch material
ƒ Repair of tank floor cracking:
ƒ During periodic tank emptying perform tank floor inspection for crack
repair failures and for new cracks
ƒ Repaired cracks with filler failure are to be re-patched
ƒ New cracks to be routed and repaired
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Conclusions
ƒ Defective design and construction:
ƒ Led to inadequate performance
ƒ Did not significantly impact structural safety
ƒ Heightened repairs and vigilant maintenance required to
maintain intended useful life of the tank
ƒ Future repairs methodology based on existing scheme or based
on Exponent’s outline
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

End
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Tank Description
ƒ Approximately 10MG
reinforced concrete
reservoir
ƒ Designed and constructed
in 2002-2003
ƒ 305 ft long x 207 ft wide 305
ft
ƒ Exterior walls 3 ft thick; Res
interior walls 2 ft thick erv
o
5C ir

ft
ƒ Roof slab 9 in thick

207
ƒ Bottom slab 7 in thick
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Concrete Design Specifications

ƒ Water-cement ratio: 0.45
ƒ Minimum 3500 psi compressive strength at 28 days
ƒ Maximum slump 4 inch

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Defects
ƒ Wall leakage

Photos taken November 17, 2006

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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Defects
ƒ Roof cracking

Photos taken November 17, 2006

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Exponent Evaluation
ƒ Wall and roof exterior inspection November 17, 2006

ƒ Coring of the exterior walls December 5, 2006

ƒ Laboratory and numerical studies
ƒ Exponent report February, 2007

ƒ Interior and exterior roof inspection November 8, 9, 2007

ƒ Tank interior inspection December 5, 2007

ƒ Interior inspection and roof supplemental report January, 2008

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Exterior Wall Concrete Evaluation

ƒ Petrographic analysis
ƒ Properly consolidated and cured
ƒ Excellent strength
ƒ Low water-cement ratio
ƒ Depth of carbonation minor to moderate
ƒ No deleterious reactions
ƒ Very few small shrinkage cracks along the exterior surface

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Shrinkage, Temperature Analysis

resulting deformation and stresses

crack width [mm]

Crack Width [mm]

Stress [MPa]
“free“ unrestraint shortening of
fresh wall due to cooling,
shrinking... steel stress
[N/mm²]

Steel yields
danger of yielding!
bond between wall &
foundation

height above foundation [m]

older stiff foundation

Mechanism of stress development in the wall Crack width, crack length above the wall base, and
subject to temperature and shrinkage shortening steel stress upon wall shrinkage equivalent to 27°F
temperature drop

The as-designed wall was bound to develop excessively wide

cracks to the height of several feet from the ground
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Consequences of Excessive Cracking

ƒ Ongoing leakage
ƒ Corrosion of reinforcement
ƒ Long-term integrity and serviceability affected
ƒ Elevated inspection and maintenance needed
Repaired cracks

Photos taken December 5, 2007

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Exterior Wall
Reinforcement
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Exterior Wall Reinforcement Requirements

ƒ Crack spacing and width control is accomplished through
reinforcement ratio and control joints
ƒ Wall control joints spaced at about 37 feet
ƒ Wall horizontal reinforcement ratio of 0.28%
ƒ Minimum horizontal reinforcement ratio of 0.4% per ACI 350R.01
Table 7.12.2.1
ƒ Where crack tightness is critical ACI 224R-01 recommends
reinforcement ratio of minimum 0.6%
ƒ Restraint requires additional reinforcement (ACI 350-06)
BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Interior Wall Repairs

ƒ Walls repaired in the interior through patch-material
ƒ The patches are failing
ƒ Restoration to original repair condition is needed

Peeling repair patch

Failed repair patch

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Roof Concrete Evaluation

ƒ Petrographic analysis:
ƒ Concrete properly consolidated and cured
ƒ Excellent overall strength properties
ƒ Portland cement sufficiently hydrated
ƒ Depth of concrete carbonation:
ƒ exterior is moderate
ƒ interior is minor
ƒ Large crack contained some fractured aggregate
ƒ Concrete compressive strength:
6,210 psi and 6,590 psi (design 3,500 psi)

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Roof Exterior
Cracking pattern observed for roof exterior
ƒ Large cracks (~1/32 inch) -northwest corner of tank-

observed on roof
ƒ Cracks are thru-thickness

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Roof Exterior

Core #4
BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Roof Interior
ƒ Minor hairline cracking in
locations of large positive Typical cracking pattern observed for roof interior
-northwest corner of tank-

bending
ƒ Corrosion product visible in
some locations

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Roof Interior

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Slab on Ground
ƒ Typical cracking running
north-to-south
ƒ Locations of previously
repaired cracks
ƒ Un-repaired cracks are also
visible
ƒ Cracking at surface extends
through depth of slab
Typical cracking pattern observed for tank floor
-northeast corner of tank-

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Tank Floor
ƒ Previous repairs
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Tank Floor
ƒ Unfinished repairs
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Tank Floor
Through thickness crack

Tank floor crack – no repairs initiated

Core F1

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Roof Reinforcement

Continuous reinforcement at contraction joints

Longitudinal reinforcement ratio provided: 0.0036

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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Roof Deck Reinforcement Requirements

ƒ Crack spacing and width control is accomplished through
reinforcement ratio and control joints
ƒ Roof control joints spaced at about 30 feet
ƒ Roof transverse reinforcement ratio of 0.36%
ƒ Minimum horizontal reinforcement ratio of 0.5% per ACI 350R.01
Table 7.12.2.1
ƒ Restraint requires additional reinforcement (ACI 350-06)

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Seepage
ƒ Seepage measured from underdrain (more precise testing
recommended)
ƒ ~98 gallons measured in 4.5 hours = 520 gallons/day
ƒ For 10MG tank = 0.005% loss/day
ƒ ACI/AWWA: 0.1% loss/day generally acceptable

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Contraction Joints
ƒ Also known as control joint, and classified as a subset of
movement joints

Source: ACI 350-06

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

ACI 350-06 – Reinforcement With Constraint

ƒ Additional shrinkage constraints require increased reinforcement

Source: ACI 350-06

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

BACK
400 MPa = 58 ksi
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

ACI 350-06 – Reinforcement With Constraint

ƒ Additional shrinkage constraints require increased reinforcement

Source: ACI 350-06

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

BACK
400 MPa = 58 ksi
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

Shrinkage of Concrete
ƒ Concrete is subject to shrinkage
ƒ Caused by loss of moisture
ƒ Decrease in volume
ƒ Restraints inhibit movement inducing tensile stresses in
concrete
ƒ Cracking when concrete tensile capacity is exceeded
ƒ Cracking is controlled with proper amount of reinforcement

BACK
Roof slab cracking Floor slab cracking
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

ACI 350-06 – Minimum Reinforcement

Source: ACI 350-06

BACK
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Summary Walls Roof Floor Recommendations Conclusions

ACI 224R-01

BACK