REHABCON

REHABCON

Better decisions for better buildings

REHABCON is developing, testing and disseminating advanced techniques for decision making in the management and repair of concrete structures.

Greater sustainability
The growing concern about environmental issues, and the drive for greatest sustainability has already impacted on the construction industry. Nearly 50% of its output is concerned with the repair and upgrading of the existing infrastructures, and this will increase throughout the Community in the new millennium.

The Community is well served in terms of design guidance and standards for new construction. However, comparable standards do not exist for the assessment of existing structures, although guidance documents are becoming available, as knowledge of the deterioration processes, and their effects on concrete structures increases.

A new tool for completing management systems
While structural concrete has been used for well over 100 years, volume construction began only 40-50 years ago. concrete was assumed to be very durable, but new practices (e.g. the use of de-icing salt) new applications (e.g. marine and maritime structures), and changes in technology (e.g. the use of reactive aggregates to meet increased demand) created structures that were prone to deteriorate. Owners were faced with management decisions at a time when the deterioration processes were not well understood. A few failures occurred, and owners tended to take conservative decisions to demolish and replace.

Benefit for actors and owners
In the course of this collaboration with end users, it has been clear that owners want a methodology to fit into existing asset management systems. The actors in the field do not share the current knowledge on repair technology and methods have evolved in a competitive commercial market. The owners are interested in better methods of assessment; they want guidance on the optimum selection of repair systems and aim at receiving a complete asset management package.

Joining forces
The partnership is a mix of building owners, research institutes, contractors and material suppliers from 3 countries and represent the whole value chain of the industry. Input from owners and company players is essential to ensure both quality feedback on the methodology and to help in the dissemination of the results. The mix is essential, because the project can serve to increase the transparency along value chains, create opportunities and enable participants to leverage best practice innovations more readily.

Innovation Projects making an impact
The programme is divided into nine work packages, each with a series of tasks. The prime technical tasks relate to repair technology, including the establishment of performance criteria. The non-technical tasks relate to the development of a management system, incorporating both assessment and repair, and are closely linked to the market research. Provision has been made to test the system in the field, on structures made available by owner-partners. Considerable weight is given to dissemination and to take-up in practice.

Last updated: 2004-10-28