TECHNICAL COMMISSION 5 - CONCRETE
General
The work in the Technical Commission Concrete focuses on special topics and details of the specialist area "Maintenance of concrete", in future increasingly from the point of view of monument conservation. In the working groups, experts from various disciplines (e.g. expert planners, qualified executors, materials experts, operators of structural facilities and also specialist lawyers) are currently dealing with the following topics:
- Quality assurance of the execution
- Maintenance - Maintenance and inspection of concrete structures
- Restoration concepts
- Waterproofing of concrete structures
- Monitoring of fresh concrete in Switzerland (leaflet available)
- Historical concrete structures
- Internal concrete tubs for sealing against pressing water
Goals
In various working groups, leaflets and status reports with additional and more detailed information on the existing as well as on the regulations still to be expected, in the field of "concrete" are being prepared. In addition, needs-oriented solutions for problems that have not yet been regulated, particularly from the point of view of monument preservation, are being developed in existing working groups or ad hoc working groups. Another important focus of the commission's activities is the transfer of knowledge on the topic of "concrete", which is reflected, among other things, in the annual international "WTA Colloquium on Concrete Maintenance".
Visions
The topic "concrete" is dealt with in a number of associations, federations and interest groups, but usually with a focus on new buildings. The future challenge in the "Concrete" technical commission will therefore be to sharpen the profile in the direction of monument protection and care of existing concrete buildings and to search for thematic niches there or to fill gaps in knowledge. In addition, the increasingly important ecological aspects and requirements must be taken into account and integrated into the work of the commission. The interface between old building fabric and new building materials will be of particular interest. For example, solutions are to be described how historical concrete can be gently analysed from the point of view of monument conservation, how low strengths, which are no longer justifiable according to today's valid standards, can be dealt with in the context of building substance worthy of protection, or whether and how old weathered concrete surfaces and structures can be preserved, supplemented or restored. In addition, the transfer of knowledge remains a further focus of the work in the "Concrete" commission. On the one hand, this includes the continuation of the "WTA Colloquium on Concrete Maintenance". On the other hand, the establishment of offers for small local excursions with a limited number of participants for exchanging experience and strengthening the identification of the technical commission in cooperation with the national groups of the WTA, also across units, is aimed at.
Potential and currently inactive topics
The following topics have already been dealt with in working groups or can be released for processing if there is interest and sufficient members:
- Maintenance contract, maintenance plan, concepts
- Recycled concrete, reuse of demolished materials
- High pressure water cleaning
- Reinforcement/Deconfusion
- Permanence
- Bounded construction method – historic block pavement
- Hydrophobing of concrete
- Cathodic corrosion protection
General Assembly
General Assemblies of the technical commissions are not only an optimal platform for networking, but also offer all interested parties the opportunity to help shape the future activities of the Unit. In addition, important information from the WTA and on the work of the individual working groups is passed on in the course of the unit meetings.
The last general meeting took place on 9 June 2022 at the TU Delft/NL (hybrid) . For the members of the WTA Concrete Division, the current minutes will be available in future in the members' area.
Other events
The WTA Concrete Division regularly conducts seminars, colloquia and other training events with various partners (TAE, EIPOS, colleges and universities, etc.).
The WTA Colloquium on Concrete Maintenance, which takes place annually in June, is now well established. In 2022, the event took place at the TU Delft/NL with the focus on "Strategies for the Conservation of Historic Concrete Structures".
An overview of the presentations of the last event (7th WTA Colloquium Concrete Maintenance in Delft/NL) can be found on the event page.
New start for the concept working group
On 02.03.2017 the constituent meeting of the working group 5.17 "Maintenance concepts" took place in Karlsruhe. At this meeting Dipl.-Ing. Gerd Ziegenhorn was elected as working group leader and Dipl.-Ing. Helena Eisenkrein-Kreksch as deputy.
The working group currently comprises 23 members from various fields (research, planning/expert, contractors and product manufacturers). In terms of content, the working group is concerned with the preparation of an information sheet for the definition and specification of the components of repair concepts in the context of the repair planning of concrete components and structures, as they are listed and required in currently valid standards, regulations as well as legal and official specifications.
Founding Meeting of the Working Group "Historical Concrete Constructions"
On 12.02.2016 the founding meeting of the working group "Historical Constructions" under the leadership of Dr.-Ing. Andrei Walther took place at the FH Erfurt. Anyone interested in this topic is welcome to contact the head of the working group or the head of the department.
New Working Group "Concrete Inner Tanks"
With the approval of the Presidium, AG 5.26 "Subsequent installation of concrete inner tanks to seal against pressurised water" was newly founded under the leadership of Georg Schäfer. The founding meeting took place during the trade fair Denkmal in Leipzig on 07.11.2014.
Recommendation "Monitoring the quality of fresh concrete in Switzerland" completed
Working group 5.24 under the leadership of Mr. Philippsen has completed the recommendation "Monitoring the quality of fresh concrete in Switzerland". The recommendation is available from the WTA office.
Recommendations
The following recommendations have been published by the Technical Commission "Concrete" :
5-1 Ausgabe: 01.1999/D | Maintenance of concrete constructions - model contract |
5-6 Ausgabe: 07.2001/D | Assessment of Concrete Structures |
5-7 Ausgabe: 01.1999/D | Testing and Maintenance of Concrete Structures |
5-8 Ausgabe: 02.1993/D | Protection and restoration of concrete – Prerequisites for the substrate, preparation and testing |
5-15 Ausgabe: 08.2003/D | Protection and restoration of conrete – requirements |
5-20 Ausgabe: 05.2009/D | Injection of gel |
5-21 Ausgabe: 01.2009/D | Bounded construction method – historic block pavement |
5-24 Ausgabe: 04.2015/CH | Monitoring the quality of fresh concrete in Switzerland |