Civil Engineering / Environmental / Architecture / Planning Session:

Title:            Building cracks – causes and remedie
Authors:       Grishma Thagunna
Abstract:      Building cracks are most common type of problem in any type of building. So, it is important to understand the cause and the measures to be taken for prevention. Though cracks in concrete cannot be prevented entirely but they can be controlled by using adequate material and technique of construction and considering design criteria. We all dream of a house structurally safe and aesthetically beautiful but it is not so easy. Due to some faulty steps during construction or some unavoidable reasons different type of cracks starts to appear on various structural and non- structural parts of the building with the passage of time. It is not necessary that all type of cracks require serious attention but there are some typical types of crack (active cracks) that are structurally hazardous. So, timely identification of such cracks and adopting preventive measures is essential. This research work briefly describes about various direct and indirect observation methods using simple as well as sophisticated instruments to deal with such problems. It insights the process how cracks leads to ultimate structural failure. It also explains various causes of crack and their respective remedial measures. From this research it is found that building cracks has direct and indirect impacts. And also, it is found that building cracks do not cause structural problem in direct way but it facilitates the activities which ultimately cause the problem. Hence this research work come up with conclusion that different type of crack call for different repair technique depending upon cause and intensity of problem that’s why it is essential to find answers of questions like why they are formed? And how they can be analyzed and prevented?

Keywords:     Building cracks, structural failure, concrete, repair technique
Pages:           130-134

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