Reinforced concrete pathologies - design and calculation errors

First of all, we'd like to point out that such a study, by virtue of its subject and therefore its scope, can hardly be exhaustive.

An examination of the statistics on construction disorders reveals that those affecting reinforced concrete structures are, fortunately, relatively few in number, since :

• It's rare for the design of structures of this type not to be entrusted to a design office or consulting engineer, who will carry out the calculations and drawings;

• significant safety factors, of the order of 2 to 3, must be applied by law;

• a specialized organization is often responsible for supervising design and construction work.

But while they are proportionally rare, they can be very costly.

In the following study, based on an analysis of over a thousand claims files, it seemed logical to classify the various types of pathology affecting these structures, according to their origin or cause.

We'll see, moreover, that most of the time, these are mistakes or errors that can be described as crude and/or elementary, and that, almost always, the most serious disorders are caused by forgetting fundamental principles and/or the simplest rules, and were easily avoidable, as well as the fact that claims often have several causes.

Finally, we have sought to draw lessons, or recommendations, from this study that could be useful to builders in improving the prevention of disorders.