Concrete is one of the most widely used building materials all over the world. It is used for applications such as creating driveways, houses, plants and even complex structures such as reactor plants. While concrete is a robust and dependable building material, it can fail if subjected to extreme pressure, or if there were mistakes in the mixing process or the design of the structure. It is, therefore, essential to understand why concrete buckles or fails, as it will be the starting point in fixing the problem. Here are the most common reasons why concrete buckles.
1. Compressive stress
Concrete usually is quite resistant to compressive or vertical loads, which is why most contractors use it for building foundations. However, there is a loading limit that is known as the critical force, and if the load exceeds this limit, the concrete starts buckling. The critical load is predetermined by factors such as the area over of concrete over which the load is distributed, its cross-section and the elasticity of the concrete. A competent contractor understands all these factors and will make sure that they are put into consideration before building with or over concrete.
2. Lateral forces
While concrete does exceptionally well in handling vertical loads, it is very susceptible to damages caused by lateral pressure. This weakness is the reason why concrete is typically reinforced with steel. Steel can withstand a lot of lateral force, hence its usage. If a concrete structure is not properly reinforced with steel, it will end up buckling when it experiences extreme lateral pressure. Pressure could come from events such as earthquakes, blasts and other similar sources of trauma. Experts know that the best way to protect a structure from buckling due to lateral forces is proper reinforcement with steel.
3. Changes in heat
All materials expand and contract when subjected to different degrees of heat. The expansion and contraction is the reason why engineers design buildings with expansion joints. Sometimes, the expansion joints get filled with foreign materials, or design flaws affect the quality and effectiveness of the expansion joints. If this happens, the changes in heat will lead to buckling.
Concrete also buckles because of erosion. If a concrete structure is subjected to excessive amounts of water and acid, the structural integrity is compromised, which could lead to structural collapse. Competent building engineers know the proofing and design elements which they need to implement to make sure a concrete structure is durable.
For more information and assistance, contact your local commercial concreting services today.