Technical Condition Assessment, Ultimate and Serviceability Limit States of the Water Tower Reinforced Concrete Tank after its Operation Lifetime

Abstract

The paper presents ultimate and serviceability limit states of railway water tower reinforced concrete tank after almost 60 years of exploitation. Experimental investigations of structural concrete include destructive tests made on drilling trial elements and non-destructive tests, to qualify mechanical properties of the material. Supplementary tests concern the humidity measurements and concrete alkalinity examination. Experimental investigations and on-site inspections made it possible to assess the level of consumption of individual elements and propose structural repairs program. Outer wall of cylindrical chambers and the bottom slab of the tank were verified in terms of load-bearing capacity and cracks widths, taking into account rheological effects. The causes and technical condition of the tank is strictly described by the calculations results.