Life of Old RCC Building.

Another CRIMINAL use of acronyms.

Confused Regional Interpretation of Multilingual International Nomenclature and Acronymic Language

Hi Redfred,

Sorry, I assumed that word RCC is common to all people around world. It is Reinforced Steel Concrete building. Building where in steel bars are used for construction of the Beams and Columns. It is not Gothic construction. I hope now it is clear to you.

Suresh Sharma.

Wouldn't that be RSC? I have read elsewhere that RCC in India and Bangladesh means Reinforced Cement Concrete.

I guess RCC is an acronym for Reinforced Concrete Construction, it appears to be an Indian usage.

Answering your question is not simple, the environment has an effect, but as long as it is maintained and there were no corrosive substances used in the mix, it will probably last as long as you want it to.

Seems to me that the Romans built concrete aquaducts that still exist today.

That is if this is reinforced concrete construction and not Redwood Cedar Construction or just the Ravi Construction Corporation.

From a search:

"Shet Building (first R.C.C. Building of Kundapura). Inaugurated by Late T.A.Pai in 1969. Architect Late Ramachandra Aithal."

The cross marks the spot

Great that's wonderful to see that Wikimaps can put a mark on a satellite photo that cross references to some obscure document calling this the first R.C.C. Building. Well at least that document uses proper punctuation. So any idea yet what R.C.C. stands for? So far from what I've noticed for India it stands for the Regional Cancer Center. Maybe this is actually a Reinforced Carbon-Carbon building. That might out last a few pyramids.

RCC stands for Reinforced Cement Concrete and is a standard definition in India and elsewhere. It is equivalent to RC in North America which stands for Reinforced Concrete.

In North America, RCC is usually taken to mean "Roller Compacted Concrete".

A lot depends on the degree of protection that the rebar has from rust. All rebar here in Toronto is epoxy coated and if they cut it they paint the exposed ends. With a properly cured cement mix it can last 500 years. A lot depends on how the surface is protected and if it has any freeze-thaw cycles and if it is exposed to salt air. Both of these can dislodge stones and grit and over time erode the concrete.

Smart people watch for this and fix it as it happens. A lof of things made in the 60's with badly coated rebay are now bursting there way outof the concrete since rusted steel ocupies more space than steel = inexorable expansion

somebody forgot to put the steel in this bridge girder it looks like. Some of it would be showing somewhere...

I couldn't find anything to do with Who or Why on this - do you have more info?

I think what he is looking for is the mean operational life expectancy, not how long the best built portions of a structure in the best built structures might survive. the idea is how long will a typical structure of thus type be operationally viable. This is generally used for estimated life cycle costs/benefit analysis to evaluate which structures provide the greatest life cycle benefits relative to cost. Since capital costs are all upfront and benefits are on the backend, it is a way to quantify the basis for funding a new structure.

1,000,000 ± 999,999 years, depending on how soon a big earthquake hits it.

Dear Mr.Suresh,

Best would be have the Architect's Docs and Contractor's Document scrutinized as these do have mention of the Expected Building Life based on which the construction designs are chosen. Generally it is 100 Years for majority of the buildings and bridges.

Rgds

Sanjeev

Thanks Sanjeev,

We have already hired an experienced Architect. As per his instructions we had carried out repairs, I just wanted to check up with our experienced Civil Engineer about their opinion.

Suresh Sharma.

I've built more of them than I can remember and the basic failure is water intrusion into cracks that causes the steel to rust and swell thereby fracturing the poured concrete. And earthquakes if the building isn't designed to move.

Salt really accelerates the process and failure can be within decade.

The consistancy of the concrete mix, type of aggregate, additives like soot or other cheap 'filler', and strengths less than those specified will accelerate the degradation process.

You are at the mercy of the guy who sold the contractor the concrete mix.

As mentioned, cast concrete can last centuries if the quality control guy has a big sharp sword and is allowed to use it at will...

The mean life for most reinforced concrete structure is in excess of 100 years.

Hi RCE,

The building is as old as I am so if I live 100 years then only I will have problem which I do not wish.. I thank all experts for their comments.

Suresh Sharma.

100 years is a mean operational life expectancy. Thus, at 100 year if you employed standard O&M measures, you have a 50-50 chance of the building concrete structures having sufficient wear and tear or damage to no longer be cost effectively operational for most typical applications as we conceive of them now.

Everything that is maintain properly last forever, but at certain time the maintenance costs more than new thing so the old is turned down. You have 1000 years old churches in may countries and pyramids of Egypt are many thousand years old.

Well when the O&M begins to cost more than the building is worth, it is no longer worth investing in O&M. Typically reinforced concrete structures, unless special purpose structures, are expected to have a operational design life of at least 50 to 100 years buildings tend to be on the high side, pipelines and other such facilities tend to be lower.

Hi RCE,

We have already replaced old water and drainage pipes, applied two coats of waterproof Silicon based paint, two coats of weather proof Emulsion Paint of reputed make on the exterior of the building.Hopefully these will protect life of building for 30 years more.

Suresh Sharma.