QA/QC Investigation Report – 02

Project : Construction of New Central Public Health Laboratory at Al Khoud

Sub : Honeycombing in Main Building Columns (Ground Floor)

Facts:

 About 9 Nos columns in the Ground Floor building were cast on 25.09.2023
 On 27.09.2023, after removal of the formwork, it was observed that honeycombs have
developed at the bottom of some of the columns.
 Engineer issued SI-91 dated 27.09.2023 to the contractor for the necessary corrective
measures.

Physical Parameters:
Size of the column, mm (various): 400x600
Main Rebar : 12-Y16
Concrete Grade : C40/20

Field Inspections and Verifications:

 Honeycombs were jointly inspected with Contractor\s QA/QC Engineers

 Honeycombs appeared mostly at the joint of the column kicker and the main column
 It was observed that the honeycomb was on the surface and no holes or deep grooves were
observed inside the concrete.
 There was no tilt in the columns and plumb readings were satisfactory.
 It appeared that the vibrator nozzle could not reach the bottom corners of the formwork
 C40 grade concrete with 20mm aggregate did not achieve the desired workability to reach the
said bottom corners.

Contractor’s proposals:

 In line with the Site Instruction issued to the Contractor, they submitted a method statement
(MS-5225-CVL-029, Rev-00) for repairing of the honeycombs on 03.10.2023 which was advised
to be revised and resubmitted.
 The revised submission (MS-5225-CVL-029A, Rev-01) dated 09.10.2023 was approved with
comments to proceed with.

Repair works undertaken:

 Repair works were undertaken by the Contractor’s team and carried out as per the approved
method statement under supervision of Engineer’s representative.
 Subsequent to the repairing work done for the honeycombs in concrete, the repaired areas were
kept under random observation for a period of 2 weeks. No cracks were observed in and around
the repaired areas.

Material Testing and Evaluation:

 Slump recorded on the day of concreting were within range and satisfactory
 Test result of the compressive strength of the cubes are as follows:
7 Days test result: 47.8 N/mm2
28 Days test result: 56.2 N/mm2
 The strength of the test results complies with C40/20 concrete.
 Physical properties and lab test reports confirms that the columns as recorded in this report,
otherwise fulfil the project requirements.

Instruction to Contractor: The Contractor was advised to proceed with C40/10 concrete for better
workability of concrete.

Conclusion: Further columns were cast with C40/10 mix and honeycombs were avoided.

Attachments: RFI, Drawings & photographs, SI, Method Statement, Lab test reports, etc.

for Al Hatmy Engineering Consultancy LLC

Nittananda Paul Hirak Roy

Sr. Structural Engineer Resident Engineer