Classification of the most common pathology processes in foundation slabs: Learning from failures

Abstract

Foundation slabs are a construction system common in many countries. Nevertheless, they have yet to be extensively studied in the scientific literature, to determine their most common anomalies during the service phase. The starting point of this study is a data source for which no international precedents were found: complaints by owners whose buildings suffered important defects and had to complain in the face of the courts. Through the reading of the judicial records it was possible to determine the damages that occurred, as well as each of the causal origins that led to them. A set of fundamental (most recurrent) damages was identified, as well as a classification according to their nature and affinity between them. Furthermore, an interrelational binomial pair was established between all damages and their causes, determining fifteen possible combinations, from which one should highlight fissures of structural origin, due to differential settlement of the terrain. Another aspect studied pertained to the types of buildings in which each of these cases took place, including their percentage weight according to the descriptors analysed during the research. All these results can be of great interest for forensic engineers.