Reinforced Concrete consists of aggregates bound under cement paste and reinforcement steel.

Cement paste is a result of physical reaction followed by a chemical reaction.

Bond of reinforcement with concrete matrix; makes it an integral part of reinforced concrete.

Damage to the reinforced concrete matrix is similar to a wound on body. It may either begin from ingredients of concrete or from steel but once it begins, it spreads like cancer and covers the complete member.

Treatment of damaged concrete begins with reaching at the root cause of the damage for which testing is necessary just like pathology laboratory tests for human body. This is essential to ensure that concrete matrix wound won’t repeat with the same root cause.

Little different from human anatomy, treatment of damaged concrete can’t replace the damaged part in totality. Hence its core has to be strengthened or treated for the identified damages and certainly its skin is to be repaired and strengthened.

Skin concrete (cover concrete) retrofit has to be designed and executed with a very special concept. Skin concrete (cover concrete) encompasses or envelops the core concrete. This very phenomena plays very vital part in rehabilitating the damaged concrete member. Even if it is not feasible to rectify few inferior parameters of the core concrete, the extra strong skin concrete (cover concrete) will encompass / envelop the core concrete and the member would be available through out its designed functional life.