Parking

Cost-Effective Solutions to Optimize the Durability of New Structures and to Improve the Repair and Maintenance of Existing Structures

Parking buildings are likely to be exposed to an array of severe exposure conditions; from aggressive groundwater to de-icing salts, to carbonation and airborne chlorides. This kind of environment may dramatically reduce the service life of critical structural elements. Therefore, parking structures are subject to special construction standards and maintenance practices to ensure the safety to its users.

SIMCO has inspected, analyzed, tested, and found the causes of, and solutions to, a multitude of concrete deterioration problems affecting parking structures, from cracked foundations causing basement leaks to critical structural collapses.

SIMCO’s analysis techniques are extensive and go far deeper than surface appearances. Information gleaned from analyses informs clients as to the condition of their concrete assets and what kind of performance they can expect from their infrastructure.

For existing parking structures, SIMCO investigates the condition of the different concrete elements (e.g., foundation, concrete pavement, columns, beams and walls, etc.) in order to provide a comprehensive assessment of the structure’s residual service life and develop cost-effective maintenance and rehabilitation programs.

For new parking structures, SIMCO can review and analyze durability design specifications, analyze exposure conditions in order to generate possible deterioration scenarios, review local material properties to evaluate service-life expectation based on various exposure conditions and provide recommendations to reduce total lifecycle costs.

EXISTING PARKING STRUCTURES

• Conduct comprehensive investigations, forensic analyses and condition assessments of existing parking structures
• Analyze defects and deficiencies, test results and construction records to identify active deterioration mechanisms and their causes
• Identify practical mitigation, maintenance or repair strategies in order to extend the service life
• Determine the residual service life and analyze different maintenance and repair scenarios
• Perform lifecycle cost analyses based on estimated service life of repair and maintenance alternatives
• Execute field and laboratory quality control validation tests during repairs and rehabilitation

NEW PARKING STRUCTURES

• Review and provide expert technical opinion of material design specifications in order to improve the durability and extend the service life
• Characterize material properties and qualify raw materials
• Develop performance-based specifications, quantify and compare design alternatives on overall service-life
• Optimize concrete mixtures for specific applications and predict the structure’s residual service life according to anticipated exposure conditions
• Execute field and laboratory quality control validation tests during construction