Various repair procedures recommended by

ACI Committee-224 are listed below:

Resin injection
Stitching
Bonding of external reinforcement
Routing and sealing
Drilling and plugging
Chemical grouting
Flexible sealing
Portland Cement grouting.

Resin Injection
Cracks as narrow as 0.05mm can be bonded by injection of
epoxy. This technique consists of drilling holes at close
intervals along the cracks and injecting epoxy under pressure
in a controlled manner to fill the cracks, thereby restoring the
structure to its original design capability and preventing
further downgrading of the structure. This repair technique is
widely used in the repair of building, bridges, dams and other
types of structures.

Fig. 1 Diagram of crack injection
Fig. 2 Use of T- injection ports flush on concrete
surface
Fig. 3 Use of injection ports in
drilled holes
Stitching
This technique is used when the tensile stress must be established
across the major cracks. This method involves drilling holes on both
the sides of the crack. Grouting is done after stitching U shaped
metal units with variable length, which are called dogs across the
cracks and along the lengths. Stitching the cracks tends to stiffen the
structure locally. The dogs should be of variable lengths and so located
that the tension transmitted across the crack does not revolve on single
plane, but is spread over the area. The legs of the dogs are anchored
with the help of either a non shrink grout or an epoxy resin based
bonding system.

Fig. 5 Repair of crack by stitching

Epoxy adhesives have the distinct advantage of being
able to bond dissimilar materials. In areas of high
shear stress, additional reinforcing bars in the form of
shaped stirrups may be bonded externally to concrete.
The main advantage in strengthening structures by
this method is to achieve higher shear strength
between the steel resin adhesive interface.

Routing and Sealing
It is the simplest and most common technique
applicable for sealing both fine pattern cracks and
larger isolated defects to prevent water from reaching
the reinforcing steel. The routing operation consists
of preparing a groove at the surface that is
sufficiently large to receive an approved sealant. A
minimum surface width of 6mm (0.25in) is desirable
for repairing. The surface of the routed joint should
be cleaned with an air jet and allowed to dry before
placing the sealant.
Fig.4 Repair of crack by routing and sealing
Drilling and Plugging
This technique is applicable when cracks run in
straight lines and are accessible at one end. This
method is most often used to repair vertical cracks
in retaining walls. A hole of 50mm to 75mm
diameter is drilled along the crack. The hole must
be large enough to intersect the crack along its full
length. The drilled holes are then cleaned and
filled with grout. The grout key prevents
transverse moment of the sections of concrete
adjacent to the crack. The key will also reduce
heavy leakage through the crack and loss of soil
from behind the retaining wall.
Fig. 7 Repair of crack by drilling and
plugging

Fig.6 Examples of external
prestressing

Chemical Grouting
Chemical grout consists of a solution of two
or more chemicals, which form a gel or a
solid precipitate of foam. Cracks in
concrete as narrow as 0.05mm can be filled
with chemical grout. The advantage of
chemical grout is that it can be applied in
most environments. But it needs a high
degree of skill for satisfactory applications.
Flexible Sealing
Active cracks are first routed out and cleaned by sandblast or buy
air/water jet or both. Then the routed portion is filled with a suitable
flexible sealant. A bond breaker as shown in fig 2.10 is provided at the
bottom of the sealant, to undergo the volume changes. The bond
breaker may be a polyethylene strip, pressure sensitive tape or other
material, which will not bond to the sealant before or during curing.
This method is a very economical one and may be used in the repair of
interior of tanks, roofs or other areas, not subjected to traffic or
mechanical loads. Repair of crack using flexible sealant is shown in fig
2.11.

Portland Cement Grouting
Portland cement grout may be used to repair wide cracks, particularly
in gravity dams and thick concrete walls. The repairing procedure
consists of cleaning the cracked concrete surface, installing the built-
up seats (grout nipples) astride the crack and sealing the crack
between the seats with a cement grout. Grout mixtures contain cement
and water, or cement, sand and water depending on the crack width.
However, the water cement ratio must be kept as low as practical to
maximize the strength and minimize shrinkage. Water reducers or
other admixtures may be used to improve the properties of the grout.

Autogenous healing:
The inherent ability of concrete to heal cracks
within itself is termed as autogenous healing.
The mechanism where by healing occurs is the
carbonation of calcium oxide and the calcium
hydroxide in the cement paste by the
carbondioxide present in the surrounding air and
water.
The resulting calcium carbonate and calcium
hydroxide crystals precipitate, accumulate and
grow out from the cracks.