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THIN CRACK AT BOTTOM OF WATER TANK

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ARSALAN88ARAIN

Civil/Environmental
Feb 15, 2011
2
Hi every buddy i m new here i have a question regarding water tank
I have an rcc water tank 12' x 18' x 6'
It was constructed in year 2003 internally water proofed with fine chips
i was o.k with that but this year i found tiny cracks at the bottom slab both inside and outside of the tank both way midspan from one end to other,width of the crack is same inside and outside
similar cracks are on the inner faces of walls of the tank.water is seeping out of the bottom slab in the form of tiny droplets
i personally think that these are neither flexural cracks nor shear or shrinkage cracks so can any body tells me that what sort of cracks are they as there was no earthquake nor any vibrations coming to the tank.
and would these cause any structural instability.will crack sealants (or ElastiPoxy Crack Fillers) be useful or would it be o.k just by providing the water proofing.
 
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You don't leave much to go on since you do not have a picture or concrete thickness.

How about posting a picture?
 
recently i don't have a picture the tank is in some remote area the thickness of the slab is 8 inches and the crack is just like a thin hair or just a line
 
Hi:

I have seen this problem before in one installation with extremely large sludge holding tanks and at the end of the day they epoxy injected the cracks.

Check if the engineer who designed the tank designed the concrete and reinforcing assuming it is a water retaining structure. The requirements for a water retaining structure as opposed to, for example, a foundation wall are different. The walls are thicker, there is more reinforcing and more cement in the concrete mix for a water retaining structure.
 

OK. If everything you state is 'true', something structural is not solid enough to bear the weight of the water.

Eg. as stated above: either the walls itself, given that foundations and support are solid and remains static through climate and temperature surrounding and process changes, or foundations are to weak and/or not static, or both (walls and support) interacting as too weak together.

For anything more we need a detailed technical drawing or picture.

 
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