Read the Concrete Repair Bulletin article from the ICRI (International Concrete Repair Institute). This is the September/October 2008 issue.

Problem:

Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals, is one of the premier ballparks in the country, especially known for its famous fountains in the outfield. After many years of service these fountains had unexpectedly began to erode the soil beneath the concrete. This eroding had created voids underneath the concrete and could have compromised the structural integrity of the fountains. These subsurface voids needed to be located so that repairs could be made.

Solutions:

• Core drilling samples
• Perform Ground Penetrating Radar scan in 3D

Results:

• Core drilling would require a blind approach to locating voids. In addition core drilling is not a non-destructive form of testing. Stadium owners preferred a non-destructive testing (NDT) approach to locate the voids.
• Since non-destructive testing was preferred, Construction Solutions performed a GPR scan to locate voids underneath the fountains. These results were then processed and overlaid onto an existing drawing of the fountains. The contractor was then able to open areas in the fountains to begin filling in the voids. GPR was able to pinpoint where openings would need to be made to prevent excessive core drilling.

*Kauffman Stadium Fountain voids found underneath the surface.