What are the objectives of a diagnosis and who should be articulated to fulfil it?
The main objective of a diagnosis is to carry out a technical study intended to verify the following aspects:
- The stability and mechanical resistance of the structure comply with the current safety requirements and regulations
- Assess and study existing damage
- Recalculate the structure if necessary
- Consider all physical and chemical environmental factors that may have contributed to damage to the structure.
In this regard, a well-done diagnosis should fulfil the following objectives:
- Identify any damage that could be indicative of anomalous structural behaviour or its foundations, and determine its structural significance and foreseeable evolution.
- Check for damage that could be associated with accidental situations (impacts, earthquakes, excessive overloads, etc.).
- Determine the state of conservation and estimate the residual useful life of the structure, a decisive aspect in the type of constructions cover by this guide.
Furthermore, this diagnosis will lead to a prognosis, a fundamental phase of the structural evaluation. Such prognosis has as objectives the following ones:
- Choosing the techniques that meet the real needs for intervention on the structure, selecting the most appropriate among those available.
- Establish the urgency of the intervention, if necessary, or schedule it in such a way as to take into account the additional costs resulting from a delay in the intervention.
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