This article describes and provides research on a wide range of non-destructive inspection & test methods, tools, procedures & standards used to examine concrete structures as well as masonry block, brick and other structures for hidden damage such as cracks, voids, omission of steel reinforcement, re-bar corrosion, and similar concerns.
This article series explains how to recognize, diagnose, & repair concrete & other masonry materials used for foundations, walls, floors, roofs, and other structures. These methods can evaluate the masonry or solid concrete for signs of failures such as cracks, spalling, movement, bulging, leaks, damage due to impact, settlement, frost or water damage, corroded re-bar, corroded steel beams, vibration, and other problems.
Methods of Detection of Hidden Cracks or Other Structural Damage in Concrete & Masonry Walls & Foundations are described here.
Question: Is it possible to detect cracks in brick walls or concrete walls and slabs that are hidden from view by plaster?
Is it possible to detect cracks in brick walls or concrete walls and slabs that are hidden from view by plaster?
Like there is no through and through air pockets.
If there is a way. I want to know how is it possible to detect the same.
I get the use of thermal imaging but that is only possible for detecting temperatures on surface.
I want something that might be able to detect cracks that is hidden about 6 - 8 inches inside the walls without breaking or damaging the wall.
1. Obvious cracks will often show up through plaster if there is ongoing movement in the masonry wall that has been plastered-over, either as plaster cracks or sometimes as a plaster bulge.
2. With thermal imaging there is a small chance you'd see a wall crack IF the crack were leaking water AND you happen to scan the wall when the leak is enough in quantity and lower temperature to show up as a temperature variation - but I'd consider such "detection" speculative.
3. There are non-destructive testing methods (such as the Echo Impact method) that can find cracks or voids in masonry structures, though in my opinion those are going to work best on placed (poured) concrete that would not be expected to have many voids.
A structural brick wall will usually have an interior wall cavity and may have many other smaller voids that can be confusing when using an echo-impact masonry void detector.
The tools and methods listed below are used by experts to screen or scan concrete structures for various defects such as delamination, voids, or large cracks. I'm doubtful that many of these work very well on a brick wall for reasons I cited above.
Photo: Partial collapse of the rear or West parking lot at Northridge Meadows after the Los Angeles earthquake. Even as a layman inspecting this collapse it appeared to me that even by casual inspection - after the catastrophe - one could see that the steel reinforcement had been interrupted when and just where the collapsed section of raised parking lot had broken and collapsed during this earthquake.
Definition: Drossbach ducting is a metal tube manufactured from galvanised steel to create a spiral round duct that may be used along with rebar and grout to connect pre-cast concrete building components such as wall panels and floors.
Definition: A Drossbach-type joint combines the ducting with re-bar and grout to join these building components. Drossbach ducting, rebar and grout jproduces post-tensioned tendons used to secure the joint between the precast wall and floor or for similar connections.
The Drossbach joint may use 0.3mm galvanised steel strips with an internal diameter from 33 to 107mm- Adapted & expanded from Contech cited below.
In New Zealand experts are finding increasing examples where grouted rebar connections typically between concrete floor and precast wall panels have not been addressed, compromising seismic performance and leading to horizontal cracking between floor and walls on external faces - see first link, below, courtesy of Paul Probett, Incodo, New Zealand, for suggesting this topic.
The New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors recently informed MBIE of instances of poor construction practice associated with the grouting of reinforcing steel bars inside Drossbach tubes set within reinforced concrete elements.
These instances were investigated and confirmed by professional engineers. This detail is typically used as a connection between a floor substructure and precast reinforced concrete wall panels.
It is also used in precast concrete frame construction, where the projecting starter bars from the previous construction stage are grouted into Drossbach tubes set within precast concrete beam or column segments for the next stage of construction.
The instances reported were with concrete wall panel construction where there was either incomplete penetration of the grout or, in some cases, no grout at all around the reinforcing bars.
If undetected, the resulting loss of the reinforcing bar bond under service loads may at best cause poor performance of the structural element and at worst cause premature collapse of the structural component.
Site personnel, engineers reviewing construction, and building consent authority inspectors should be vigilant to ensure the tubes are effectively end sealed to prevent loss of the wet grout and that grout is injected to avoid air entrapment.
Site quality practices such as non-destructive testing (NDT) should be undertaken to verify that the grout fully penetrates around the reinforcing bars.
CONTACT us if you have suggestions for this topic.
Concrete and re-bar joint assessment tools include GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar), electrical resistance and other electrical tests, and other methods discussed by the authors cited below.
Brooke, Nicholas J., and Jason M. Ingham. "Seismic Design Criteria for Reinforcement Anchorages at Interior RC Beam-Column Joints." Journal of Structural Engineering 139, no. 11 (2012): 1895-1905.
Brooke, N. J., and J. M. Ingham. "The effect of reinforcement strength on the overstrength factor for reinforced concrete beams." [PDF] In Proceedings of the 9th Pacific Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Building an Earthquake-Resilient Society, Auckland, New Zealand. 2011.
Canzac, P.O Box 3181, Christchurch, New Zealand, Tel: 0800 422 692 +64 3 343 4254 Email: info@canzac.com Website: http://www.canzac.com/ Canzac is a New Zealand producer of Drossbach ducting.
Cui, Y., and D. H. Zou. "Assessing the effects of insufficient rebar and missing grout in grouted rock bolts using guided ultrasonic waves." Journal of Applied Geophysics 79 (2012): 64-70.
Contech, Drossbach Duct Specifications [PDF] Contech, PO Box 51-391, Pakuranga Auckland, New Zealand Email: akl@contech.co.nz Tel: +64 9 274 9259 Website: http://www.contech.co.nz Contech produces Drossbachducting and other building connection systems & components.
He, Xian-Qi, Zi-Qiang Zhu, Qun-Yi Liu, and Guang-Yin Lu. "Review of GPR rebar detection." In PIERS proceedings, pp. 804-813. 2009.
Krause, Vincent, Ikhlas Abdel-Qader, Osama Abudayyeh, and Sherif Yehia. "An image segmentation algorithm for the detection of rebar in bridge decks from GPR scans." In Electro/Information Technology, 2007 IEEE International Conference on, pp. 114-119. IEEE, 2007.
This installation guie describes theuse of Drossbach tubes embedded vertically in the bottom edge of Litecrete panels.
Perin, Deniz, and Mustafa Göktepe. "Inspection of rebars in concrete blocks." International Journal of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics 38, no. 2, 3 (2012): 65-78.
Several precast concrete systems have been in use in New Zealand in the construction of moment resisting frames designed for earthquake resistance, despite the lack of code design guidelines.
The two design codes for buildings, NZS 4203 (1984) and NZS 3101 (1982), deal only with the design of monolithic concrete construction. The use of precast concrete in moment resisting frames in New Zealand assumes that this method of construction behaves the same as monolithic reinforced concrete structures.
A test programme was devised to provided experimental evidence on the seismic behaviour of the most commonly used precast concrete arrangements. Six full-scale subassemblages were quasi-statically tested under reverse load conditions with increasing displacements to failure.
Four tests were conducted in H-shaped specimens connected at the beam midspan.
The remaining two specimens were cruciformshaped and had the connection detail in the critical region at the beam-column joint. It was found that neither of the connection detail nor the construction joints have a detrimental effect on the seismic performance. Hence, the assumption of designing these systems as if monolithic is adequate.
Theoretical work was undertaken to give simple design recommendations for the design of different connecting details, including the design of interior beam-column joints. Truss models and the concept of shear friction were extensively used. This report also discusses in some detail the stress-strain behaviour of the two grades of New Zealand manufactured reinforcing steel.
Test results on the effects of bar deformations, strain ageing and strain rate on the cyclic behaviour of reinforcing steel are presented. An analytical model based on test results is postulated.
RE: failures of precast panel splices, see discussion of concentrtaionof tension forces at panel splices involving Drossbach ducts beginning on p. 15.
Trabanelli, G., C. Monticelli, V. Grassi, and A. Frignani. "Electrochemical study on inhibitors of rebar corrosion in carbonated concrete." Cement and Concrete Research 35, no. 9 (2005): 1804-1813.
Post-tensioned precast concrete walls have been shown both experimentally and analytically to provide excellent seismic resilience. However, only a limited number of experimental tests have been conducted to investigate the dynamic response of such rocking wall systems.
This paper presents the preliminary results of an experimental test program that was conducted to further understand the dynamic characteristics of post-tensioned rocking walls. The experimental test program investigated a single post-tensioned concrete wall subjected to pseudostatic cyclic loading, high speed cyclic loading, free vibration, and dynamic forced-vibration testing.
The lateral load response was determined from both the pseudo-static and high speed cyclic tests, and closely matched the response calculated using an existing analysis procedure.
Liang, Ming-Te, and Po-Jen Su. "Detection of the corrosion damage of rebar in concrete using impact-echo method." Cement and Concrete research 31, no. 10 (2001): 1427-1436.
Xie, Xiongyao, Pan Li, Hui Qin, Lanbo Liu, and David C. Nobes. "GPR identification of voids inside concrete based on the support vector machine algorithm." Journal of Geophysics and Engineering 10, no. 3 (2013): 034002.
Wang, Calvin S., Fan Wu, and Fu-Kuo Chang. "Structural health monitoring from fiber-reinforced composites to steel-reinforced concrete." Smart materials and Structures 10, no. 3 (2001): 548.
Image courtesy Paul Probett, Incodo, cited at the Thermal Imaging Thermography article linked-to below.
Infrared Scanners (IR) or Thermography (IT) can detect temperature variations across a masonry surface.
Watch out: Using either an IR thermometer that measures temperature variation, or currently more popular, diagnostic, and more expensive, thermal imaging can show up the presence of moisture IF the moisture or leak is current.
IR or IT will not reliably show up leaks whose moisture has dried since the leak occurred, though some other moisture meters that rely on resistance measurement might detect mineral salt variations left behind by prior leaks (efflorescence).
Moisture meters, both pin-type and electronic, can detect variations in the moisture level across all types of masonry surfaces.
The depth of sensing of pin type moisture meters (shown above) is limited to the depth of penetrations of pins of the sensor into the material, while an electronic moisture meter (shown below) can penetrate inches into the material, depending on its density and electrical properties.
As with our IR and IT scanning comments in this article, a moisture meter won't reliably detect prior leaks that happen to be dry at the time of inspection and testing.
See MOISTURE METER STUDY for a description of the effectiveness of different types of moisture meters used in buildings.
Ultrasonic testing devices use a probe and sensor that can measure the thickness of steel reinforcement or steel beams that are nearly-buried in a masonry structure, as long as one side of the steel member can be accessed. This approach might permit detection of rust damage or loss of steel material in the hidden interior of the structural wall, roof, or slab.
Lee, H. K., K. M. Lee, Y. H. Kim, H. Yim, and D. B. Bae. "Ultrasonic in-situ monitoring of setting process of high-performance concrete." Cement and Concrete Research 34, no. 4 (2004): 631-640.
Song, Ha-Won, and Velu Saraswathy. "Corrosion monitoring of reinforced concrete structures-A." Int. J. Electrochem. Sci 2 (2007): 1-28.
Song, G., H. Gu, Y. L. Mo, T. T. C. Hsu, and H. Dhonde. "Concrete structural health monitoring using embedded piezoceramic transducers." Smart Materials and Structures 16, no. 4 (2007): 959.
Health monitoring of reinforced concrete bridges and other large-scale civil infrastructures has received considerable attention in recent years. However, traditional inspection methods (x-ray, C-scan, etc) are expensive and sometimes ineffective for large-scale structures.
Piezoceramic transducers have emerged as new tools for the health monitoring of large-scale structures due to their advantages of active sensing, low cost, quick response, availability in different shapes, and simplicity for implementation. In this research, piezoceramic transducers are used for damage detection of a 6.1 m long reinforced concrete bridge bent-cap.
Piezoceramic transducers are embedded in the concrete structure at pre-determined spatial locations prior to casting.
This research can be considered as a continuation of an earlier work, where four piezoceramic transducers were embedded in planar locations near one end of the bent-cap. This research involves ten piezoceramic patches embedded at spatial locations in four different cross-sections.
To induce cracks in the bent-cap, the structure is subjected to loads from four hydraulic actuators with capacities of 80 and 100 ton. In addition to the piezoceramic sensors, strain gages, LVDTs, and microscopes are used in the experiment to provide reference data.
During the experiment, one embedded piezoceramic patch is used as an actuator to generate high frequency waves, and the other piezoceramic patches are used as sensors to detect the propagating waves. With the increasing number and severity of cracks, the magnitude of the sensor output decreases.
Wavelet packet analysis is used to analyze the recorded sensor signals.
A damage index is formed on the basis of the wavelet packet analysis. The experimental results show that the proposed methods of using piezoceramic transducers along with the damage index based on wavelet packet analysis are effective in identifying the existence and severity of cracks inside the concrete structure.
The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method has the ability to predict the failure of a concrete structure as verified by results from conventional microscopes (MSs) and LVDTs.
Yuan, Libo, Limin Zhou, and Wei Jin. "Long-gauge length embedded fiber optic ultrasonic sensor for large-scale concrete structures." Optics & Laser Technology 36, no. 1 (2004): 11-17.
A fiber optic ultrasonic sensor based on Fizeau interferometer has been developed and demonstrated. A helium–neon laser light source with wavelength Full-size image (<1 K) is used in our experiment.
A special feature is its Fizeau configuration, which enables one to eliminate much undesirable noise by combining both the reference arm and the sensing arm within the same length of fiber.
The dynamic response model of photo-elastic effect of ultrasonic wave and optical fiber is established. The fiber optic ultrasonic sensor experimental results are obtained and compared with the convenient PZT transducer.
Vibration monitoring can assess the amount of building movement caused by traffic, an earthquake, or nearby construction work or blasting. Vibration monitoring is particularly apt to monitor nearby buildings for the impact of an ongoing construction project.
Dimarogonas, Andrew D. "Vibration of cracked structures: a state of the art review." Engineering fracture mechanics 55, no. 5 (1996): 831-857.
The presence of a crack in a structural member introduces a local flexibility that affects its vibration response. Moreover, the crack will open and close in time depending on the rotation and vibration amplitude. In this case the system is nonlinear.
Furthermore, if general motion is considered, the local stiffness matrix description of the cracked section of the shaft leads to a coupled system, while for an uncracked shaft the system is decoupled.
2. (2) longitudinal and torsional harmonics are present in the start-up lateral vibration spectrum due to the coupling.
Over 500 papers on the subject were published in the past 10 yrs. A wealth of analytical, numerical and experimental investigations now exists.
However, a consistent cracked bar vibration theory is yet to be developed. There are still many unanswered questions, especially in the area of closing cracks in rotating shafts.
Dong, Xing-Jian, Guang Meng, and Juan-Chun Peng. "Vibration control of piezoelectric smart structures based on system identification technique: Numerical simulation and experimental study." Journal of Sound and Vibration 297, no. 3 (2006): 680-693.
Schulz, Whitten L., Joel P. Conte, and Eric Udd. "Long-gage fiber optic Bragg grating strain sensors to monitor civil structures." In SPIE's 8th Annual International Symposium on Smart Structures and Materials, pp. 56-65. International Society for Optics and Photonics, 2001.
Yam, L. H., Y. J. Yan, and J. S. Jiang. "Vibration-based damage detection for composite structures using wavelet transform and neural network identification." Composite Structures 60, no. 4 (2003): 403-412.
This paper presents an integrated method for damage detection of composite structures using their vibration responses, wavelet transform and artificial neural networks (ANN) identification.
Structural damage feature proxy vectors are constructed and calculated based on energy variation of the structural vibration responses decomposed using wavelet package before and after the occurrence of structural damage.
The ANN are applied to establish the mapping relationship between structural damage feature proxy and damage status (location and severity).
The results of crack damage detection for PVC sandwich plates show that the method developed in this paper can be applied to online structural damage detection and health monitoring for various industrial structures.
A borescope won't be much help in an external screen of a masonry structure for hidden damage but it might allow a view of exposed surfaces that are blocked by obstructions such as a radiator or HVAC equipment. A simple inspection mirror and a good light may also suffice. Borescopes can give a limited view of the inspection of a wall cavity. So you might inspect the cavity side of a brick veneer wall by probing the wall cavity from the building interior.
See HIDDEN MOLD in CEILINGS / WALLS for examples of better use of a borescope.
A pachometer is a non-destructive magnetic sensor that can find buried steel in masonry structures. A pachometer can be used thus to find re-bar, reinforcing steel mesh, and hidden steel beams.
Keep in mind that pipes, expanded metal lath, metal conduit will also be detected by this tool. Technical use of a pachometer in evaluating a concrete structure would be the confirmation of re-bar spacing and sizes as well as depth of the re-bar in a concrete ceiling, roof, wall, foundation, or slab. We might aso use a pachometer to check the depth of metal radiant heat piping in an older radiant heat floor.
Giasson, Claude, and Daniel Forthomme. "Comparison of central corneal thickness measurements between optical and ultrasound pachometers." Optometry & Vision Science 69, no. 3 (1992): 236-241.
Roddis, W. M. "Concrete bridge deck assessment using thermography and radar." PhD diss., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1987.
Tay, D. C. K., and C. T. Tam. "In situ investigation of the strength of deteriorated concrete." Construction and Building Materials 10, no. 1 (1996): 17-26.
A necessary prerequisite for devising a restoration scheme for a deteriorating structure is the acquisition of relevant in situ data to be used for evaluating structural adequacy as well as defining the scope of the restoration work. The methodology for conducting a successful structural in situ investigation includes: strategic planning, preliminary visual inspection, loading assessment, material property evaluation and load testing techniques.
The single most sought after material property used for the evaluation of residual load capacity and structural adequacy of deteriorated concrete structures is the in situ concrete strength.
The most direct method of obtaining this data is to test core specimens retrieved from the structure. It is not, however, always feasible to core for specimens and even if it is, the number of cores that can be taken is often limited.
The solution is therefore to use indirect non-destructive and partially destructive techniques which measure concrete properties other than strength in combination with testing core specimens. Several of those techniques especially suited for in situ investigation are reviewed. Prior to using any of the indirect methods, a correlation needs to be established with the in situ concrete strength.
Flatjack testing can detect deformed or stressed unreinforced masonry walls (concrete block, brick) and may detect deformation in concrete walls & foundations. Flatjack testing is also described (Carpinteri 2004) as acoustic emission (AE) technique, a non-destructive instrumental investigation method ... to measure and check the evolution of damage in concrete and masonry structures.
Binda, L., C. Modena, G. Baronio, and S. Abbaneo. "Repair and investigation techniques for stone masonry walls." Construction and Building Materials 11, no. 3 (1997): 133-142.
Carpinteri, Alberto, Stefano Invernizzi, and Giuseppe Lacidogna. "Historical brick-masonry subjected to double flat-jack test: Acoustic emissions and scale effects on cracking density." Construction and Building Materials 23, no. 8 (2009): 2813-2820.
The results obtained varying the size of the masonry prism involved in the double flat-jack test are described. In these tests, not only the deformations have been acquired, but also the acoustic emissions (AE) events, in order to get information about local cracking in the specimens. In addition, a meso-scale numerical model of the test is presented, where every brick of the masonry is modeled in details. Discrete cracks can arise both in the mortar joints and in the brick units. A good correlation is found between the amount of cracking simulated numerically and the experimental AE events for different prism sizes.
The model is also able to catch the decrease in the compressive strength with increasing size. Although a quantitative relation between the AE events and the amount of cracking is not easy to obtain, we have been able to prove that the two quantities are simply proportional to each other when increasing specimen sizes are considered, whereas both of them are not proportional to the same sizes, but rather obey a power-law.
Carpinteri, Alberto, Giuseppe Lacidogna, and Nicola Pugno. "A fractal approach for damage detection in concrete and masonry structures by the acoustic emission technique." [PDF] Acoustique et Techniques 38, no. 3 (2004): 31-37.
Garbowski, Tomasz, Giulio Maier, and Giorgio Novati. "Diagnosis of concrete dams by flat-jack tests and inverse analyses based on proper orthogonal decomposition." Journal of Mechanics of Materials and Structures 6, no. 1 (2011): 181-202.
Gregorczyk, Paweł, and Paulo B. Lourenço. "A review on flat-jack testing." (2000).
Noland, J. L., G. R. Kingsley, and R. H. Atkinson. "Utilization of nondestructive techniques into the evaluation of masonry." In Proceedings of the 8 th International Brick/Block Masonry Conference Dublin, Ireland, 19-21 September 1988,, pp. 1693-1703. 1988.
Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is widely used in broad-scope sitework to locate buried metal items such as a buried oil tank.
GPR uses an electromagnetic pulse that is reflected back to the instrument at varying signal levels based on what the pulse encounters in the pulsed area. Synonyms for ground penetrating radar or GPR include EMR (Electromagnetic Reflection), SIR (Subsurface Interface Radar), georadar, subsurface penetrating radar, and soil radar. (Blindow 2007).
GPR is also used in a more-technical application to find buried steel beams or reinforcement in a concrete structure. GPR can report on the location and thickness of steel or other metallic components hidden from view in solid structures, including re-bar, steel mesh, beams, as well as conduit and metal water pipes, even metallic ducctwork.
Annan, A. P. "Ground-penetrating radar." In Near-surface geophysics, pp. 357-438. Society of Exploration Geophysicists, 2005.
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a relatively young geophysical technique. First uses appeared in the 1960s with radio echo sounding of glaciers and ice sheets (Bailey et al., 1964) followed by permafrost analysis (Annan and Davis, 1976).
Applications spread with major changes commencing in the 1990s. The history of GPR is intertwined with the diverse applications of the technique. GPR has the most extensive set of applications of any geophysical technique leading to a wide range of spatial scales and concomitant diversity of instrument configurations.
A chronological history can be found in Annan (2002).
Blindow, Norbert, Dieter Eisenburger, Bernhard Illich, Hellfried Petzold, and Thomas Richter. "Ground penetrating radar." In Environmental Geology, pp. 283-335. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2007.
Davis, J. Lꎬ, and A. P. Annan. "Ground‐penetrating Radar For High‐resolution Mapping Of Soil And Rock Stratigraphy." Geophysical prospecting 37, no. 5 (1989): 531-551.
Griffin, Stephen, and Timothy Pippett. "Ground penetrating radar." Geophysical and Remote Sensing Methods for Regolith Exploration, CRC LEME Open File Report 144 (2002): 80-89.
Strain gauge monitoring equipment or devices are affixed in place across concrete, masonry block, brick or other surfaces where cracks are to be monitored for movement, deformation, or change.
See CRACK MONITORING METHODS - Methods for Monitoring Foundations for Evidence of Ongoing or Episodic Movement.
Impact-echo testing, one of the most widely-used concrete testing method for concrete and masonry, combines an impact device and sensor with (typically) a computer and special software to analyze sound waves or vibrations in solid concrete structural walls, floors, ceilings.
Impact echo testing can locate areas of damage to the concrete structure that are not readily visible, such as cracks in a concrete wall that are covered by plaster. Echo tests can report on the location, size, pattern, and thus severity of cracks in the structure.
The Impact Echo (IE) system is designed to determine the condition and thickness of concrete, wood, stone, and masonry structural members when voids, honeycomb, and/or cracks are suspected.
IE investigations can also be performed to predict the strength of early age concrete if the member thickness is known. Lastly, the IE method will provide information on the depth of a flaw or defect, in addition to mapping its lateral location and extent.
An advantage of the IE method over the Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) method is that only one side of the structure needs to be accessible for testing.
Mary J. Sansalone1 (PhD, Cornell) is the principal inventor of the impact-echo method, and a leading authority on the use of transient stress waves for nondestructive evaluation of heterogeneous materials. ... She shares a patent with one of her former graduate students for a portable, computer-operated system for impact-echo testing in the field.
William B. Streett (PhD, University of Michigan) is the President of Impact-Echo Instruments, LLC, a company that manufactures and markets impact-echo test equipment. ... He was a member of the faculty of Cornell University from 1978-95, and was Dean of Engineering from 1984-93. ... He is the author of the software that is used with the impact-echo field unit manufactured by his company.
Impact-echo is an acoustic method for nondestructive evaluation of concrete and masonry, invented at the U.S. National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in the mid-1980's, and developed at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York, from 1987-1997.
This article provides a brief description of the method, information about test equipment manufactured by Impact-Echo Instruments, LLC of Ithaca, New York , a description of a new book about impact-echo, and a list of case studies describing a variety of applications.
In December of 1997 the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) approved a new standard entitled, "Standard Test Method for Measuring the P-Wave Speed and the Thickness of Concrete Plates Using the Impact-Echo Method." This standard will appear in the 1998 Annual Book of ASTM Standards.
A rebound hammer is used to evaluate the quality and uniformity of "cured" or hardened concrete walls, floors, foundations. ASTM C805 describes the use of this test to assess the uniformity of concrete "in place" and to find "regions of poor quality or deteriorated concrete".
The accuracy of this test method is affected by a number of site factors including the smoothness of the concrete surface, the age and moisture content of the concrete, extent of surface carbonation, the use of aggregate and its properties, the presence of air voids, the nearby presence of reinforcing steel, the concrete temperature, and the care with which the rebound hammer was calibrated.
The [rebound hammer] consists of a plunger rod and an internal spring loaded steel hammer and a latching mechanism.
When the extended plunger rod is pushed against a hard surface, the spring connecting the hammer is stretched and when pushed to an internal limit, the latch is released causing the energy stored in the stretched spring to propel the hammer against the plunger tip. The hammer strikes the shoulder of the plunger rod and rebounds a certain distance.
There is a slide indicator on the outside of the unit that records the distance traveled during the rebound. This indication is known as the rebound number. By pressing the button on the side of the unit, the plunger is then locked in the retracted position and the rebound number (R-number) can be read from the graduated scale.
5.1 This test method is applicable to assess the in-place uniformity of concrete, to delineate variations in concrete quality throughout a structure, and to estimate in-place strength if a correlation is developed in accordance with 5.4.
5.2 For a given concrete mixture, the rebound number is affected by factors such as moisture content of the test surface, the type of form material or type of finishing used in construction of the surface to be tested, vertical distance from the bottom of a concrete placement, and the depth of carbonation.
These factors need to be considered in interpreting rebound numbers.
5.3 Different instruments of the same nominal design may give rebound numbers differing from 1 to 3 units.
Therefore, tests should be made with the same instrument in order to compare results. If more than one instrument is to be used, perform comparative tests on a range of typical concrete surfaces so as to determine the magnitude of the differences to be expected in the readings of different instruments.
5.4 Relationships between rebound number and concrete strength that are provided by instrument manufacturers shall be used only to provide indications of relative concrete strength at different locations in a structure.
Establish the relationship by correlating rebound numbers measured on the structure with the measured strengths of cores taken from corresponding locations (see Note 2).
At least two replicate cores shall be taken from at least six locations with different rebound numbers. Select test locations so that a wide range of rebound numbers in the structure is obtained.
Obtain, prepare, and test cores in accordance with Test Method C42/C42M. If the rebound number if affected by the orientation of the instrument during testing, the strength relationship is applicable for the same orientation as used to obtain the correlation date (see Note 3).
Locations where strengths are to be estimated using the developed correlation shall have similar surface texture and shall have been exposed to similar conditions as the locations where correlation cores were taken.
The functionality of the rebound hammer shall have been verified in accordance with 6.4 before making the correlation measurements.
5.1 This test method is applicable to assess the uniformity of concrete and to delineate zones of poor quality or deteriorated concrete in structures.
5.2 This test method is applicable to estimate in-place strength, provided that a relationship has been experimentally established between penetration resistance and concrete strength. Such a relationship must be established for a given test apparatus (see also 9.1.5), using similar concrete materials and mixture proportions as in the structure.
NOTE 1: Since penetration results may be affected by the nature of the formed surfaces (for example, wooden forms versus steel forms), correlation testing should be performed on specimens with formed surfaces similar to those to be used during construction.
5.3 Steel probes are driven with a high-energy, powder-actuated driver, and probes may penetrate some aggregate particles. Probe penetration resistance is affected by concrete strength as well as the nature of the coarse aggregate. Steel pins are smaller in size than probes and are driven by a low energy, spring-actuated driver.
Pins are intended to penetrate the mortar fraction only; therefore, a test in which a pin strikes a coarse aggregate particle is disregarded.
5.4 This test method results in surface damage to the concrete, which may require repair in exposed architectural finishes.
1.1 This test method covers the determination of the resistance of hardened concrete to penetration by either a steel probe or pin.
1.2 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system may not be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other.
FOUNDATION CRACK DICTIONARY where we describe dragging a chain across a concrete floor to detect voids and settlement.
Half-cell testing is an electronic test method that guesses at the level of active corrosion of steel reinforcement (re-bar or steel mesh) in reinforced concrete structures. In most-general terms, a half-cell test for metal corrosion is based on the reaction of anodes and cathodes.
Factors influencing the accuracy of half-cell tests on concrete to screen for corrosion of its rebar include the oxygen concentration at the interface of the re-bar and the concrete, the amount of concrete carbonation (reaction between atmospheric CO2 and CaOH in the concrete that reduces the pH of the steel-concrete interface, chloride ion concentration, the use of corrosion inhibitors at the time of construction, the use of expoxy-coated or galvanized re-bar, the density of the concrete cover, the use ofhigh-resistance concrete, the presence of organic coatings or sealants on the concrete surface, the presence of a concrete patch or other repair, and the presence of cathodic protection systems attached to the re-bar along with the problem of stray electrical currents.
Although it was blamed on excessive piling up of snow, the 2007 collapse of a section of the Poughkeepsie Galleria's parking garage might have been predicted had a prior survey been made using Half-Cell testing and a Pachometer to assess the presence of steel reinforcement as well as its condition.
Ahmad, Shamsad. "Reinforcement corrosion in concrete structures, its monitoring and service life prediction––a review." Cement and concrete composites 25, no. 4 (2003): 459-471.
Elsener, B., C. Andrade, J. Gulikers, R. Polder, and M. Raupach. "Hall-cell potential measurements—Potential mapping on reinforced concrete structures." Materials and Structures 36, no. 7 (2003): 461-471.
The half-cell potential measurement is an electrochemical technique commonly used by engineers to assess the severity of corrosion in reinforced concrete structures. This Update explains how various factors can affect the reliability of the data obtained.
Corrosion of steel reinforcement is a major factor in the deterioration of highway and bridge infrastructure.
A survey of the condition of a reinforced concrete structure is the first step towards its rehabilitation. A rapid, cost-effective and non-destructive condition survey offers key information on the evaluation of corrosion, and aids in the quality assurance of concrete repair and rehabilitation and in the prediction of remaining service life.
The simplest way to assess the severity of steel corrosion is to measure the corrosion potential, since it is qualitatively associated with the steel corrosion rate.
One can measure the potential difference between a standard portable half-cell, normally a copper/ copper sulphate (Cu/CuSO4) standard reference electrode placed on the surface of the concrete with the steel reinforcement underneath. Figure 1 illustrates the basics for such a measurement, also called half-cell potential measurement.
The reference electrode is connected to the negative end of the voltmeter and the steel reinforcement to the positive. Confidence in the half-cell potential measurement as an indication of corrosion potential has evolved owing to the success of bridge deck corrosion surveys.
An indication of the relative probability of corrosion activity was empirically obtained through measurements during the 1970s.[1-2] This work formed the basis of the ASTM standard C876, which provides general guidelines for evaluating corrosion in concrete structures as outlined in Table 1.
4.1 This test method is suitable for in-service evaluation and for use in research and development work.
4.2 This test method is applicable to members regardless of their size or the depth of concrete cover over the reinforcing steel. Concrete cover in excess of 3 in. (75 mm) can result in an averaging of adjacent reinforcement corrosion potentials that can result in a loss of the ability to discriminate variation in relative corrosion activity.
4.3 This test method may be used at any time during the life of a concrete member.
4.4 The results obtained by the use of this test method shall not be considered as a means for estimating the structural properties of the steel or of the reinforced concrete member.
4.5 The potential measurements should be interpreted by engineers or technical specialists experienced in the fields of concrete materials and corrosion testing.
It is often necessary to use other data such as chloride contents, depth of carbonation, delamination survey findings, rate of corrosion results, and environmental exposure conditions, in addition to corrosion potential measurements, to formulate conclusions concerning corrosion activity of embedded steel and its probable effect on the service life of a structure.
1.1 This test method covers the estimation of the electrical corrosion potential of uncoated reinforcing steel in field and laboratory concrete, for the purpose of determining the corrosion activity of the reinforcing steel.
1.2 This test method is limited by electrical circuitry. Concrete surface in building interiors and desert environments lose sufficient moisture so that the concrete resistivity becomes so high that special testing techniques not covered in this test method may be required (see 5.1.4.1). Concrete surfaces that are coated or treated with sealers may not provide an acceptable electrical circuit. The basic configuration of the electrical circuit is shown in Fig. 1.
Continue reading at CONCRETE FOUNDATION, WALL, SLAB DEFECTS - home, or select a topic from closely-related articles below, or see our complete INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES below.
Or see FOUNDATION CRACK DICTIONARY detailed process of evaluating foundation cracks and signs of foundation damage by examining the crack size, shape, pattern, and location.
CONCRETE or MASONRY DAMAGE TESTS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.
I agree that one needs to find the source of water or moisture in order to be able to correct it, followed by drying out the crawl area.
and let me know what specific questions remain.
Most likely the footing has shifted, or if the brick is a veneer wall its support or the attachment of that support to the foundation (some veneers used an L-bracket) may have failed. We'd need to see details or photos - for which you can use the page top or bottom CONTACT link if you like.
Watch out: loose brick walls, if the bond courses or for a veneer the connections to the structure are broken there is danger of a collapse that could cause injuries or worse.
What is the possible cause of a brick wall that has shifted on the foundation footing on one end. There is about 1/2" of overhang of the bricks on the footing on about 1/4 of the wall. There has been movement and repairs to the foundation.
I can't reliably diagnose your foundation wall failure from just your e-text; one needs to look both outside and inside for conditions that affect the foundation.
A foundation damage diagnosis of "failure over time" is 100 % baloney despite your inspector's credentials. It is in essence nearly content-free.
A building foundation is not a consumable that gets "used-up" over time until it fails.
Rather what your engineer may have meant to say (perhaps he skipped Freshman English) was that the cracked or buckled foundation damage did not occur in a single event but rather that it happened over time.
To support that conclusion, and to avoid an endless battle of "opinions" in our current world where objective data and facts are either insufficiently valued or are deliberately de-valued in order to serve someone's purpose, a decent engineer ought to have said what he observed, found, measured, that supported that conclusion.
For example if I find old paint, dust, dirt, inside a horizontal crack in a bulged block foundation wall I am confident that the bulge and crack didn't happen yesterday, even if yesterday's forces might have exacerbated it.
IF you have photographs of the foundation wall before the flooding and freezing event that your email suggests occurred then you could prove rather convincingly that the even coincided with the burst hose and - this is correct, right? - that the soaking of the ground was followed by freezing weather that might have added frost-push to wet-soil loading against the wall.
It sounds as if you are describing mineral salts or effloresence - search InspectApedia for EFFLORESENCE to read the details of what this is and how to prevent it.
As a lintel usually carries weight, I wouldn't assume that a break is harmless unless you mean to say that the lintel was too long for the space into which it was being inserted and one-end broke off; that is, any crack or break in the open span of the lintel is surely going to mean trouble, as might insufficient bearing area under the lintel ends in the wall. You can send photos using the page top or bottom CONTACT link.
I have a leaning exterior brick wall that is approximately 5' tall and 20 'long. It is leaning and also needs some tuck pointing . Is there anyway of bracing the way other than tearing it down and starting over? The earth on one side of wall is higher than the other. Also, I am not sure of any footings.
For a brick wall that is supported by a foundation, the width of that footing is determined by the original design engineer, architect or contractor based on soil properties as well as anticipated weight or loading from above.
If the footing width were so wide that you could in principle move the brick wall that rests on it 50cm without finding the brick wall now off of the foundation completely, you could do so, but the risk is that the wall begins to tip or lean, ultimately collapsing.
My question is can I move a brick wall fence, with foundation of reinforced concrete strip foundation, to the right or left up to 50cm?
Many bricks are chipped mold has repeatedly been corrected, only on inside wall. Soon the new paint on that inside wall is peeling. This is a COOP. It is now two & halp years.
I cannot get a full nights sleep waking up with itchy eyes.
Thomas thanks for the nice comment about our website content. We know that we have many readers in Australia and New Zealand and I'm anxious to add terms and technical details that match those used in your area. While climate and constuction practices vary around the world, brick and masonry construction in general suffers similar problems in most places - often it's the local names for materials & construction methods that vary more than the materials and pracices themselves. One man's septic drainfield is another's soakaway bed.
We'd welcome specific questions, comments on different construction terminology used in different parts of the world, etc. We are dedicated to making our information as accurate, complete, useful, and unbiased as possible: we very much welcome critique, questions, or content suggestions for our web articles. Working together and exchanging information makes us better informed than any individual can be working alone.
Questions & answers or comments about structural brick foundations & brick walls: crack, leak, or movement diagnosis, defects, & repairs, risks of collapse.


Can I change the topic for a second? I am, as usual, confused and asking for help. On another thread (I forget which one) we were talking about Amal having a PA. I think it was Katie who said PA was another name for secretary. Now I'm wondering if I'm just behind the times or if it's another across-the-pond difference of definition.
Here in the US a secretary (in business, at least) handles professional correspondence, scheduling, etc. but usually not personal issues or errands. That is the kind of assistant I would think a lawyer like Amal would have.
A PA (personal assistant) is an employee who may do all that and more - errands, contacts, shopping - whatever, in your personal life - like Angel's job with George. I wouldn't have expected Amal to have a PA before she met George.
Am I just out of touch with today's world (wouldn't be the first time) or is it a difference of definition?
If you ask me, the duties of a secretary and a PA overlap. For decades secretaries have also done personal errands for their bosses, which I think is how the PA came about - it's a recognition that this person is doing more than just answering the phone and typing letters. My last hotel manager would not have been able to function without his PA. I'm not sure if the job title of secretary even exists any more? I think they're all called PAs nowadays.
I think your question is really whether Amal's PA (if s/he even exists) is the kind of personal assistant that you get with celebrities and movie stars as opposed to someone employed in the office. To that I have no answer because I really don't know.
Katiedot wrote: If you ask me, the duties of a secretary and a PA overlap. For decades secretaries have also done personal errands for their bosses, which I think is how the PA came about - it's a recognition that this person is doing more than just answering the phone and typing letters. My last hotel manager would not have been able to function without his PA. I'm not sure if the job title of secretary even exists any more? I think they're all called PAs nowadays.
The person who used to be a "secretary" is now mostly called an "assistant," due to the fact, like Katiedot said, they not only handle the secretarial responsibilities in the office, but also some of the personal tasks needed outside of the office. They usually don't have the "personal" title in front of assistant if they have a desk in an office, because they are hoping to be promoted above assistant status.
I guess I'm just behind the times. I worked for several years as an administrative assistant - not a secretary - and was responsible for keeping my bosses prepared and on time professionally. It was rare that they would ask me or their secretary to handle any personal business for them or ask us to work after business hours.
Seems like things have changed. I suppose, with the job market being what it is, people will do things they consider outside their job description just to keep their job - and employers ask things of their assistants they would not have asked before because they know people will tolerate a lot to keep working.
As a rule an administrative assistant only works for the boss in the office.
A personal assistant would include working for them outside of the office.
I suppose some secretaries do personal errands for their bosses but that's really not their function.
I don't think times have changed here in the US. There might be a difference in other countries though. Not sure about that.
Lorna - That's the way I thought it was, but apparently either times have changed or things are different in the rest of the world. It's really not important - I was just curious.


You're heard the story already: fake news - actual fake news, and not just what Trump calls fake news - has been propagating on social media networks. I've encountered so much in my networks, I've begun using Snopes as a verb. E.g., "Can you Snopes this, please?" In fact, fake news may have had real-world consequences, perhaps even influencing the results of elections.
Fake news has been able to propagate, not simply because of people who spread what they knew to be fake, but because many (likely well-meaning) people bought it and shared it.
Last week, Facebook said its News Feed would prioritize links from publications its users deemed "trustworthy" in an upcoming survey. Turns out that survey isn't a particularly lengthy or nuanced one. In fact, it's just two questions.
A Facebook spokesperson confirmed this as the only version of the survey in use. They also confirmed that the questions were prepared by the company itself and not by an outside party.
That's right, Facebook intends to protect people from fake news by asking the very people who helped spread that news what sources they find trustworthy. Do you see the problem with this scenario? Because the leadership at Facebook certainly doesn't.
Yesterday evening, I went to my first meeting of an advisory board for an applied psychology accelerated bachelors program for adult learners. During that meeting, we were asked what skills and knowledge would be essential for someone coming out of such a program. One of my responses was that, a skillset from my training I've had to use in every job and many of volunteer experiences has to do with creating and fielding surveys. There is an art and a science to surveying people, and there are ways to write questions that will get useful data - and ways that will get you garbage. Facebook's survey is going to give them garbage.
Even if you forget about the countless people who, every day, mistake well-known satirical news sites (like the Onion) as genuine, not every site is clear on whether it is purporting itself to be real news or simply entertainment - and let's be honest, where do you draw that line between informing and entertaining? How do you define something as trustworthy or not? And how might variation in how people define that term influence your data? Many year ago, when Jon Stewart was still on The Daily Show, I remember a commercial in which they shared that more Americans get their news from The Daily Show than anywhere else, to which Stewart replied, "Don't do that! We make stuff up!" Even though they were forthcoming about this, people still considered them trustworthy.
The real issue is when people can't tell the difference. So now you're fixing a problem caused by people being unable to tell the difference by asking people to tell the difference. At best, the survey will produce such inconsistent data, it won't have any influence on what links can and can't be shared. At worst, the same biases that caused fake news to be shared to begin with will be used to deem sites trustworthy or not. And having the Facebook stamp of trustworthy could result in even more harm.
Honestly, information campaigns to make people more skeptical would be a much better use of Facebook's time and resources.


Do I need a liver biopsy?
Haemochromatosis is a genetic disorder where an excessive amount of iron is absorbed from the diet. Normally the liver stores iron for the essential purpose of providing new red blood cells with iron. When excess quantities of iron are stored in the liver it becomes enlarged and liver function becomes impaired. Surplus amounts of iron may also be deposited in the heart, pancreas and kidneys.
Iron builds up slowly so the symptoms may not appear for many years. There is no typical pattern of presentation. Most sufferers will complain of fatigue and exhibit changes in skin pigmentation. The additional symptoms will depend on which target organs are affected. For example, if the pancreas is affected then the patient may complain with symptoms of diabetes. If the heart is affected the patient may complain of a variety of heart related symptoms. These may include decreased exercise tolerance or disturbances of heart rhythm. Sometimes the joints may be affected.
Given the diverse pattern of presentation diagnosis is usually triggered by a strong index of suspicion on the part of the attending doctor.
The diagnosis is based on blood analysis. Tests include serum ferritin and transferrin saturation.
This is an iron transport protein. It carries iron when taken from the gut to the bone marrow and the liver. A transferrin saturation above 50% for women and above 55% for men fasting is very suggestive of haemochromatosis.
This is an iron storage protein. An elevated result may be due to iron overload, but there are other causes of a high level. The result should be interpreted in combination with transferrin saturation.
If the above blood tests suggest that the liver is likely to contain excess iron or other blood tests imply any degree of liver inflammation then a biopsy is performed. This test involves removing a small piece of liver tissue with a special biopsy needle which is then examined under microscope and the iron concentration is measured chemically.
The result enables doctors to assess the amount of iron overload and to see if any damage has occurred to the liver tissue. It can exclude any other cause of abnormal test results.
There is now a simple genetic test that can identify the mutation in the gene responsible for causing the absorption of too much iron. This involves a blood test or a simple finger prick test where a small drop of blood is applied to a card. The great benefit of this test is that it allows for whole families to be screened and therefore early detection of the disease before symptoms and tissue damage have occurred.
Treatment is most effective when begun early on in the disease as it can successfully prevent or stop organ damage. If damage has already occurred then treatment should halt any further damage and in most cases bring about an improvement.
The only method of removing excess iron from the body is by removal of blood. This is like giving a blood donation and is called venesection or phlebotomy therapy. Every pint of blood removed contains 250mg of iron. The body then uses some haemochromatosis of the excess stored tissue iron to make new blood cells which are removed in subsequent phlebotomy.
The length of treatment depends on the amount of excess iron in the body at the time of diagnosis, which is measured by the ferritin and transferrin saturation. Treatment may mean weekly phlebotomy for one to two years, or until the iron levels have been reduced to a safe level.
During the treatment the serum ferritin levels are monitored, the results of this test gives a measure of the remaining iron stores. Once the initial treatment is completed and the iron levels are back to normal then they are monitored every three months. As they start to rise again phlebotomy is recommended.
Treatment for haemochromatosis is ongoing for life and may require blood to be removed once or twice yearly depending on how quickly the iron is reaccumulating. This is called maintenance therapy.
Venesection treatment will allow iron tissue to be mobilised and iron stores will return to normal. However, it will not cure any clinical condition such as diabetes already present at the time treatment is started. This emphasises the importance of early diagnosis.
The common view is that a low iron diet is of little benefit and is not advised since considerably more iron can be removed in a single venesection.
No iron medication or multivitamins containing iron.
No bread or cereals with fortified iron.
Inherited disorders are caused by defective genes in the cells which make up the body. Genes which are made up of DNA, contain the information the body needs to develop from the egg, and to maintain itself in good working order. Human beings have about 60,000 genes, and every cell in the body except the egg and sperm cell contain two copies of each. One of these copies is inherited from each parent.
The disease haemochromatosis is a recessive disorder. This means that it only develops if both copies of the gene are abnormal. If only one copy is defective an individual will be perfectly well but will be a carrier. About 20% of the population are carriers.
If both parents are carriers (about one in 25 couples). On average a quarter of the children will develop haemochromatosis, half will be carriers and a quarter will be normal.
If one parent has haemochromatosis and the other is a carrier (about 1 in 3,000 couples) on average half of the children will develop haemochromatosis and the other half will be carriers.
If both parents suffer from haemochromatosis, (a rare event, occurring in about 1 in 10,000 couples) all the children will inherit two defective genes and all will have haemochromatosis.
It should be emphasised that the proportions given in examples 1 and 2 are averages for the whole population. For instance, in any particular family where both parents are carriers, it would be possible for all children to be affected, all to be carriers, or all to be normal.
Relatives who are at risk should be tested. This is absolutely essential in the case of brothers and sisters (siblings) as they stand at least one in four chance of being affected. early detection and treatment will prevent all the complications of the disease.
Since the carrier rate is one in five, it is worth while screening the spouse of homozygotes.
Note that screening leads to early diagnosis and treatment, preventing complications developing from this frequent and potentially fatal genetic disorder.


The random number generator has determined that the next game I should write about is Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3.
Wario Land is an interesting game in that it continued an existing series by transforming it. It is the last game in the Mario Land series as well as the first in the Wario Land one. You play as Wario, who was the main antagonist in the previous game, Super Mario Land 2.
I bought this game from the 3DS Nintendo eshop when I was bored, along with Mario Land 1, Wario Land 2 and Wario Land 3. I already had Mario Land 2 from an eshop sale.
After finishing Mario Land 2, PAX East 2014 happened. I didn’t have a Ticket for the Friday, but I did meet my friend Absol from the Internet outside the venue that day. I then sat for a few hours and streetpassed with people who were in line to get in. This campaign finally ended when my 3DS ran out of battery power and I decided to take the train home.
When I got home, I was experiencing gaming withdrawal. Though it was true that I had been playing the Mii Plaza games Puzzle Swap and Warrior’s Way, I had only played them so intently that day because PAX East presented me with an opportunity to progress faster in those games than I usually could. That said, you can only play the street pass games for so long before they stop being fun.
That afternoon, I played through the entirety of Super Mario Land 1 and then started Super Wario Land.
“Best adventure yet”? More like “Shortest adventure yet”!
Super Wario Land is pretty easy, even without Restore Points, but I did use them for the sake of convenience. I ran into a problem early on in the game that taught me to be careful with restore points. I had accidentally created a restore point at a moment in the game when Wario was healthy, but there was no possible way to survive to the end of the level (there was a moving platform I was supposed to have jumped off of). This taught me that there are dangers to using restore points, and one should always be careful in their use.
Wario Land 1 plays similarly to regular Super Mario games. Wario can obtain power ups like the Dragon, Bull or Jet to traverse levels differently or attack enemies more easily. If you get hit by an enemy, just like in Super Mario, you lose your power up, and if hit again, you become “Tiny Wario”. If Tiny Wario gets hit, it’s a death.
Following Wario’s defeat in Mario Land 2, Wario wants to build a new castle. To pay for it, he decides to steal treasure from pirates.
He eventually duels with Captain Syrup, the leader of the pirates, and her genie.
After he wins, the genie builds Wario a new castle. Depending on how well you do collecting treasure, you get ranked at the end by how big the castle is.
The genie built me a birdhouse.
Wario is a character defined by his flaws. In that way, he’s a much more believable character than his doppelgänger Mario. This game introduced his greed, and other games would feature his sloth and gluttony. Greed is his primary personality trait, because that’s what motivates him to get off the couch once in a while.
The only Wario Land game that I haven’t beaten yet is the one they made immediately after this one, which was for the Nintendo Virtual Boy gaming system. The process of writing this article incited me to bite the bullet and order a Virtual Boy gaming system online along with the Wario Land title for it. I’ll hopefully play it soon.
Even 9-Volt has a Virtual Boy. I wonder if he has Wario Land.
Through the process of writing this article, it can be said that my life has been slightly affected by a random number generator. Thanks for Reading! I Appreciate it!
The random number generator has chosen for me to write about the first game I finished after starting this website. The game I finished right after I purchased Zelgerath.com was Ice Climber!
Right after “beating Duck Hunt” (See my article about the endeavor) I was in an NES Virtual Console mood. Most NES games weren’t designed to be beaten, but to go on indefinitely like an arcade game, yet I am still able to find ways of defining for myself when I have beaten a game like that. I’m also pretty lax about it; Barring the occasional exception, I’m not really into beating games to 100% completion anymore, and I also use restore points when they are available if they make a difficult task much more possible for me to overcome.
I say this to note that I am not actually good at Ice Climber, but I was patient enough to struggle through the 32 mountains in the game using the Wii U Virtual Console’s restore point feature.
As daunting a task as beating all of the Nintendo games might be, it’s best to think about it one character/series at a time. Part of why I beat Duck Hunt in such an enthusiastic rush was that Duck Hunt is the only game in its series, so when I finished the game I also finished all of the games associated with an entire fighter in Super Smash Brothers. Following my Duck Hunt achievement, I remembered that the Ice Climbers were cut from the most recent version of Super Smash Brothers, so I decided that it was time to take on the entire Ice Climber series (which is only one game long) to avenge them.
And avenge them I did… Ice Climber is essentially a vertical Mario game. Instead of going from left to right, the Ice Climber goes from bottom to top. His weapon is a hammer, which helps a little bit, but most of the challenge is very precise platforming. I found the platforming to be archaic and difficult; The jumping in the first Super Mario Bros. was much better. There were many times in Ice Climber when I had to jump a gap and it looked like I made it, but didn’t because the visual area of the ice climber didn’t correspond with what the game considered his location to be. Luckily, I knew this was a problem with the game and so I used lots of restore points at moments like that and at other dangerous parts.
In the course of a few days, I slowly made my way to the summit of every mountain in the game, always successfully reaching the bonus Pterodactyl at the top because my use of restore points made me the master of time and space.
Yes, I know. I’m a total cheater.
The mountains got more and more treacherous the further I went, but after I climbed the 32nd mountain, I was brought back to the first one. Like an arcade game, Ice Climber never ends until you get a Game Over, but I knew I was done and so added Ice Climber to my list of beaten games.
Also, concerning the Ice Climbers’ absence in the newest Super Smash Bros. game, I think that they will come back, if not as DLC then in the next installment. The only reason they were cut from Smash Bros. 4 is that presumably the original 3DS couldn’t handle 4 players playing as 4 different sets of Ice Climbers fighting at the same time without significant lag, which could potentially happen if players were allowed to fight as them in the game. I’m sure the Wii U could handle even 8 sets of Ice Climbers fighting, but Nintendo probably wanted the same fighters in the Wii U version to be available in the 3DS version, so they canceled their appearance this time.
But once they bring the Ice Climbers back to Smash Bros (and they will), I’m sure they’ll also make an Ice Climbers Amiibo.


The boss has spoken - and he's not impressed.
Bruce Springsteen says he doesn't believe Donald Trump is fit for office.
'When he was just a sorta big, bloviating New York billionaire, he could be kinda funny,' said Bruce Springsteen during his appearance at The New Yorker Festival.
'He's not funny as a presidential candidate ... I predict he will not win. But I do believe he's done a lot of damage already. I don't believe he's going to go gently into the night. It's a very dangerous thing,' he said.
The Daily News reported that 67-year-old Springsteen showed his displeasure during a Q&A at a Broadway theater.
He called Trump's appeal 'a con job' based on campaign promises to build a wall along the Mexico border and bring back jobs to the U.S.A.
Springsteen said that he was still a huge fan of President Obama, who even used a number of his songs on the campaign trail in 2008 and 2012.
The legendary rock star spoke to a sold-out crowd in during a one-hour, 20-minute on-stage interview as part of a nationwide tour for his best-selling new autobiography Born To Run.
'The Boss' has a storyteller's knack for recounting the past in vivid detail, with quick wit and humor.
He discussed the labored process of writing the book, which took seven years, his troubled relationship with his father, sweet memories of raising his children with wife and longtime backup singer, Patti Scialfa, and his history with depression, as he does in the book.
'I think music was the way that I medicated myself in the beginning. It was the first thing that centered me and chased away the blues,' Springsteen said, seated in an armchair beside his interviewer on stage at the historic Nourse Theater.
The book Born to Run came out in late September and has risen to the top of best-seller lists.


Select the one best response to each question!
Which of the following nerves arises by two roots that surround the middle meningeal artery?
Parasympathetic fibers from CN IX travel to the parotid gland via which of the following nerves?
Which of the following is NOT true?
The mental artery is distributed to facial muscles and skin of the chin.
The angular artery is distributed to the superior part of the cheek and lower eyelid.
The supratrochlear artery is distributed to the muscles and skin of the scalp.
The superficial temporal artery is distributed to the parotid gland and duct.
The occipital artery is distributed to the scalp in the back of the head.
Which of the following cutaneous nerves is derived from the ophthalmic nerve?
The maxillary nerve gives off branches to which of the following ganglia?
Which of the following is true regarding the stylomastoid foramen?
It is a common site of lesion for the glossopharyngeal nerve.
It is located between the styloid and mastoid processes of the sphenoid bone.
The stylomastoid branch of the posterior auricular artery travels though it.
CN V is transmitted through it.
Sensory nerves of the face travel through it.
Which of the following is NOT contained within the parotid gland?
Which of the following nerves is NOT correctly matched with its distribution?
Which of the following nerves is correctly described with respect to its course?
The buccal nerve travels from the posterior division of the mandibular nerve between the neck of the mandible and the external acoustic meatus.
The lacrimal nerve passes through the palpebral fascia of the upper eyelid near the lateral canthus of the eye.
The supratrochlear nerve emerges through the supraorbital notch and divides into branches.
The infratrochlear nerve passes superiorly on the medial surface of the supraorbital nerve.
The auriculotemporal travels from the anterior division of the mandibular nerve in the infratemporal fossa to reach the cheek.
Which of the following is NOT a branch of the facial nerve?
All muscles of facial expression develop from which pharyngeal arch?
Which of the following is a branch of internal carotid artery?
Which of the following sequences of nerve branches is NOT correct?
In respect to the orbicularis oculi, which of the following is true?
Its palpebral part draws the eyelids medially so that tears may be drained.
Its lacrimal part tightly closes the eyelids in squinting.
Its orbital part delicately closes the eyelids in blinking.
It is innervated by a zygomatic branch of the facial nerve.
Which of the following is NOT a branch of the facial artery?
The temporal branch of CN VII does NOT innervate which of the following?
Which of the following does NOT insert on the angle of the mouth?
You need to try more!
I consent to having form collect my name and email!
23. All muscles of facial expression develop from which pharyngeal arch?
24. Which of the following does NOT insert on the angle of the mouth?
25. In respect to the orbicularis oculi, which of the following is true?
(A) Its orbital part delicately closes the eyelids in blinking.
(B) Its palpebral part draws the eyelids medially so that tears may be drained.
(C) Its lacrimal part tightly closes the eyelids in squinting.
(D) It is innervated by a zygomatic branch of the facial nerve.
(E) It takes origin from the skin of the margin of the orbit and the tarsal plate, and it inserts on the lacrimal bone, medial palpebral ligament, and medial orbital margin.
26. Which of the following cutaneous nerves is derived from the ophthalmic nerve?
27. Which of the following nerves arises by two roots that surround the middle meningeal artery?
28. Which of the following nerves is NOT correctly matched with its distribution?
29. Which of the following sequences of nerve branches is NOT correct?
30. Which of the following nerves is correctly described with respect to its course?
(A) The auriculotemporal travels from the anterior division of the mandibular nerve in the infratemporal fossa to reach the cheek.
(B) The buccal nerve travels from the posterior division of the mandibular nerve between the neck of the mandible and the external acoustic meatus.
(C) The lacrimal nerve passes through the palpebral fascia of the upper eyelid near the lateral canthus of the eye.
(D) The infratrochlear nerve passes superiorly on the medial surface of the supraorbital nerve.
(E) The supratrochlear nerve emerges through the supraorbital notch and divides into branches.
32. The maxillary nerve gives off branches to which of the following ganglia?
33. Which of the following is NOT a branch of the facial nerve?
34. The temporal branch of CN VII does NOT innervate which of the following?
35. Which of the following is true regarding the stylomastoid foramen?
(A) It is located between the styloid and mastoid processes of the sphenoid bone.
(B) CN V is transmitted through it.
(C) Sensory nerves of the face travel through it.
(D) The stylomastoid branch of the posterior auricular artery travels though it.
(E) It is a common site of lesion for the glossopharyngeal nerve.
36. Which of the following is NOT a branch of the facial artery?
37. Which of the following is a branch of internal carotid artery?
38. Which of the following is NOT true?
(A) The angular artery is distributed to the superior part of the cheek and lower eyelid.
(B) The occipital artery is distributed to the scalp in the back of the head.
(C) The superficial temporal artery is distributed to the parotid gland and duct.
(D) The mental artery is distributed to facial muscles and skin of the chin.
(E) The supratrochlear artery is distributed to the muscles and skin of the scalp.
39. Which of the following is NOT contained within the parotid gland?
40. Parasympathetic fibers from CN IX travel to the parotid gland via which of the following nerves?


DANBURY - To play ball or not to play ball?
A Danbury Baseball Committee which met for the first time on Friday will collect information on the cost of building and operating a minor league stadium in Danbury.
It will then release that information to city residents, who will vote on Nov. 2 in a non-binding referendum on whether the city should use $10 million to put a stadium on the west side.
"We have to make a decision about baseball in town. Do we want it?" Boughton said.
Last year, it all seemed settled. Officials announced the city had been granted a team in the independent Northeast League . A stadium was going to be built for the city - free of charge - by developers who are building offices, housing and retail space.
But as plans changed for the west side project, and concerns arose about the cost of operating a stadium, the city accepted an offer from the developers to take $10 million - plus 13 acres for a park - instead of the stadium.
Now officials must decide how to use the money - for a stadium, or for tax relief, schools or social service programs.
Between now and November, the role of the nine-member Baseball Committee is to figure out what a stadium might cost Danbury, how much it would cost to run and how much revenue it might bring in. Once that information is gathered, it will be released to the public.
The committee will schedule a public forum in October to discuss the issue and hear the concerns of voters.
At the first meeting, members discussed the prospect of a $13 million stadium. In the past, Boughton spoke of a stadium that would hold 3,500 to 4,000 people. Other towns that have built similar facilities in recent years have paid as much as $16 million.
"Clearly we don't want it to be a drain on the city's coffers," said Danbury Economic Development Director James Bellano , a member of the Baseball Committee. "Could this be an economic boon for the city? Probably not. Could it be a break-even proposition? That's possible."
What's still unclear is the cost of running such a stadium. Officials worry the facility would cost so much to keep up that they might end up with a rundown, abandoned facility.
Richard Murray , who works for the Danbury Westerners, a team that plays in a New England summer league for college players.
"If you even threaten to hit people's tax dollars, you have a tough row to hoe. Is it going to fly?" said Murray, who is a member of the Baseball Committee. "I don't know. I think it will be an uphill climb."
One thing is clear - the non-binding referendum on the stadium will be interesting. Under the city charter, officials can't use the same voting machines for candidate races and the referendum.
So there will be two voting machines at each polling place. It seems likely the referendum will be conducted on new, touchscreen voting machines that resemble computer terminals.


What Is Planning and Zoning? Two of the most important functions of local government are planning and zoning. In Missouri, both cities and counties undertake planning and zoning. A plan is a blueprint or guide for the orderly growth of a community. The goal of planning is to create a community that is a good place for its residents to live, work, go to school, and play.
The city itself may be responsible for implementing or doing some parts of the plan such as building streets or laying water lines. But much of "the doing" under a plan is not done by governments, but by individuals and businesses that buy property and build houses, stores, and factories. The plan is intended to guide the land use decisions of individual property owners in order to promote the general well-being of the community. But while the typical resident of a community is likely to support the general idea of planning, specific planning decisions are often highly controversial since they affect what people can do with their property and what others who live nearby can do with theirs.
A city tries to make sure that the land use decisions of individual property owners are consistent with the plan. The city does this by zoning. Zoning refers to the city's laws or ordinances that tell the community what kinds of land use can occur in various parts of the community. In other words, cities use zoning as a way to make sure that development in the city fits within the plan. Like planning, zoning is intended to protect the health and safety of the city's residents, preserve property values in the community, and promote the city's economy.
The idea behind zoning (and planning as well) is that land use decisions in a particular area or neighborhood should be consistent or fit together. You probably would not like to live in house located beside a smoke-belching factory or a noisy mall subject to heavy traffic. Zoning aims to prevent such "inconsistent" uses by keeping residential areas (such as homes and apartments) apart from areas of industry (factories and warehouses) and commercial areas (office parks and shopping centers). Thus, a city will divide up its land area into zones or zoning districts.
What Are Zoning Districts? There are three main kinds of zoning districts: (1) residential; (2) commercial; and (3) industrial. Each of these is described below.
Notice that as the R number gets larger, the type of residence will "house" more people.
By having these different kinds of residential zoning districts, cities can control the zoning "density" of where people live. "Density" refers to the number of people living on each acre of land.
R1 does not mean the same thing in every city. In the City of Ellisville, R1 zoning requires that homes must be built on lots one-half acre in size or greater. Thus, six homes can be built on three acres. In the City of Wildwood, R1 zoning says that homes must be built on lots three acres in size or greater. In Wildwood, the city population will never become very large because only one home can be built on every three acres. Wildwood has zoned in this way to cut down on its population growth in order to avoid many of the problems which come with more population (such as more traffic and overcrowding problems in the schools).
Commercial Zoning Districts... Commercial zoning is very much like residential zoning. There is a group of commercial zones ranging from C1 to C4, with the higher number indicating greater density.
C1: districts allow for small business offices, such as dentists and attorneys, that have few customers. These are "low impact" businesses that create few traffic or noise problems.
C2: districts allow land uses of greater impact than C1. C2 businesses might include medical buildings, small libraries, and museums - businesses that create more traffic than C1 businesses, but are not viewed as disruptive to neighborhoods.
C3: land uses, such as grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations, have a large impact on surrounding areas; they generate lots of traffic, noise, and trash, and so are placed well apart from residential areas.
C4: businesses include movie theaters, shopping malls, and automobile dealerships. They require very dense, large-scale land use, and are seldom located next to residential areas.
Industrial Zoning Districts ...Industrial zoning is much like residential and commercial zoning. Industrial zones might be divided between M1 ("M" means manufacturing) for warehouses and truck depots and M2 for factories, smokestack industries, or other large scale manufacturing plants. M2 zones would never be placed next to a residential zone, since a noisy, smoke-belching factory would make residential life miserable and significantly reduce the property value of homes nearby.
Buffering is an important part of zoning. If a commercial zoning district is next to a residential zoning district, the commercial zoning district will require certain buffers to keep residents in their own homes from being exposed to harm from commercial activities such as the revving of car engines and the constant whirring of heating and air conditioning units in a large discount store. Buffering may involve wooden privacy fencing or certain kinds of trees like Evergreens, that always screen the two zoning districts from each other. Certain zoning districts may also have 50-foot or 100-foot "no build" zones that help to keep all commercial buildings at least 50 feet or 100 feet from the nearest home.
Setback requirements for buildings, like buffering, help to lessen the effect of all kinds of property problems. Setback requirements may say, for example, that no home can be built closer than 35 feet from the street, or less than 10 feet from any other property line. If you live in a home next to an open field, setback requirements prevent another person from building a house right "on" your property line, and so put your bedroom window about 10 feet from his bedroom window. Zoning tries to standardize the appearance of the neighborhoods.
What Are the "Politics" of Zoning? In applying its zoning rules, a city usually makes a distinction between permitted uses and conditional uses. Permitted uses pose no special problems for a particular zoning district, and so all that is needed is a business license from the city. Conditional uses can pose traffic, noise, or other problems, and so must get special approval from the city's governing body (the board of aldermen or city council). The following example shows how a C3 zone might distinguish between permitted and conditional uses.
Notice that Conditional Uses generally have land uses that are more likely to cause problems than are permitted uses. If a record store wanted to locate in a C3 zoning district, it would come under the category of "General Retail," which is a permitted use. If a fast-food restaurant with a drive-through facility wanted to locate in the C3 zoning district, it would fall under the conditional use heading. The fast-food restaurant could not just open its business, as the record store could. It would first have to apply for a conditional use permit from the city government.
Planning and Zoning Commission. An application for a conditional use permit goes to the city's planning and zoning commission, which holds a meeting or "public hearing" at which anyone can speak for or against the restaurant's proposal for a conditional use. The commission will make sure that that the restaurant has thought about such issues as lighting, traffic flow, noise, and crime. The commission can require that the drive-through stay open only until midnight so that people who live nearby don't have to put up with "WOULD YOU LIKE FRIES WITH THAT" blaring from the loudspeaker at three o'clock in the morning. The commission can even require that the restaurant pay for traffic lights on the street near its entrance. After the hearing, the commission recommends to the city council either that the permit be granted or denied.
City Council...After the planning and zoning commission has made its recommendation, the city council or board of aldermen (depending on what the city calls it) will hold its public hearing on the application. At this second hearing, the council will make sure that the restaurant has addressed the concerns of all residents and nearby businesses before it is allowed to build and operate its fast-food business. After the hearing, the council will vote "yes" or "no" on the question of whether to grant the conditional use permit. If the council votes yes, the restaurant can open. If no, the restaurant cannot operate.
If the council votes no, it must have a very good reason for not letting the restaurant be opened. If the property owner who wants to build the restaurant feels that the city is being unfair, the owner can sue the city, hoping that the judge who hears the lawsuit will force the city to issue the permit and even pay the owner for lost income for the time the restaurant was not allowed to open.
Summary... In carrying out zoning and land use policy, city officials must weigh the interests of the property owner against the interests of the entire community. This balancing act is often controversial because the typical resident wants to be able to use her property as she sees fit and to have a zoning policy that produces a safe, attractive community. Achieving both goals at the same time is not always easy.
NOTE: Jeffrey LaGarce, current City Manager of Hannibal, MO, prepared this chapter, with assistance from the CECH staff while he was Assistant City Manager of Ellisville, Missouri.


Security and regulatory troubles on both sides of the Atlantic threaten the future of China’s ZTE and Huawei. But to what extent are the recent disputes linked to Trump's attempts to rein in Beijing's economic ambitions?
The United States and Britain this week ordered government agencies, technology firms and other companies not to purchase telecommunications equipment from certain Chinese manufacturers, citing national security concerns.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) named both Huawei and ZTE Corp. in their communique, while the UK singled out ZTE for criticism.
US authorities also punished ZTE for its failure to comply with sanctions on technology sales to Iran and North Korea. The Shenzhen-headquartered telecom equipment maker will face a seven year ban on the use of American parts for its hardware.
Despite making great headlines, suspicion about the security risks surrounding Chinese hardware which powers much of the global internet and cellular networks is nothing new.
US and European intelligence agencies have previously raised concerns over the damaging potential for espionage, particularly around Huawei, whose technology is used on 45 of the world's 50 largest telecoms operators.
But the timing of the latest alerts coincides with a major trade spat between Washington and Beijing that has been brewing for the past 12 months. The measures have led to questions over whether security or trade concerns have forced US and British regulators to act now.
"The Trump administration's stance against Huawei and ZTE is very much in line with its antagonistic approach to trade policy with China," Michael Plouffe, a lecturer in international political economy at University College London (UCL), told DW.
He said while potential security threats stem from Huawei and ZTE's close relationships with the Chinese government, similar concerns could be applied to any other infrastructure supplier where hardware can be compromised with backdoor access.
Plouffe acknowledged that Chinese firms have stronger incentives to introduce security vulnerabilities or give privileged access to networks, but said a far better approach would be for telecoms firms to test all equipment prior to deployment, rather than singling out individual manufacturers.
Washington may have also picked this particular time to clip the two Chinese firms' wings as the telecommunications sector is battling to control the roll-out of the next generation of wireless technology, the UCL academic said.
"The other political aspect to this situation stems from the US government's desire to prevent 5G infrastructure from being dominated by Chinese firms; while this predates the Trump trade war, the policy ramifications are very similar."
Despite the apparent security threat from Huawei and ZTE's technology, neither the US of Britain has recommended that the two firms' hardware be immediately removed.
Instead, security analysts told DW they expect most telecoms companies to step up tests to determine whether their networks are safe from infiltration.
Even so, the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) was cited by the Financial Times as warning that the country's telecoms network contains a "significant amount" of equipment supplied by Huawei. In a letter to telecoms firms, it warned that adding in hardware from a second Chinese supplier, would "render our existing mitigations ineffective."
Although the security alerts were firmly aimed at the two Chinese firms' backend telecoms solutions, both Huawei and XTE have over the past five years expanded to become major mobile handset manufacturers.
During one three-month period last year, Huawei overtook Apple to become the world's second largest smartphone maker, according to figures by Counterpoint Research.
This week's action by US and British authorities has therefore reignited consumers' concerns about data-collection and privacy in relation to Chinese-made smartphones.
UCL's Plouffe gave examples of other major Chinese manufacturers, including OnePlus and Xiaomi, who were recently caught siphoning off far more sensitive user data than non-Chinese manufacturers, which he said forced industry-wide reforms in data-collection practices.
Washington's limit on ZTE buying American-made parts is likely to severely curtail the production of its new smartphone models, as it uses Qualcomm chips in its devices.
"A more important concern for ZTE will be the lack of access to much of the Android ecosystem, from which many key applications are licensed from Google," Plouffe said.
Although Google's Android operating system — which Huawei and ZTE rely on to power their smartphones — is an open source software, a number of Google's key apps aren't, and neither is access to the Google Play Store.
While Huawei appears to have given up on the American mobile market, at least in the short term, the new actions would likely severely damage ZTE's mobile sales in the US, where it has achieved a 12 percent market share in just three years, Plouffe added.
He told DW that American consumers would likely be the main losers from the sanctions, as both Chinese brands have reintroduced choice to a mobile market that Apple and Samsung recently dominated.
The UCL lecturer warned that the reputational damage from the US and British action would likely extend to other electronic equipment from Chinese manufacturers including other smart devices and home security systems.
The US has sent the German Economy Ministry a letter warning of the risks posed by using "untrusted vendors" in its 5G network. The letter comes amid tensions between Chinese telecom giant Huawei and the US.
Huawei will play an important role in EU carriers' rollout of 5G network technology -- if governments allow it.


Russian parliament passes Russia-US adoption law - OV Parent - Family Comes First - The Ohio Valley's only site for parenting news, blogs, events.
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's parliament on Tuesday ratified a long-awaited agreement with the United States regulating the adoption of Russian children by Americans.
The ratification by a 244-96-2 vote in the State Duma came a year after the two countries worked out the pact.
HOW DID THE AGREEMENT COME ABOUT?
Russian officials had long complained about the abuse and even killings of children by their adoptive parents - saying at least 19 Russian adoptive children have died at their American parents' hands.
The issue came to a head in April 2010 when an American adoptive mother sent her 7-year-old boy back to Russia on a one-way ticket, saying he had behavioral problems.
In the wake of that case, some Russian officials called for adoptions by Americans to be halted altogether. That never happened, but some adoption agencies working in Russia said their applications were frozen for several months.
Russian and U.S. officials signed an agreement aimed at ending the dispute in 2011, but the Russian parliament waited nearly a year to ratify it due to technicalities.
Ratification should end the strife and allow adoptions to resume efficiently.
All adoptions would have to be processed through adoption agencies registered in Russia. The agreement requires the agencies to monitor the child's upbringing, schedule visits by a social worker and send reports to Russian authorities.
The deal makes sure that prospective American parents would have better information about the social and medical histories of Russian children.
HOW WILL IT IMPACT RUSSIA?
By providing monitoring, the agreement is likely to reassure a public angered by the abuse and deaths. It also could undercut complaints by nationalists that Russian children are being "sold."
The poorly controlled flow of Russian adoptions highlighted sensitivity over the loss of children as Russia faces a demographic crisis due to low birth rates.
Full resumption of adoptions will mean increased opportunity for Russian orphans to leave underfunded and crowded orphanages. There are more than 740,000 children without parental custody in Russia, according to UNICEF. Russians historically have been less inclined to adopt children than in many other cultures.
WHY IS THE DEAL IMPORTANT FOR AMERICANS?
Russia has been a major source of adopted children in the U.S. for two decades.
In the 2011 fiscal year, Russia was the third-largest source of foreign adoption by Americans with 970 adoptions, trailing China and Ethiopia.
Adoptions from Russia peaked in 2004 at 5,862 adoptions, according to the State Department. Their number was 1,586 in 2009 - a year before Russia demanded an agreement regulating adoptions.
More than 60,000 Russian orphans have been adopted in the U.S., according to the National Council For Adoption, a U.S. advocacy nonprofit group. Russian children rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov insists that the number could be as high as 100,000. The discrepancy could be due to the Russian government's virtual absence of adoption records before 1996.
Michael and Nanette Craver from Pennsylvania were sentenced in 2011 to up to four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter of their adoptive 7-year-old Russian son. A jury acquitted them of murder charges, but concluded they were negligent and responsible for the death.
Jessica Beagley from Alaska was convicted in 2011 of child abuse for pouring hot sauce into her adopted Russian son's mouth.
In May, Martin and Kathleen O'Brien from Wisconsin were charged with an array of counts connected to allegations they systematically punished their four adopted Russian children, including beatings with sticks and belts. Their trial is ongoing.