Happy New Year, 2011!!
Month: December 2010
Problems facing the Earth
Problems facing the Earth
We all human beings share a beautiful planet, Earth, which is home to millions of species of plants, animals and aquatic life. Our planet is astoundingly a perfect design, where plants create oxygen, which in turn keeps animals alive and keeps the planet cool.
But our planet has been facing some serious problems which have been created by inexhaustible human greed to exploit nature for personal comforts. Hundreds of thousands of acres of rainforests have been cut away to make way for roads and buildings.
Lumber is a major source of revenue to some countries. With vast swaths of forests disappearing, and seemingly unabated poaching of wild animals has wiped out many species from the face of the earth. The diversity and balance of this planet we call home is being severely threatened by man.
Oil is known as the blood of earth. Since the discovery and large scale production of oil in the last 150 years, human civilization has progressed at a rocket speed.
But humans have over exploited this natural resource, and this fuel is running out fast. As humans demand for more and more oil for their motor vehicles, the blood of earth is being sucked up using large pumps.
Human greed does not realize that planet earth cannot survive without its blood, its oil.
There are many manmade disasters threatening human kind. Man has made extremely distinctive nuclear weapons, which have the capacity to destroy humankind and send civilization back to the stone age. Global warming is another huge problem, where indiscriminate use of oil is warming up the atmosphere, in turn disturbing the ecology of the planet.
Failures in Buildings | Important Construction Materials
Defects in Buildings | Building Materials used in Construction
In my previous article, we began with a discussion on Building Materials used for Construction. We have already discussed the two major building materials such as Sand and Mud. Now we will go on and discuss the role of water, Cement and Cement Mortar in Construction.
Water in Construction
Salt free water should be used on the construction site for the mixing of cement. If salty water is used in the construction, it will result in formation of cracks in the building.
For example: Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, India has brine water below 100’. That is why, the bore cannot be dug to more than 80’ feet for water to be used on the construction site.
Cement in Construction
There are various grades of cement available for the purpose of construction.
For example: M15, M20, M25 etc
The grade of cement to be used for construction is decided on the basis of the kind of construction and the structural design.
Cement is always used along with steel, that is RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) construction. Only cement cannot be used because it develops cracks.
Grooves are made over the layer of cement mortar.
For example: When cement flooring is done, a thin layer of cement is laid and grooves are made on the cement layer to prevent cracks.
Defects in Construction | Building Materials used in Construction
Building Materials used in Construction | Defects in Buildings
The building materials used for construction of the building are the major factors of a successful structure or a failed structure. The major core materials that are responsible for the standing structure are:
Usually, the failure of a building is due to the development of cracks. The intensity of damage describes the kind of crack and the repair measures to be taken….
There are two major types of cracks:
- Minor causes of Cracks resulting in minor cracks or surface cracks in Buildings
- Major causes of cracks resulting in major cracks or structural cracks in Buildings
The purpose of writing this article was to figure out the different building materials used for different purposes and how their quality or the quality of their mixture affects the structure as a whole.
Uses of Sand in Construction
Sand is the major building material used in any kind of construction. It is used in every phase of the construction project, i.e. from the foundation to the finishing of the floor.
There are three major varieties of sand:
a) Fine sand
b) Coarse sand
c) Medium sand
Repair of cracks in the RCC Staircase | Building Construction
What would you do in case of a RCC staircase having cracks?
The development of cracks occurring in RCC staircase is one of the major problems to deal with in RCC construction.
Before we go to the ultimate solution of the repair of cracks in a staircase, I would want all the students to know that, “Design in a way that you would never have to look for solutions”.
This is an important matter. The graver the problem, the harsher and shorter the solution is….
Earlier, in one of my article, I have explained the “Design of RCC Staircase”. Please do go through before designing….
RCC staircase cracks
There are two types of cracks, they are;
- Minor cracks or surface cracks
- Major cracks or structural Cracks
Factors causing damage to the building | Failures in Buildings
Factors causing damage to the building | Building Construction
Major damage to the building is usually caused by the natural calamities. But there are various factors that can cause damage to the buildings.
Some of them are as follows:
- Erosion
- Earthquake
- Natural Calamities
- Violence
- Fire
- Lack of maintenance
The damage incurred to the building is usually in the form of major and minor cracks. Major cracks could be structural cracks which cause immense damage to the structure. Earlier, I wrote two articles on the subject “Cracks in Buildings“. The cracks are classified depending on the amount of damage they cause to the structure.
Physical inspections to be done in a building
After the construction of any building, periodical inspections of physical components of the building are to be carried out. Â Physical inspections help us in keeping a check on the damage or wear and tear caused to the structure. Inspection is important so that we identify the problem and repair it before it gets unrepairable.
Tips to Building Construction | Repairing an Antique door and a Cracked brick wall
Repairing an Old Rotting Antique Door and Repairing a 14″ crack brick wall | Building Construction
In this article, I have mentioned two cases where the remedy for their repair is briefly explained. This sounds very easy but I am sure it will be of good help to all the Architecture and Civil Engineering students…
How would you restore an old rotting antique door?
The dimensions of the antique door are 7’x4’.
The rotting part of the door is to be cut carefully.
And the cut part of the door is replaced by the similar variety of wood.
After replacing the wood, give a similar finish to the door.
Tips of Building Construction | Civil Engineering
Method of Luppm Finish and Cleaning of pinhead glass | Building Construction
This is a simple article which deals with two different topics explained in a very brief manner. I hope it will be helpful to the students of architecture and Engineering….
How would you clean a 3mm pinhead glass?
Usually, a chemical called as “aerosols” are used for cleaning 3mm pinhead glass.
The welded design on the pinhead glass can be made plain with the help of some chemical powder and then rubbing the glass with a sandpaper.
How would you luppm finish on an already painted wall?
Oil paint + whiting powder= luppm paste is made.
The paint and plaster of the already painted wall is scraped out.
Then the wall is made rough by chiselling or the wall is brushed by a “wire brush” that makes the wall rough.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China
Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China | One of the Largest International Airport in the world
Shanghai Pudong International Airport is a primary International Airport serving Shanghai of the People’s Republic of China. It is also a major Aviation hub in Asia, particularly in East Asia.
Location of the International Airport
It is located 30 kilometres from the city centre. The area occupied by the airport is around 40 square kilometres. The site is adjacent to the coastline in the eastern edge of Pudong District within the Shanghai Muncipality boundaries.
Pudong Airport comprises of two main passenger terminals. The terminals are flanked on both sides by three parallel runways. The requirements have been on a tremendous rise. The Airport was constructed with a view to be extended and expanded to cater to increasing passenger growth and the growth in Cargo sector.
Concept of Fire Zoning | National Building Code
Concept of Fire Zoning | Division of Fire Zones in the city
Concept of Fire Zoning is based on the landuse pattern of the city or town. Â This article is written in reference with National Building Code. The concept of Fire Zoning includes:
- Demarcation
- Number and Designation of Fire Zones
- Change in Fire Boundaries
- Overlapping of Fire Zones
- Temporary Buildings or Structures
- Restrictions on Existing Buildings
Demarcation
The city or area is demarcated into distinct zones based on fire hazard inherent in the buildings and structures according to the type of occupancy. The zones in which these areas are divided are termed as “Fire Zones”.
Number and Designation of Fire Zones
The division of the area of the city into different zones depends on various factors such as:
- Existing Layout
- Types of building construction
- Classification of existing buildings based on occupancy
- Expected future development of the city or area