Posts Tagged civil engineering
Conduits | Building Construction
Posted by BenzuJK in Building Construction on February 3, 2012
Construction of Conduits | Civil Engineering
In the previous article, we discussed “Types of Underground Conduits”. Now we will proceed with our discussion on “Construction of Conduits”.
Underground conduits can also be termed as buried conduits. They are constructed in variety of shapes with different materials used for construction.
Load on the conduit
The characters of the conduit determine the load withstanding capacity of the conduit. They are as follows:
- Material of the conduit
- Shape
- Type of the support
For example:
If we take the example of a concrete conduit (rigid material), the load that the concrete conduit can withstand would depend on the following:
- Strength of the concrete pipe
- Quality of the foundation bedding
How to determine the strength of the conduit?
A three edge bearing test has to be conducted in order to determine the strength of the conduit.
Three edge bearing test
This test simulates a very severe loading condition which would rarely occur in the actual conduits. This helps us determine the maximum load the conduit can take. It has been seen that the conduits can take greater load than that obtained in the test.
Types of Underground Conduits | Civil Engineering
Posted by BenzuJK in Building Construction on February 2, 2012
Underground Conduits
What are conduits?
Conduits have different meanings in different subjects.
For example:
Geographically, conduits could refer to a channel carrying water, underground tunnel or waterway (river or canal).
In terms of electrical systems, it may refer to an electrical conduit, HVAC (duct) etc.
Electrical Conduits
We are referring to the conduits which is laid underground and used for variety of purposes.
For example:
- Sewers
- Drains
- Culverts
- Water mains
- Gas lines
- Electrical cables
- Telephone lines
Causes of Foundation Damage and Retrofitting | Settlement in the ground
Posted by BenzuJK in Building Construction on December 16, 2011
Causes of Foundation damage and Retrofitting
In one of my previous articles, we discussed various steps in which the survey of the foundation has to be done in order to be considered for retrofitting.
In this article, we will discuss various reasons or causes for the damage of the foundations.
Types of foundation damage can be classified as follows:
Erosion
Settlement in the ground
- Groundwater lowering
- Limited bearing capacity of the ground (land)
- Uneven bedrock depth
- Excavations performed below the foundations and poor quality of backfill
- Increased load on the ground leading to failure
- Damage to the neighbouring houses
- Horizontal movement occurring in the ground
Frost heave/adfreezing
Alum shale
Now we will move on with the discussion in detail on the types of foundation damage occurring due to Settlement in the ground.
Lowering in the Groundwater level
When the buildings are built on compressible soils, the resulting stress on the soil causes the soil to compress. Raft foundations are used in these kind of soils.
Since the soil undergoes compression the upper portion of wooden piles rot when groundwater level sinks.
There are various conditions which can cause the changes in the groundwater level or pore water pressure. They are as follows:
- Ice Static Rebound
- Dewatering (seen in cities)
- Ditches and pipes below the groundwater level
- Deep Foundations and Basements (causing further drainage of the ground
- Tunnelling
- By the removal of foundation sills
- Construction of non-permeable surfaces such as roads, pathways causing the least amount of natural precipitation
- Use of deciduous trees should be avoided in areas with low groundwater. They require a lot of water for their growth. They pull all the water that is available around them causing the lowering of groundwater.
Development in Structural Systems in Postmodernist Period
Posted by BenzuJK in Building Construction on October 29, 2011
Evolution of Structural Systems in Postmodernism
Before 20th century, there were three great developments in structural systems.
Bulk Active structure is classified as followed:
- Post and lintel
- Arch system
Dome and vault construction (either in the form of bulk, employing plastic materials i.e. concrete, hardening into a homogeneous mass or the thrust type, in which the loads are received and counterbalanced at definite points; steel-glass skeleton system.
St. Peter's Dome
After World War II, the analysis of building types provides information behind each of the greater styles. This can easily be understood that it was not merely a trend, but a period of serious and required experimentation directed toward answering the needs of a specific way of life. In the era, most of the construction work was dominated by sustainable building design, construction and using materials in ways that minimize toxic production methods and in using natural sunlight for energy and natural air movement and water for cooling, climate, methods of labour, available materials, and economy of means thus impose their dictates.
Fifa World Cup 2010 Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa
Posted by BenzuJK in Mega Projects on October 29, 2011
Soccer City Stadium is the largest soccer stadium in South Africa. It is situated near Nasrec in Johannesburg, in South Africa. The stadium is the main venue for the Fifa World Cup 2010 kick-off match. This stadium would also host the finals of Fifa World Cup 2010 and the semi-finals are going to be in other two Soccer stadiums of South Africa namely; Cape Town Soccer Stadium and Moses Mabhida Soccer Stadium. There is one other smaller stadium known as Ellis Park Stadium, but it is mainly used during Rugby matches.
Soccer City 3D View
Soccer City stadium has a capacity of 94,700 people, which makes it the largest stadium in the whole African Continent. It also has a 2 meter moat to keep fans away from players.