Suryakanta 
Stress Distribution in Soil Displacements in soil occur from stresses applied by loading forces. The distribution of stress in soil should be known for realistic estimates of displacements caused by applied loads on the supporting soil. The following methods may be used to estimate the stress distribution of soil for an applied load Q at … Read more
Site Exploration Program The knowledge about the site forms a vital role in the safe and economical development of a site. A thorough investigation of the site is an essential preliminary to the construction of any civil engineering works. Public building officials may require soil data together with the recommendations of the geotechnical consultant prior … Read more
Durability of Concrete Piles Properly mixed concrete compacted to a dense impermeable mass is one of the most permanent of all constructional material and give little cause of concern about its long-term durability in a non aggressive environment. However, concrete can be attacked by sulphate and sulfuric acid occurring naturally in soils, by corrosive chemicals … Read more
Factors Affecting Quality of Topographic Survey Topographic surveyors perform most of their operational duties away from the parent unit. Topographic surveying involves fieldwork over a project area. Survey fieldwork consists of making observations and measurements; recording data; and returning the data to a computer and/or draftsman for computation, compilation, and dissemination. Surveyors must overcome many … Read more
Types of Chemical Admixtures for Concrete Unlike mineral admixtures, which may be introduced as blended cements, chemical admixtures are typically added during the mixing process of concrete production. Depending upon the requirement, different types of chemical admixtures are manufactured such as air-entraining admixtures, accelerating admixture, water reducing admixture etc. To a civil engineer, description of … Read more
Shear Strength Test of Soil The choice of appropriate shear strength tests for a particular project depends on the soil type, whether the parameters will be used in a total or effective stress analysis, and the relative importance of the structure. Common laboratory tests include direct shear, triaxial, unconfined compression, and laboratory vane shear test. … Read more
Types of Limes Different types of limes are used for building construction. It is not generally found in the free state. Lime is a product which is obtained by burning lime stone, a raw material, found in lime stone hills or lime stone boulders in the beds of old river, kankar found below ground level, … Read more
Building Finishes Building finishes such as plastering, varnishing, dis-tempering, white-washing, coloring, etc basically perform two functions as pointed below. They give a protective coating to the surfaces which protects them from weather effects such as rain water, frost, heat etc, and They provide decorative effects which add to the appearance of the surfaces and building … Read more
Unit Weight/Dead Weight of Construction Materials The tables given below give the unit weight or dead weight of some common construction material that is used by designer while computing load related calculation. 1. Bituminous Substance Item Weight (kg/m3) Anthracite coal 1550 Peat (dry) 560 to 640 Charcoal (light) 300 Coke 1000 Graphite 500 Crude oil … Read more
Basic Unit Conversion Tables Some of the useful and common unit conversion tables used by civil engineers to convert Metric and FPS units are given below. 1. Length FPS TO METRIC METRIC TO FPS 1 in 2.54 cm 1 cm 0.393701 in 1 ft 30.48 cm 1 m 3.28084 ft 1 yd 0.09144 m 1 … Read more