Improving Earthquake Resistance of Small Buildings The earthquake resistance of small buildings may be increased by taking some precautions and measures in site selections, building planning and constructions as explained below: 1. Site Selection The building constructions should be avoided on (a) Near unstable embankments (b) On sloping ground with columns of different heights (c) … Read more
Repair of Potholes Potholes are the most frequent type of failure found in bituminous wearing surfaces. Potholes may be caused by defective drainage, frost action in the base, settlement of the base, or heavy traffic. A small pothole may be’ surrounded by a large area that is progressively failing. A pothole may be repaired with … Read more
Supervision of Brick Work Construction The following points should be kept in mind during supervision of brick work. Before using the bricks in construction it should be checked for its physical properties (such as strength, dimension, water absorption etc). Bricks must conform to the designer’s specification. Prior to use bricks in construction, it should be … Read more
Failure of Shallow Foundation & Preventive Measures The major causes of foundation failures are as follow Unequal settlement of sub soil Unequal settlement of masonry Presence of expansive soil below foundation Presence of mature trees Seasonal changes 1. Unequal Settlement of Sub Soil This is one of the most important reasons for foundation failure. Unequal … Read more
Field Measurements for Volume Computations Measurements for volume are nothing more than applying basic distance and elevation measurements to determine the locations and elevations of points where the volume is to be determined. It usually is not practical to take the time to collect data everywhere there is a slight change in elevation. Therefore, it … Read more
Durability of Building Foundation A foundation is that part of the structure which is in direct contact with ground. Therefore foundations are subjected to attack by chemicals present in soil, water and by mechanical abrasion and erosion. The extent of deterioration depends on the concentration of chemicals, the level of and fluctuations in the ground … Read more
Black Cotton Soil Black cotton soil has a tendency to shrink and swell excessively. When these type of soil come in contact with water, they swell and when becomes dry, it shrinks. This alternate process of swelling and shrinking results in the differential settlement of foundation which in turn causes cracks in building. The cracks … Read more
Deciding the right depth of foundation for a building structure is an important step in the process of building design. Information given in this post will help you decide the proper depth of foundation for a building. After reading this post you will be able to answer the following questions. What is a foundation? What … Read more
DCPT (Dynamic Cone Penetration Test) Dynamic cone penetration test or DCPT is a quick, simple and low cost test which is extensively used by many agencies around the globe to measure the strength of compacted material of unbound granular and sub grade layers with reasonable accuracy. Now a days DCPT is commonly used during construction … Read more
DCPT or Dynamic Cone Penetration Test The dynamic cone penetrometer is a portable equipment that can be used to evaluate different layer of a pavement such as unbound granular base, sub-base, sub-grade and also pipeline congested0 narrow trenches where testing with other equipment is difficult and not feasible due to cost, space and time constraints. … Read more