Factors Affecting Transportation The success of transportation engineering depends upon the co-ordination between the three primary elements, namely the vehicles, the roadways, and the road users. Their characteristics affect the performance of the transportation system and the transportation engineer should have fairly good understanding about them. This post elaborated salient human, vehicle, and road factors … Read more
Tremie Concreting – On Site Precautions During tremie concreting the following precautions are to be taken while doing the work: The concrete should be coherent, rich in cement (not less than 370 kg/m3) and of slump between 150 and 180 mm. When concreting is carried out under water, a temporary casing should be installed to … Read more
Different Forms of Bitumen 1. Cutback Bitumen Normal practice is to heat bitumen to reduce its viscosity. In some situations preference is given to use liquid binders such as cutback bitumen. In cutback bitumen suitable solvent is used to lower the viscosity of the bitumen. From the environmental point of view also cutback bitumen is … Read more
Uses of Geotextiles Geotextiles are porous fabric manufactured from synthetic material such as polypropylene, polyester, polyethylene, nylon, polyvinyl chloride and various mixtures of these. They are available in thicknesses ranging from 10 to 300 mils (1 mil = 1/1000 inch) in widths upto 30 ft, in roll lengths upto 2000 ft. The permeability of geotextile … Read more
Defects in Brickwork The followings are some of the common defects in brickwork that are found at construction site. The bricks used were of substandard quality compared to the quality specified in the contract. No tests were carried out to find out the efflorescence level and water absorption in the bricks The bricks were not … Read more
Characteristics of Good Mortar The chief properties of hardened mortar are strength, development of good bond with building units, resistance to weathering and those of green mortar mixes are mobility, placability and water retention. In addition, the mortar should be cheap and durable and should not affect the durability of building units in contact. The … Read more
Processing of Borrow Area Soils / Backfill Materials The construction of subsurface structures often requires the construction of elements of the structure within or upon large masses of backfill. The proper functioning of these elements are often critically affected by adverse behavioral characteristics of the backfill. Behavioral characteristics are related to material type, water content … Read more
Telltale Signs for Choosing Right Concrete Cutting Contractor for Your Construction Project Most construction projects witness the need for concrete cutting and drilling for various purposes. And thus, it is essential for every size of a contractor, or a construction business, to have a good understanding of concrete cutting and how it can benefit your … Read more
Some Issues in the Usage of Fe- 500 or Higher Grade TMT Steel Bars in Residential Buildings Some contractors report a tendency among few design Engineers to specify Fe-500 or higher grade steel in residential buildings citing its high strength. Customers are advised that if they use Fe 500 or higher grade steel in building … Read more
Types of Backfill Materials Different types of backfill materials are used in construction industry. Backfill materials that are commonly used are described below with their engineering properties. 1. Coarse-grained soils Coarse-grained soils include gravelly and sandy soils and range from clayey sands (SC) through the well-graded gravels of gravel-sand mixtures (GW) with little or no … Read more