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
Type of Pier Pier is usually used as a general term for any type of substructure located between horizontal spans and foundations. However, from time to time, it is also used particularly for a solid wall in order to distinguish it from columns or bents. From a structural point of view, a column is a … Read more
Impurities in Sand Clay, silt, salts, mica and organic matter are a source of impurities in sand. All sands are generally found to contain some percentage of silt and clay. Mica is easily discernible from its shining surface. A certain percentage of impurities are inevitable in sand; a maximum of 6 % of silt and … Read more
Quality Control for Brickwork Bricks should be soaked in water for at least one hour before use for brickwork in cement and lime mortars. The bricks should be sufficiently soaked before use but not excessively so. The absence of bubbling when the soaked brick is immersed in water is the test for through soaking. Also … Read more
Properties of Concrete in Plastic State 1. Essential Qualities The quality of the hardened concrete is largely dependent on the quality of the plastic concrete. The curing process also contributes to attainment of the specified design criteria. Because the consistency of the mix may vary, careful adherence to design criteria is extremely important. When the … Read more
GEOPHYSICAL TEST METHODS Geophysical test is often used as part of the initial site exploration phase of a project and/or to provide supplementary information collected by widely-spaced observations (i.e., borings, test pits, outcrops etc.). Geophysical testing can be used for establishing stratification of subsurface materials, the profile of the top of bedrock, depth to groundwater, … Read more
Well Foundation Well foundations have their origin in India & have been used for hundreds of years for providing deep foundation to important buildings and bridges. Well foundations were freely used during the Moghal Period for bridges across the major rivers. Moghal monuments including Taj Mahal are built on well foundations. Well foundations provide a … Read more
Selection of Type of Foundation The selection of a particular type of foundation is often based on a number of factors, such as: 1. Adequate depth The foundation must have an adequate depth to prevent frost damage. For such foundations as bridge piers, the depth of the foundation must be sufficient to prevent undermining by … Read more
Concrete Placing As with the handling of concrete, certain fundamental considerations govern placing techniques. First and perhaps foremost is the need to avoid segregation of the concrete caused by improper techniques. Second is the need to ensure thorough compaction of the concrete. The manner in which concrete is placed can have a significant influence on … Read more