The duties and responsibilities of civil engineers

The main objective of civil engineers is to plan, design, build, operate and maintain roads, bridges, dams, water supply schemes, sewerage systems, transportation, harbors, canals, dockyards, airports, railways, factories and large buildings.

Civil engineers generally render their jobs in the following sectors - structural, water resources, soil and foundation, transport, airport, town planning or construction.

Duties of an airport engineer:

a) Having expertize in producing designs for airports, hangars and control towers
b) Administers the construction, maintenance and repair of runways, considering the factors like weight, size and speed of aircraft
c. If any technical issue arises throughout construction, guides contractors to solve the issue

Duties of a geotechnical/soil engineer:

a. Examines projected construction sites to determine the conditions of soil and foundation with by initiating drilling and sampling programs
b. Monitors and takes part in job site and laboratory testing of soils, and ensures that test equipment and machinery is arranged perfectly
c. Creates reports of test results and suggests proposals for providing the solution to engineering issues given in test reports
d. Creates specifications of soil mixtures which can be utilized in roads, embankments and other construction, and measures and provides suggestions on the required slope at cuttings and the density of soil dams and retaining walls.

Duties of a harbor engineer

a. designs and manages the construction of harbour facilities like breakwaters, navigation aids, navigation channels, jetties, wharves, heavy-duty pavement surfaces, cargo sheds and bulk handling plants for grain, ore and other cargo
b. Makes sure that the designs are created according to the needs of safety and serviceability
c. Optimize the use of funds and materials to fulfill the safety and serviceability requirements.

Duties of a harbor engineer:

a) Having expertize in evaluating population and growth statistics and traffic patterns and volume to fulfill the needs of future project
b. Discusses with government officials and other specialists to make the design perfect and secured traffic systems
c. Reviews roadway and embankment design, the geometry of highway interchanges and the maintenance of facilities like culverts and overpasses.

To gather more information, click on the following link civilengineerblog.com

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Published By

Rajib Dey

www.constructioncost.co

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Brief explanation of rebaring method in reinforced concrete construction

Rebaring technique in reinforced concrete construction stands for a process that is undertaken for fabricating and arranging of reinforcement bars perfectly based on the design and drawings intended for RCC works.

It is known fact that concrete is very durable in compression and weak in tension. The reinforcement bars alias rebars are strong in tension and these are combined with concrete to employ its tension property.

The responsible engineer produces the calculation of reinforcement bar for a reinforced concrete work. The engineer supplies us the particular details of the number of reinforcement bars as well as the shape and size of each bar for each work.

The responsible engineer produces the calculation of reinforcement bar for a reinforced concrete work. The engineer supplies us the particular details of the number of reinforcement bars as well as the shape and size of each bar for each work.

Various types of loads like tension, compression, lateral, horizontal and torsion are available which develop from pressure. To determine the strength of concrete, you have to find out whether concrete can withstand these loads or not.

The strength obtained by the R.C.C structure is based on the method and the techniques to be used for setting up the reinforcement bar. The reinforcement bars are primarily patterned over its surface to allow perfect bonding with the concrete.

Importance of Rebaring Technique in Reinforced Concrete Construction: The steel reinforcement usually is segregated into two categories i.e.

• Primary Reinforcement or Main Steel reinforcement
• Secondary reinforcement or distribution reinforcement

The objective of applying main steel reinforcement bars in R.C.C structures is to maintain resistance capacity for withstanding the entire design loads delivered to it. The secondary reinforcement bars are primarily used to maintain longevity and elegant look.

This reinforcement ensures to keep resistance for localized areas like limited cracking. These can also combat the stresses produced because of divergences in temperature.

The main bars which are used with indicated diameter, are bent at the ends. The stirrups belong to reinforcements which are arranged laterally, to place the main bars of the structural elements like beams and columns, in exact location.

The stirrups may come in various shapes like circular, square, rectangular, helical or diamond on the basis of the cross-section of the structural element. The reinforcement bars in the corners may appear as L – shaped.

The caging for the structural element to be decided should be perfectly fastened so as to keep the position of each bar unchanged throughout concreting. This is a check that should be always maintained throughout concreting otherwise it can hamper the stability of the structural member.

The rebars are primarily arranged at the junctions where the formwork of the structural element is closed and at the point where a new structural element should be fastened with the former one.

To gather more information, click on the following link theconstructor.org

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Published By
Rajib Dey
www.constructioncost.co
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MasterRC Pile Cap Designer – An exclusive software for designing & detailing of normal shaped pile caps

MasterRC Pile Cap Designer is an intuitive software package for structural engineering works. It can be used for the analysis, design, detailing and scheduling of commonly shaped pile caps for 1 to 9 piles in quickest possible way.

The design and detailing results can be shown on screen in the software and updated with each key pressed for interactive structural design in perfect way.

With graphically defined output, it is possible to instantly observe the detailing of pile cap. offers The quick assessment of the thorough and perfect design can be achieved with the clear and exact calculation output. MasterRC Pile Cap Designer reduces the strain for the time consuming task of designing and detailing pile caps by providing innovative design options to keep superior control over the design progression.

The software offers the following functionalities :-

• Design pile caps on the basis of bending theory or a truss analogy method
• Abides by the conventions set by Whittle and Beattie (Concrete, 1972)

• Based on deep Beam Theory, deep beams are designed perfectly
• Any steel that exists outer the 3 diameter bands, is overlooked in design
• The truss analogy is done with concrete compression
• Design is made adhering to BS 8110 & SABS 0100

• Scheduling to BS 4466, BS 8666 or SABS 82
• Interchange among Design Codes to compare results
• Improved shear stress capacity

To get more information, click on the following link www.masterseries.com

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Published By

Rajib Dey

www.constructioncost.co

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Some crucial points to be considered before purchasing cement bags for jobsite

Cement is considered as one of the most vital construction elements in modern construction. If the strength of the cement is good, the structure will also be stronger and long-lasting.

The cost of cement is also higher as compared to other construction materials (Coarse aggregates, fine aggregates etc.) and the cement plays an important role in determining the overall project cost.

There are several manufacturers for cement. Be careful before purchasing any cement bag as sometime it is found that the cement bags delivered to jobsite are duplicates. So, it is necessary to verify some basic standard specification prior to purchase cement bags. Given below, the detailed information which are generally printed on a standard cement bag. While buying or obtaining cement bags, these information should be tallied carefully:-

01. Check the manufacturer’s name and his registered trade-mark
02. Black colored ISI mark should have been printed on the cement bags. It complies with each requirement of the specifications.
03. The words ‘Ordinary Portland Cement, 53 Grade ’or‘Ordinary Portland Cement, 53-S Grade or Portland Pozzolana Cement whichever is relevant should be mentioned in the bag.
04. Net quantity of cement in kg should vary from 25 Kg, 50 Kg etc.

05. Brand of cement
06. Verify the MRP (Maximum Retail Price) of bag
07. The words ‘Use no Hooks’ or symbol should be given in the bag.

08. Batch/control unit number regarding week, month and year of packing should be mentioned.
09. Address of the manufacturer should be provided.
10. Type and proportion of performance improver(s) should be included, in a case of inclusion of performance improvers.

11. Specific IS code number should have been printed on the cement bags. i.e. if your cement bags belong to OPC 53 grade cement, “IS-12269-1987” should have been printed on the cement bags and for Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) cement bags, “IS 1489-1991” should be printed on the cement bags.

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Published By

Rajib Dey

www.constructioncost.co

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Details of technical specifications of bitumen macadam & bitumen concrete for any road work

This construction video briefly explains the technical specification for bitumen macadam and bitumen concrete essential for any road work.

Bitumen Macadam alias Asphalt Concrete is formed by blending aggregate, filler and bitumen and come in solid, medium or open graded on the basis of the end application.

Macadams are categorized into three primary layer categories like Base, Binder and Surface Course. It is applied as a binder course for roads where lots of heavy commercial vehicles pass through as well as a closed-graded premix materials exist with voids content 5-10 per cent. It has strong and long-lasting surface.

Bituminous concrete refers to a sort of construction material that is employed for paving roads, driveways, and parking lots. It is formed by mixing stone and other forms of aggregate materials combined jointly through a binding agent. This binding agent is known as "bitumen" and is a by-product of petroleum refining. It contains a dense, sticky texture like tar once heated, then develops a thick solid surface as soon as it gets dried. Bituminous concrete is also extensively recognized as asphalt in various parts of the globe.

This material does not include cement. It has typical black appearance. It is frequently placed right over a gravel base layer to build up new roads and parking lots, but may also be poured over prevailing concrete to patch-up or smooth out bumps and voids.

As soon as the bituminous concrete are poured onto the roadway, the surface is leveled and compacted through a large paving machines.

For Bituminous Macadam :-
1) Grade of bitumen should be vary from 60 to 70

2) Temperature at different stages :-
a) At the time of blending materials maximum temperature should be 1650C
b) At the time of laying, the temperature should be 1250C
c) At the time of rolling, the temperature should be 900C

3) Levels (tolerance) – At the time of rolling, the layers should be +6 M to -6 M.
4) Field Density Test – Here, compaction should be 98%; 1 test per 250 m2 of area.

To get the complete details, watch the following video.

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Published By
Rajib Dey
www.constructioncost.co

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The uses of excavation supports or earth retaining structures

Excavation support or earth retaining structures are vital where deep excavation is created and arrangement of necessary slope is not possible. Given below, the details of different types of excavation supports.

What Are Excavation Supports?
Usually, to develop a structure either over the ground or underneath the ground, excavation of soil should be arranged in the ground.

The excavation may come in the form of shallow or deep on the basis of our need. But when the soil is dug deeply, there is a chance for collapsing of the soil from the sides of excavated area because of low strength.

To get rid of this issue and to create the cut vertically perfect, some temporary earth retaining structures known as excavation supports are essential.

The soil cut failure occurs if the limit of excavation surpasses its safe height limit and it is subjected to unconfined compressive strength of soil and cohesion.

From the table, given below, the safe height limit for various soil types are given on the basis of their unconfined compressive strength and cohesion limits.

Types of Excavation Supports: Usually, the following methods are mostly used for providing excavation supports-

• Soldier pile and lagging
• Soil nailing

Soldier Pile and Lagging: Soldier piles refer to I-sections which comprise of web among two flanges. These I-sections are drilled into the ground encompassing the boundary of an excavation. The piles are delivered to the point slightly under the necessary excavation depth.

The concrete with poor strength is utilized for the purpose of grouting of piles. The gap among each two nearby piles is restricted to 10 feet. Once that exaction is completed, the flanges of piles provide good support to the surrounded soil.

Wood lagging is applied among the piles. The lagging comprises of long timber sheets or planks which are arranged behind the front flanges of piles to provide well support to the soil among the piles.

The timber contains 2 to 4 inches depth, there, some excavation should be arranged by hand behind the front flange. To create stable bond among horizontal wood sheets and front flange, welded studs, clips etc. are utilized.

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Published By
Rajib Dey
www.constructioncost.co
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Reinforcement details for slabs-on-ground with crack control factors

While designing the slabs, which are built up on ground, the crack control factors should be taken into account. Given below, reinforcement details for slabs-on-ground.

The density and the design of the slabs-on-ground are dependent on the cracks which are developed because of the external loading. The calculation for slab thickness is made on the basis of the suppositions of a slab being unreinforced and un-cracked.

For specific situations of slabs on ground, the steel reinforcement can offer a great solution. The characteristics of this method contains the following :-

1. The limiting of cracks occur because of shrinkage
2. Apply bigger joint spacing that is larger than the unreinforced slabs
3. The possibilities for cracks development may be avoided by provision for moment capacity and constancy for those areas.
4. Cracking can’t be resisted with the integration of reinforcement. These elements allow in minimizing or adjusting the produced crack width by genuinely raising the frequency of cracks that is created.

If a reinforcement design is proportioned and arranged perfectly, it can allow to restrain the width of the crack significantly and therefore the serviceability period of the slab is not impacted.

Thickness Design Methods for Slabs-on-Ground Construction

When reinforcement in the slab design is applied increasingly, the un-cracked strength of the slab is slightly affected. The various methods for thickness design like Pickett’s Analysis Method (PCA), WRI (Wire Reinforcement Institute) Design Method and COE methods can be employed for creating the design of slabs on ground with reinforcement.

Reinforcement for Slabs-on ground for Crack Width Control Only

The width of crack can be restrained by reinforcement on the basis of the two factors like the joint spacing and the thickness of the slab. Otherwise we can define the crack width control as a function of joint space and slab thickness.

There should be a minimum steel ratio of 0.5% of the slab cross section to facilitate the saw cut of contraction joints to be removed.

When the reinforcement is arranged, it is suggested to set the reinforcement bars nearer to the surface of the slab top surface devoid of compromising the minimum concrete coverage over the reinforcement.

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Published By
Rajib Dey
www.constructioncost.co
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