Civil Engineering

Types of Glass, Uses and Properties.

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Generally all types of glass is produced by mixing silica with other additives such as sodium potassium carbonate, lime, manganese oxide and subjecting the mixture to very high heat. Silica is the main constituent of glass but to make it durable, lime or lead oxide is added. Glass items are manufactured by blowing, flat drawing, pressing and rolling.

Properties of Glass.

Glass is strong and durable, inert to the atmosphere, good electrical insulator, absorbs, reflects or transmits light, available in many colours and easy to clean.

Types of glass and their use.

Potash Lime Glass:

Mainly a mixture of potassium silicate and calcium silicate. Also known as hard glass. It is used in the manufacture of glass articles that have to withstand high temperatures.

Common Glass:

It is basically a mixture of sodium silicate, calcium silicate and iron silicate. It is brown, green or yellow in colour. Used mainly in the manufacture of bottles.

Soda Lime Glass:

Consists of sodium silicate and calcium silicate. It is fusible at low temperature and this property makes it easy to form to required shape. It is used in the production of items such as laboratory tubes and window panes.

Potash Lead Glass:

Consists mainly of potassium silicate and lead silicate. It has bright lustre and great refractive power. Used in the manufacture of artificial gems, electrical bulbs, lenses, prisms and so on.

Special Glass:

This type of glass is produced by altering the basic ingredients and adding a few more. Examples of special glasses includes; Fibre glass, Foam glass, Bullet proof glass, Structural glass, Wired glass, Ultraviolet ray glass, Perforated glass and so on

Column Design with Excel

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Column design 1

Column design with excel, named RCC 52 is a free program you can use to carry out your column design. This program was created with Microsoft Excel by the Reinforced Concrete Council United Kingdom. It designs to British Standard (BS) 8110. RCC 52 can really aid your design as it can design up to six columns at once.

How to use column design with excel; RCC 52.

The program is very easy to understand and use. you enter data in blue cells.

In the first rows of the spreadsheet you can enter project name, title, name of design, date, page and so on.

At the second set of rows you enter strength of concrete and steel, factors of safety and cover to reinforcement.

In the third set of rows, enter proposed column dimensions and and number of reinforcement bars.

In the bar arrangement section, you enter the highest bar diameter you want to use.

Directly under the column chart is the load cases section. There are six load cased which means six columns can be designed at once. You can design vertical row of columns from top to bottom. you will be required to enter pre-calculated load and moment acting on the columns.

Column design

By using the generated column chart with the bar arrangement table, you will know which columns have valid design. You can keep trying out several column dimensions, and number of reinforcement bars until an economic design is achieved.

You can watch video on how Column Design with Excel works; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gcxiFNeMkI

To download column design with excel spreadsheet; CLICK HERE.

For information on how to obtain and use Pad footing/foundation Design with excel, READ THIS ARTICLE.

PAD FOOTING/FOUNDATION DESIGN WITH EXCEL.

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PAD FOOTING/FOUNDATION DESIGN WITH EXCEL is a free excel program you can use to design pad footings to BS8110. It is named RCC81. It is a free excel program developed by the reinforced concrete council UK.

Pad footing/foundation design with excel
Pad footing/foundation design with excel

For us Civil/ Structural engineers, manual design can become very tasking and time consuming. However, structural analysis and design software have made the task easier but most are expensive. This one is FREE.

How to use RCC 81; Pad footing/foundation design with excel.

The excel program is very easy to understand and use. You enter data in blue cells. Part of data required include; strength of concrete and steel, bearing pressure of soil, factors of safety, proposed dimensions of pad footing and column dimensions, calculated axial loads and moments acting on the pad footing.

The program will check if pad footing dimensions chosen are suitable or not. It will even suggest pad footing dimensions that can work. You will also be able to view design status. If your design fails, it will state the reason why, so you will know which input value to adjust. When design status is valid, the program will calculate reinforcement required for the foundation footing.

You can watch video on how the program works click HERE

To download pad footing/ foundation design with excel (RCC 81), click HERE.

Basic Structural Elements of Building

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The basic structural elements of buildings will be discussed under five subheadings including; slab, beam, column, wall and roof.

Slab.

Slab is the large flat horizontal element of a building. (Pavement) and usually spans between beams or walls. Slabs can be made of wood, concrete, or interlocking blocks or bricks, although slabs made of concrete are the most common. In storey buildings, slabs are usually supported on beams or columns.

Beam.

Beams are horizontal load bearing members. In its basic form, the main function of a beam is to transfer slab and wall loads to the columns. Depending on the type of building in terms of strength and materials, beams can be made of wood, concrete, reinforced concrete or steel.

Column.

Columns are the vertical load bearing members of a building and their main function is to transmit beam, slab, wall, roof, as well as live loads safely down to the foundation of the building. Depending on strength requirements and specifications, columns can be made of wood, reinforced concrete or steel.

Wall.

Walls are usually vertical members and can be built of wood, bricks, blocks or concrete. Walls within a building would be constructed to have openings for doors and windows where appropriate. Walls can be load or non load bearing. A simple example of a load bearing wall is a situation where the wall directly supports the roof of a building.

Roof.

Roof is the upper covering of a Building. Its main function is to protect the building from rain and heat from the sun. Roofs can either be flat or pitched.

Uses of Stones in Building/Civil Engineering Construction

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Stones are naturally available building materials that have been used since early civilization. Type of stones used in civil/ building construction works are igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic in origin. Stones required for building/civil engineering construction must be strong, durable, hard, tough,  and cost effective.

Uses of stones in building/civil engineering construction

  • For construction of foundations, walls, columns and arches
  • For flooring and damp proof courses
  • Facework of buildings, paving of roads and base courses
  • Abutment and bridges, dams and retaining walls
  • Common building stones

The following are some commonly used building stones

Basalt:

An igneous rock. Colour varies from dark grey to black. Used in road construction and as aggregates for making concrete.

Granite:

An igneous rock. Crystalline in structure. Particles sizes ranges from fine to coarse grained. They are used for dams, river walls and bridge piers. Also used as coarse aggregates in concrete.

Sandstone:

Sand-stones are stratified rocks consisting of quartz and feldspar. They come in many colours including white, grey, red, yellow, brown and dark grey. Sandstone is not as strong as granite and balsalt. They are used for masonry work, dams, bridge piers and river walls.

Slates:

Slates are metamorphic rocks composed of quarz, mica and clay. Their colour varies from dark grey to black. They are used for roofing tiles, pavements etc.

Laterite:

This is also a type of metamorphic rock with porous structure. Its colour varies, i.e. brown, red, yellow, grey etc.  laterite is commonly used as filling material.

Marble.

Another type of metamorphic rock. Marble is available in different colours such as pink and white. Used for facing and ornamental works.

Cement, The Popular Binding Material in Building Construction.

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Cement is produced by burning a mixture of calcium and clay material at very high temperature then grinded to produce fine powder.

Types of cement.

Cement comes in many varieties. Some are briefly explained below.

Ordinary portland cement;

The most used type of cement in general concrete construction. It is suitable when there is no danger of exposure to sulphates in the soil.

Quick setting cement;

Quick setting cement is produced by reducing the percentage of gypsum and adding a small amount of aluminium sulphate during production. This type of cement starts setting around 5 minutes and hardens within 30 minutes. Quick  setting cement is used to produce concrete for underwater construction.

White cement;

it is made from oxides of manganese,iron and chlorium. It is used for plastering, ornamental works, fixing of marbles and tiles.

Rapid hardening cement;

This type of cement gains strength earlier than ordinary Portland cement and consequently speeds up construction activity.

Coloured cement;

Coloured cement is produced by mixing pigments with ordinary Portland cement. Pigments such as colbalt produces blue colour, iron oxide produces brown, red or yellow colours.

Low heat cement;

When heat produced by hydration of cement does not get easily dispersed, it may give rise to cracks, hence in such situations it is preferable to use low heat cement.

High alumina cement;

This type of cement is produced from a mixture of lime and banxite. It is resistant to sulphate and acid attack.it is used in underwater construction.

Acid resistant cement;

This is cement made by adding acid resistant materials such as quartz, quartzite, sodium silicate or soluble glass. Acid resistant cement is commonly used in construction of chemical factories.