Treatment of dampness in walls in many ways

Dampness is the cause, reason and initiator of many defects and diseases in all sorts of construction from roads and transport systems to building and housing facilities. It might be a headache for you in rainy season and it might not let you sleep easily because of the danger and consequences of its presence. This post will let you know how to treat if your walls or building is being effected by dampness as well as will give you remedial measure that will ensure safety of your structure from all such devastating defects.

Dampness in walls

Before applying any remedial measure to a damp wall there should be free escape for any water that has already entered in the wall.

Silica Solution is transparent and very effective in resisting dampness.

Internal Treatment of walls 

Internal treatment of affected walls would consist of removing the old plaster, applying a slurry coat of neat cement with a water proofing compound and then cement rendering with a dense mortar, of 1:2 with integral water proofer added.

Another internal treatment for damp walls is the application of an impervious coating of some material or a coating of bitumen or tar followed by blinding with sand and plastering.

Preventing Dampness in walls

The following methods are also used for preventing dampness in walls

a) Two parts by weight of coal tar and one part by weight of pitch are put in a vessel, heated and stirred, until the mixture is sufficiently liquid. It is then applied on walls, and is found to keep out dampness very wall.
b) Spray or paint the walls with a solution of sodium silicate, followed by a solution of calcium chloride, which forms an insoluble silicate.

If dampness is confined to one position near ground floor level above the D.P.C., it may be due to a hole or crack in D.P.C. through which moisture can pass into the wall alone.
Dampness below ground level may be due to lack of sub-soil drainage, absence of vertical D.P.C.

Repelling Materials

Water repelling compounds are mixed in cement to make it water repellant, Examples are;
a) Chemically active ….. sodium and potassium soaps
b) Chemically inactive ….. calcium soaps and resin oils

What is Pile cut-off Level? Pile Foundation

Pile Cut-off level is the actual level at which the piles below pier are made to be of the same level. The concrete of pile is cut-off at the specified level (given in the specifications or drawings usually around 75 mm) while the steel is kept projected in-to the pile cap to make an effective bond between pile cap and piles.

What is Pile Cut-off Level

Why pile is trimmed or cut?

For Piles casted in dry bore holes while using temporary casing, piles heads shall be casted to a level a bit above the specified cut-off so that, after cutting or timming, a sound concrete connection can be made with the pile.

While we cast the piles under water we use tremie method of concreting. In this method the shaft of concrete pile is casted by using a tremie pipe which is lowered below the water level or the interfacing concrete and concrete is poured with pressure while the slurry and other raw concrete or weak concrete comes up. For tremie method slump mix should be greater than 175 mm.

Pile cut-off level can be above or below the group. When it is above ground, Concrete should overflow from the pile head on completion. Due to tremie method the upper part of pile consists of weak concrete as well as some contaminated boring debris.

In case the pile cut-off below the ground, the concrete level should be raised to allow for around 1 m for trimming off the weak concrete.

Traditionally the cropping or trimming process to achieve the required cut off level is done using a jackhammer or hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).

Unable to Connect to Database Connection, Would you like to configure the database connection now? Primavera P6 [SOLVED]

During the Primavera running process or mostly due to computer crash due to power supply failure or any similar issue you got an error in Primavera P6 regarding connection to database PMDB, 

Reason

PMDB is Project Management Database that is connected via Microsoft SQL Server (PRIMAVERA). What happens due to computer or PC crash this service gets stopped and PM can’t run this service on its own and thus you have to run this service;

Unable to Connect to the database. Would you like to configure the database connection now? 

Solution

For that;

1) After getting the error “Unable to connect to the database. Would you like to configure the database connection now?” just hit “NO” click Cancel in the Login to Primavera Window and close the application;

2) Go to the location; 

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Microsoft SQL Server 2005\Configuration Tools

Run SQL Server Configuration manager (Click to enlarge) 

3) And run the SQL Server Configuration Manager as shown;

SQL Server Configuration Manager (Click to Enlarge)

4) Select SQL 2005 Service from the left you will see SQL Server (Primavera) having red status symbol shown on the server showing the service is stopped, 

5) Right click the SQL Server (Primavera) and click Start the Service and wait for the service to get started.

Run the SQL Server (Primavera) (Click to Enlarge)

Run the Service and Your are done (Click to Enlarge)

6) Now run the Primavera and you are done,

If you have any further queries just contact us via admin@iamcivilengineer.com

Practical Civil Engineering Works Questions and Answers by Vincent T.H. CHU

Working in the field as a civil engineer is sometimes very challenging. The diversity in the conditions and nature of job from project to project varies. The extent of variation is such that even if you belongs to one major category like transportation engineering your every single project will have hundreds of unique happenings and hundreds of unique challenges.

In such a condition you will search on the internet as well as you will go and try to consult some experienced individuals who might have gone through some similar situation or might know the solution. How about a book that has hundreds of such solutions already been answered by world class level engineers and professionals working for decades in the field.

Download 200+ Questions and Answers on Practical Civil Engineering Works

Book Title

200 Questions and Answers on Practical Civil Engineering Works

Author

Vincent T. H. CHU

Contents of the Book

Bridge Works

Concrete Structures

Drainage Works

Earthworks

Piers and Marine Structures

Road works

Pumping Station

Reclamation

Water retaining structures and waterworks

Pipe jacking and Micro-tunneling

Piles and Foundation

General

About the Book

This  book  is  intended  primarily  to  arouse  the  interests  of  graduate  engineers,  assistant engineers and engineers in the technical aspect of civil engineering works. The content of the  book  mainly  focuses  on  providing  the  reasons  of  adoption  of  the  various  current practices  of  civil  engineering.  By  understanding  the  underlying  principles  of  engineering practices, graduate engineers/assistant engineers/engineers may develop an interest in civil engineering  works.  It  is  also  intended  that  the  book  will  serve  as  a  useful  source  of reference for practicing engineers.

Preview of the Book

Here is the live view of the book; 

Download the Book

To Download the book "200 Questions and Answers on Practical Civil Engineering Works" by Vincent T. H. CHU. just click any of the link below;

Download 200 Questions and Answers on Practical Civil Engineering Works by Vincent T.H. CHU

or

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Disclaimer: The book /software shared here has not been uploaded and only link to download has been shared if you have any trouble with the link contact us at admin@iamcivilengineer.com

Comparison of ETABS with SAP, Which is better?

Question: Which software is mostly used ETABS or SAP, which software should be learn first?

>>> Download ETABS full Cracked version here  

Answer: 

ETABS is purely building software , you can design any type of building in etabs but you cannot design Retaining walls , basement walls , Underground water tank and Over heard water tank walls in it.

Where as for SAP ,  it can also be used to design buildings , but modeling buildings in SAP is tiresome work to do because you have to assign Columns in 3d view wherease in etabs you just have to assign columns in Plans i.,e 2d plan.

But in SAP you can design complex structures such as steel structures , Overhead water towers , Any type of Reinforced wall such as basement walls , retaining walls , UGWT and OHWT walls , you can also use SAP for bridge designing and offshore structures , You can design Pilecap and piles in SAP and Also raft can be designed in SAP

Hope so this will help you in finding the answer:

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Retaining Walls, the support soil needs to stand up

We know that soil or any other loose granular material has a safe angle of repose at which the soil or material can withstand without any requirement of confinement or support. But due to practical and property restrictions we in some cases need to cut or fill the soil at some unstable angle which if unsupported might cause failure of the slope.

Concrete Retaining Wall

If we provide stable slope rather than steep slope; we might need more space there and sometimes more economy is required; to cater this problem we use the retaining wall to support the material laterally after justifying its usage from economic considerations.
Thus we can define retaining wall;

What is Retaining Wall?

As a structure or a part of structure that holds back and retained the loose material behind within a limited space to provide safety and economy one at the same end.

 Or
McCormac and Nelson defines it as;

Retaining wall is a structure built for the purpose of holding back or retaining or providing one-sided lateral confinement of soil or other loose material.

Aurther H. Nilson and others define the retaining wall as;

Retaining walls are used to hold back masses of earth or other loose material where conditions make it impossible to let those masses assume their natural slopes.

Example Of Retaining Wall

Typical example of the retaining wall might be that of highways; in highways we have restricted property space called the right-of-way and within that limited space we have to provide the required width of the highway by using the cut and fill soil, and there those steep slopes come which needs retaining wall to get that support;

Types of Retaining Walls

Most commonly five types of retaining walls are used named as under;
(a)    Gravity Retaining wall
(b)    Cantilever Retaining Wall
(c)    Counter-fort Retaining wall
(d)    Buttress Retaining wall
(e)    Bridge-abutment type retaining wall

Gravity Retaining Wall;

The Gravity Retaining wall as the name suggests provide support or restraint to the loose material laterally because of its self-weight, it generally doesn’t contain reinforcement and mostly is used for 10 ft height and no more than that because more height will increase the need of more thicker cross-section and ultimately it will not be economical.

Gravity Type Retaining Wall

Cantilever Retaining Wall

Is a reinforced retaining wall that acts like a cantilever beam, it has four parts, the portion of the base slab or footing below the retained material is heel, and the other portion is toe, the vertical wall is called stem and to increase the slide friction key is provided below the base slab or footing.
The weight of the retained soil on the top of heel provides additional stability to the structure. It is mostly used for relatively greater heights upto 10 to 20 ft. 

Cantilever Type Retaining Wall

Counter-fort Retaining Wall

In Counter-fort retaining wall the stem and heel (the portion of the base slab below the retained slow) are joined together by inclined transverse walls at intervals called counterforts, Counterforts are in tension and mostly called counterfort ties. Counterfort retaining wall is mostly used for higher heights up to 25ft or more.

Counter Fort Retaining Wall

Buttress Retaining Wall

Buttress retaining wall is similar to counterfort retaining wall except that the inclined transverse walls are provided at the front of the stem called buttresses and acts like a compression member. Because of this property they are more stable and more economical, but because the buttresses are visible and occupies the space un-necessarily that might be useful if buttresses were not there; thus they are not generally used;

Buttress Retaining Wall

 Bridge Abutment Retaining Wall

It is a wall types bridge abutment, abutment and piers are the column-type structures used to support the deck of the bridge, the first and the last support of the bridge are called abutments because they retains the soil where as other supports are called piers. This type of retaining wall is just a simple cantilever retaining wall except that the bridge deck provides an additional horizontal restraint at the top of the stem. This wall is thus designed as a beam with fixed support at the bottom and simply supported or partially restrained at the top. 

Bridge Abutment Retaining Wall

From Editor’s Desk

Retaining Walls are very sensitive type of structures that protects our infrastructure like highways and roads from land-slides etc and helps us to let the roads be clear for us. In the retaining wall drain pipes are also provided along with pot-holes for reducing the amount of lateral load and to allow the wall to remain stable against overturning and sliding.
Hope you like this post, don’t forget to share it with your friends and colleagues.
Happy Civil Engineering!
 

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Things you should know about rutting

A very common premature pavement failure in most countries is seen as a surface depression in the wheel path. The depression which is formed is called a rut and along the rut uplift occurs due to shearing. Ruts are particularly evident after a rain when they are filled with water. Rutting may occur only in the pavement surface and the sub grade may be intact and rutting may also be exhibited by the sub grade as well.

What is rutting?

Problems due to rutting?

The ruts which are formed due to rutting may be filled with water and may cause further damage to the roadway. During turning the tyres of the vehicle may stuck in the rut, similarly during movement the tyres may get attracted towards the rut due to depression formed.

Causes of Rutting

Rutting is mostly caused due to consolidation of the subgrade i.e. the downward lateral movement of the soil followed by escape of moisture, or due to lateral movement of the materials i.e. bitumen, aggregate etc.

Most causes found can be;

Insufficient compaction during construction, inadequate pavement structure, improper mix design

Difference between free way (motorway) and a simple highway?

In pavement engineering we mostly hear the terms highway, motorway and freeway. These terms sometimes causes confusion about what they mean in real and what is the basic difference in them. In this post we will try to find the basic difference between these terms.

Difference between motorway and simple highway

Firstly all these terms specifies a paved surface which is used for transportation of high speed vehicles that may include trucks, cars, bikes etc. Motor way and Free way is similar in this sense that both of these have limited access which means to enter in a motorway or freeway there is specified path followed by a collector road, in a similar manner the exit is also controlled. Where as in highway the access is not controlled there are a lot of paths provided where the access is very easily provided. But even then the motorway and freeway are different in the sense that, in freeway there are no toll plazas and no toll tax is collected which means it is free and thus it is known as freeway but that is not the case with a motorway. In Motorways the toll tax is applied, in various countries mostly developing countries the project of a motorways is awarded to some foreign firm or contractor which doesn’t take the cost from the client but for some specified time the toll is being collected by the contractors to complete its cost plus profit after which the project will be handed over to the client which may apply the toll tax for maintenance and up gradation of the project.