Chronological Design and Development of Construction Project - Coursework Example

It identifies the parameters necessary for structural design. Towards the end of this section, materials properties are examined at different forms of loading under tension and compression. The third section explores the overall building and construction constraints with a special focus on such structures as foundations, basements, and retaining walls. Finally, the fourth section mentions several things about fire safety in buildings. In this section, the behaviour of material when subjected to fire is described.

Further, ways of averting fire outbreak in a building are suggested at the end of this section. Before serious design considerations are made, special attention should be paid to the location where construction is going to be done. Key features of any engineering project design will be determined based on suitability to the selected site. Therefore, site selection is one of the most important stages in a construction project. Site selection comprise of specialized geologic study. This study is important, especially in new sites.

The importance of this study in construction projects is obvious. Most projects in the developed urban areas do not require a detailed geologic investigation because vital information can be retrieved from the literature review. However, geological investigation is very necessary in cases where construction projects are going to be situated in underdeveloped areas (Adams, 1994). On circumstances when the site survey result reveal that proposed construction site is not suitable for further development, several corrective measures are put in place.

These corrective efforts are aimed at reclaiming the unsuitable land. It can then be argued that land reclamation is a product of critical land survey (Harris, Herbert, and Institution of Civil Engineers, 1994).

1.3 Geotechnical design and soil mechanics Geologic investigation is a complex process, which entails geologic reconnaissance, aerial photography, exegetical literature search, laboratory tests, geologic mapping and trenching. The amount of efforts dedicated to geological investigation prior to site selection depends on the magnitude and scope of upcoming construction. Another vital area of concern in site selection is seism tectonic evaluation. Prospective projects on seismically active region introduce hazards to the public.

An evaluation to determine foreseeable seismic loading is paramount in design and development of structures, which can withstand dynamic, seismic loading conditions. Site reconnaissance is normally done before any entry is made to the proposed construction site. Legality arrangements and risk assessment precede this exercise so as to guarantee the safety of site surveyors. Essentially, reconnaissance is the visual inspection of the site (Emmitt and Gorse, 2010). 1.4 Building on inner city sites Constructions proposed on the inner city site must be designed and constructed with close attention and safety considerations.

Site reconnaissance may not be necessary because of the availability of geological data from previous projects. Analysis on the existing buildings will offer a better chance of optimizing the designs (Hester and Harrison, 2001). However, the requirements of the local authorities must be met to avoid conflicts with the laws. 2 Structural design 2.1 Structural engineering principles 2.1.1 Second moment of area Generally, the mode of failure of a column or wall is buckling due to vertical loads.

These vertical loads are due to the weight of floors and walls above the subject structure. Buckling is proportional to the member’s stiffness, which is expressed as I/L, whereby, ‘I’ is the second moment of area while L is the length of the element. Second moment of area is obtained by the formula; Ixx – Area moment of inertia about X axis dA – A very small area parallel to the X axis. y – Distance of the small area from the X-axis. It is necessary to increase the second moment of area when there is an increase in loading so as to offset the effects of potential buckling.

This can be achieved is solid walls through expansion of wall thickness. This parameter may also need to be increased with the corresponding increase in effective element length, L. The ability of different wall thicknesses to withstand loads over varying effective lengths is ascertained during the design process. The possibility of an element buckling is measured by slenderness ratio. This ratio is given by; hef/tef. Whereby hef is the effective length of height subjected to buckling load and tef is the effective thickness.

A structural member with high slenderness ratio is likely to yield so easily to buckling load. On the other hand, element with lower slenderness ration has more capacity to carry vertical loading because the tendency to buckle has been reduced (Curtin, Shaw, Beck and Easterbrook 2006). However, the design engineer should not focus on simply expanding solid wall thickness as a means of achieving great second moment of area. Choice of material with different geometric profile is an option available for consideration.

Economic constraint related to thick solid walls is a key factor to development of alternative elements. As a result, steel beams in the shape of I, T and box have been developed to replace the need of having thick solid walls. The structural designer should focus more on the second moment of area and radius of gyration instead of thinking about effective thickness. This will result in innovativeness and creativity in solving other design problems (Chew 2009). 2.1.2 Beams and cantilevers trusses, and frames The strength and size of the required beam is obtained after design shear force and bending moment have been calculated.

Beams are classified in to three categories depending on the span of loading in which they are to be subjected.