Civil Engineering Construction - Essay Example

Running Head: CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION Civil Engineering Construction Insert (4BU032) Introduction: Foundation is the baseline through which construction work takes place. The report is supposed to cover information related to foundation which forms the base for any construction/ structure and dictates the allowable weight that the building can hold as well as the function which the house is meant to serve. Definition The key terms that form the basis of the report are mainly pad and pile which are types of foundations used in building and construction. Pad foundation- Similarly to the strip footings, Pad foundation is applicable when dealing with isolated loads through a process as follows: - The construction requires an excavated trench especially with a backhoe followed by a reinforcement cage which should be laid in the excavated trench (Riley & Cotgrave, 2009, p. 44). After the cage is laid, then concrete is the poured into the trench but this would differ depending on the construction codes within the country involved in the construction (Doran et. al., 2009, p. 43). Each and every building must have a baseline through which the construction takes place, the purpose of the foundation is to equally distribute the weight of the structure and all available live load within the sub grade which is wide enough to control collapse and settlement. It is somehow related to the pressure within the earth, pile walls, ultimate bearing capacity of load that could be hold depending on the helical anchors and capacity of the plate used (Twort & Rees, 2004, p. 64). However, the frame is able to stand and can be left to stay without a stand till it dries up but the only part of the trench that have to be supported is the part of the foundation that is above the ground level. In case the construction site is containing sandy soil then its adept to construct the trench after a complete excavation is formed prior to pouring the concrete so that the sand would withstand the force applied on it to reduce chances of sand collapsing (Atkinson, 2004, p. 37). These factors have to be considered depending on the areas through which the construction is to be laid. For instance how the foundation constructed on the sand looks is not supposed to be the same as the construction sites constructed on sites which are prone to wind and soil erosion which should be about 300 mm below the under surface to reduce dampness during cold seasons (Doran et. al., 2009, p. 52). Nevertheless, the areas which experience lots of under surface water with poor water infiltration, the construction of the footing should be made under frost penetration depth to reduce the effects of frost heave on then foundation. The construction sides which are not susceptible to frost should have backfills to secure the foundation (Riley & Cotgrave, 2009, p. 49). Pile foundation- Other than pad, pile foundation is composed of a slender unit construction driven underground to enhance load submission into the strata. This process is carried out through by direct bearing or friction on a compressed soil near or at the bottom. This is purposefully designed to suppress the downward load (Twort & Rees, 2004, p. 52). It could either be driven vertically or otherwise which would be then referred to as batter pile provided that it is not driven vertically into the strata. In addition, another pile referred to as the sheet pile is used to resist the lateral soil pressure (Twort & Rees, 2004, p. 76). Foundations Generally, all foundation consists of three main parts namely: - the foundation bed, which is the rock or soil which the construction rests (Doran et. al., 2009, p. 38). The footing, this is the part of foundation that lies on the foundation bed. However, after the foundation bed and footing there comes foundation wall which is the construction that is erected on the above the ground surface (Twort & Rees, 2004, p. 66). Foundation wall is also part of the foundation; this is contrary to its name that to a layman would mean that the upward construction of a structure. At times it may be referred s to pedestal or column of a wall (Atkinson, 2004, p. 45). When considering the surfaced construction of the foundation it is referred to as a continuous foundation which is essential in the construction as it holds all the weight that is constructed above the surface. Below are the types of continuous constructions above the construction surface (Riley & Cotgrave, 2009, p. 53). Figure 1—wall and column foundations Accessed from the url- http://www.tpub.com/inteng/1d.htm on Nov 27th, 2011. However, the difference within the struction designs is based on the quantity of load that is applicable which is a factor that determines the functionality of the structure. Small structures are cost effective when the constructors use the continuous foundation which is erected after the base has been set (Doran et. al., 2009, p. 74). Other factors that are considered depending on then type of soil at the site are the size and thickness of the walls to reduce overloading the base pad or pile when the construction site is composed of loses soil (Twort & Rees, 2004, p. 79). However, most of the codes used in construction require that the footing should have a horizontal base so that any slope could be compensated through creating steps at the footing of the buildings (Atkinson, 2004, p. 49). Fig 2. Accessed from the url- http://www.tpub.com/inteng/1d.htm on Nov 27th, 2011. Fig 3. Accessed from the url- http://www.ibiblio.org/permaculture-online/elevation.html on Nov 27th, 2011. Fig 4. Accessed from the url- http://www.tpub.com/inteng/1d.htm on Nov 27th, 2011. Fig 5. Accessed from the url- http://www.tpub.com/inteng/1d.htm on Nov 27th, 2011. Purpose of foundation In any building structure, foundation is necessary as it for the building. However, the weight that a building is supposed to carry entirely depends on the type of foundation laid. The force that is supposed to be exerted on the ground entirely depends on the base of a building (Doran et. al., 2009, p. 79). However, in case of house, movement cases, the foundation is supposed to withstand the exerted force hence lowering cases of shrinking and swellings on the ground base (Riley & Cotgrave, 2009, p. 46). However, both permanent and variables are also supposed to be transferred through suitable substratum. The depth of the foundation should be deep enough to withstand the different climatic condition for example frost heave. It also acts and provides a bas through which the building and construction can commence on (Atkinson, 2004, p. 51). Advantages of Pad Foundation When using Pad construction method, excavation of the sight to a leveled formation is very economical. When the basement is supposed to be constructed using beams and slab or stiff slab, there would be specialized cases of buoyancy rafts (Doran et. al., 2009, p. 62). The effects of mining subsidence are to be counteracted by the design of raft. From a statement that structure can protect a structure once failure is identified; the structure is suitable for construction for instance in abandoned land that had been used by mining site (Riley & Cotgrave, 2009, p. 44). Advantages of pile foundation When hard stratum is used in the construction, pile foundations would have high carrying capacity to an extent that it would hold hard driving without shattering. There are chances of increasing their lengths through fabrication and coupling or welding an additional length. This increases penetration without involving a tall pile frame (Twort & Rees, 2004, p. 82). However, they are also easy to use and could be roughly handled without causing any damage this is due to the good resistance to Buckling and lateral force (Doran et. al., 2009, p. 98). Comparison between Pad and Pile foundations When comparing the two foundations, it is evidence from the foundation requirements that Pile foundation contains a stronger baseline for constructing units that would be used for containing or processing heavy loads compared to Pad foundation which best suits small units that are used for both medium and small scale (Atkinson, 2004, p. 54). Example of structures that could be built using pile foundation includes but not limited to Radio stations which contains heavy communication equipments, brick laying industry (Doran et. al., 2009, p. 60). Here its evidenced that the machines involved in the production of bricks are very heavy hence requires that before individuals engage buildings into business and other functionalities, it is the mandate of the house engineer to decide on the kind of work that should be dealt with in case the structure is leased or sold (Riley & Cotgrave, 2009, p. 76). Conclusion In conclusion, both Pad and Pile foundations resulted into stable base for construction with reliable features that enables individual constructors to believe that the construction would be able to withstand various weights that would be loaded on both the continuous foundation and the capacity that the base would hold when the construction is over. However, it is important to note that in both Pad and pile foundation structures there are various ways through which the construction would be possible tithout enough construction materials at the start, other than being cost effective comparatively to the cost of goods in other building and construction chain stores. Appendix 1 Figure 1—wall and column foundations Accessed from the url- http://www.tpub.com/inteng/1d.htm on Nov 27th, 2011. Fig 2. Accessed from the url- http://www.tpub.com/inteng/1d.htm on Nov 27th, 2011. Fig 3. Accessed from the url- http://www.ibiblio.org/permaculture-online/elevation.html on Nov 27th, 2011. Fig 4. Accessed from the url- http://www.tpub.com/inteng/1d.htm on Nov 27th, 2011. Fig 5. Accessed from the url- http://www.tpub.com/inteng/1d.htm on Nov 27th, 2011. References Atkinson M. F. (2004). Structural foundations manual for low-rise buildings: Construction. London- UK: Taylor & Francis. Doran, D. et al (2009). Site Engineers Manual. 2nd Ed. Whittles Publishing: Dunbeath. (624 SIT) Riley, M. and Cotgrave, A., (2009). Construction Technology 2: Industrial and Commercial Building. 2nd Ed. Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke. Twort, A. and Rees, J., (2004). Civil Engineering Project Management. 4th Ed. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford. (624.068 TWO) Read More