The use of Near Surface mounted Reinforcement for concrete structures are not a new invention. A type of NSMR has been used since the 1940s, where steel reinforcement is placed in slots in the concrete cover or in addition concrete cover that is cast onto the structure. Here steel bars are placed in slots in [...]

When strengthening is going to be undertaken all failure modes must be evaluated. Strengthening a structure for flexure may lead to shear failure instead of giving the desired increased load bearing capacity. It should also be noted that not only the failure mode of the strengthened member is important. If a critical member in a structure is strengthened, another member can become the critical one. Because of changed stiffness in an undetermined structural system the whole structure must be investigated. The strengthening should also designed with consideration to minimize the maintenance and repair needs. When a strengthening is designed the consequences from loss of strengthening effectiveness by fire, vandalism, collision etc. must in addition be considered.

There are a number of properties of a beam that an Engineer should be aware of as they dictate beam behaviour when subject to a load and ultimately represent possible areas or mechanisms for failure. The main ones being:

Second moment of area (also referred to as the second moment of inertia): this depends on the cross section profile of the beam and is a measure of the resistance of the shape of the beam to bending.

Assumptions
Concrete has no tensile resistance
The reinforcing resists all the tensile forces.
Maximum tensile stress in the steel:
The characteristic cube stress of the concrete = fcu and the compressive stress in the concrete = 0,4 fcu
The maximum neutral axis depth (dn) is limited to 0.5 d.
The internal moments are in equilibrium with the external moments.

Resistance moment [...]

There are cracks in all buildings, some minor and insignificant, some requiring expensive repairs and in some extreme cases the only solution is total demolition of the building.

This article is intended to put cracks into context: obviously one of the major concerns of house buyers. “How serious is it” is a question I am often [...]

What is a flat slab?
•a reinforced concrete slab supported directly by concrete columns without the use of beams

Uses of column heads:
•increase shear strength of slab
•reduce the moment in the slab by reducing the clear or effective span

Uses of drop panels:
•increase shear strength of slab
•increase negative moment capacity of slab
•stiffen the slab and hence reduce deflection

BENEFITS
•Flexibility [...]

In the moment distribution method, every joint of the structure to be analysed is fixed so as to develop the fixed-end moments. Then each fixed joint is sequentially released and the fixed-end moments (which by the time of release are not in equilibrium) are distributed to adjacent members until equilibrium is achieved. The moment distribution [...]

The development length may be defined as the length of the bar required on either side of the section to develop the required stress in steel at that section.

DEVELOPMENT LENGTH OF BARS
The development length Ld, is given by

In the formula for development length, the appropriate values for u s and 7M are to be [...]

Reliability?

“BEST bus services are very reliable”

“BMC water supply is not very reliable”

“In Mumbai, Western Railway’s service is more reliable than that of the Central Railway”

What is reliability, in technical terms?

How do we measure it?

Why is not a system fully reliable?

Civil Engineering Systems

Structural (Buildings, Bridges, Dams, Fly-overs)

Transportation (Road systems, Railways, Air traffic)

Water (Water supply networks, [...]

A tuned mass damper, also known as an active mass damper (AMD) or harmonic absorber, is a device mounted in structures to prevent discomfort, damage, or outright structural failure caused by vibration. They are frequently used in power transmission, automobiles, and buildings.
How Tuned Mass Dampers Work

A tuned mass damper (TMD) consists [...]

Design of Steel Tanks

The steel tanks are defined as vessels made of steel plates. The steel tanks are either placed on ground or placed on towers. When the steel tanks are placed on ground, then, these are supported on cement concrete foundation or on steel grillage foundation. [...]

MULTISTOREY REINFORCED CONCRETE BUILDINGS
A large number of reinforced concrete multistoreyed frame buildings were heavily damaged and many of them collapsed completely in Bhuj earthquake of 2001 in the towns of Kachchh District (viz., Bhuj, Bhachao, Anjar, Gandhidham and Rapar) and other district towns including Surat and Ahmedabad. In Ahmedabad alone situated at more than 250 [...]

The underlying theme of the development will be to enhance Abu Dhabi’s natural wealth of water and beach frontage. The Development is a massive project and spreads over 5 square kilometres. The development includes construction of 11 precincts that will include hotels, marinas, parks, restaurants as well as leisure facilities. These precincts are known as [...]

UAE is not only advancing in common infrastructure but also specialized  infrastructure  which are energy efficient. It stands first in the category  by taking the initiative to create a city concerned with energy management. Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is designing Masdar Headquarters.  Bob Forest, a partner at S+G is in Abu Dhabi [...]

Having set up the basics for studying equilibrium of bodies, we are now ready to discuss the trusses that are used in making stable load-bearing structures. The examples of these are the sides of the bridges or tall TV towers or towers that carry electricity wires. Schematic diagram of a structure on the side of [...]

The steel chimneys are of two types:

Self-supporting steel chimneys

Guyed steel chimneys.

Self-supporting steel chimneys: When the lateral forces (wind or seismic forces) are transmitted to the foundation by the cantilever action of the chimney, then the chimney is known as self-supporting chimney. The self-supporting chimney together with the foundation remains stable under all working conditions without [...]