How is the slump of concrete selected? Give an example.

Most of the time it doesn’t matter, but there are three cases I know of that do: Most common is workability. The higher the slump the easier it is to move around once poured. 3″-4″ is usually taken as the baseline. Indication of water content. The water content will determine strength values during cure times. …

Which building material stands up best against large magnitude earthquakes?

As a few others have mentioned, it has more to do with the way structures are built rather than the material. An earthquake-resistant building constructed of marshmallow can be very successful, but it would barely resemble a building constructed of stone designed to resist earthquakes. Strategies for large flat buildings are also very different from …

When the porosity of a building material increases, the porosity, density, apparent density, strength, water absorption, Frost resistance, thermal conductivity of the material increases, decreases, remains unchanged, and can not be determined?

As porosity decreases: Porosity – decreases Density – decreases Apparent density – decreases or can’t be determined Strength – decreases slightly or can’t be determined Water absorption – likely increases or can’t be determined Frost resistance – likely decreases or can’t be determined Thermal conductivity – likely remains unchanged

Is another word for the road of a bridge or highway, deck, suspension, truss, or viaduct?

The deck is the part you walk or drive upon. Suspension refers to a type of bridge construction. The easiest example are bridges with cables. Trusses are structural members similar to beams, but made up of many smaller pieces. Think of freeway sign structures or outdoor concert stage rigging. A viaduct is bridge. Specifically, a …

Do I use the toe slab as my basement slab (I would have both top and bottom rebars)?

Typically, your floor slab would be poured on top of your toe slab. Otherwise, you have a problem of the shear at the end of the toe. Unless you really thicken the slab and increase the reinforcement you will get a large crack at the end of the toe. Most designers and engineers avoid this …

What is the difference between a mid-rise and a high-rise building?

Firstly, there are no hard definitions. Mid-rise: Between 3–10 stories. A lot of jurisdictions place the lower end at 6+ stories as most buildings can no longer be constructed primarily of wood. High-rise: Usually 7 or more stories. A lot of jurisdictions place the lower end at 10+ stories. This is largely attributed to Chicago’s …

How does the speed/amount of mantle material rising and sinking and the way that mantle material moves the plates affect a plate’s speed?

Think of the ocean or any other large body of water. There are a lot of things going on. Hot spots, different densities, plumbs rising and falling within the body of water. Now, let’s put a large comparably thin material floating on top. Think of ice sheets in the arctic or antarctic. Ice sheets can …

When does a bridge become a tunnel? At what length does a bridge constitute it being a tunnel?

Ian Marr·June 24, 2020Architect At no point am I aware of the length defining either. In the human scale, a tunnel goes through something and a bridge crosses over something. In the quantum scale, a tunnel is a passage through a time-space medium while a bridge tends to be connection between two separate things. But, …

What are the criteria required to go for shallow foundation and deep foundation?

Most foundations are going to be shallow foundations as they are almost always the easiest and cheapest solution. Bearing capacity is usually the governing issue for this. If you exceed, or come close to, your bearing capacity you would typically move to a deep foundation solution. There are other cases which involve special conditions in …