Awarded as the best online publication by CIDC

Ask An Expert

Is structure engineering troubling you?
Do you face problems in solving even the basic problems?

If yes then look no further as engineeringcivil.com along with Er. Gobind Khurana and Er. Abhimanyu has taken an initiative to help civil engineering students in structure related queries. We are thankful to Er. Gobind Khurana, Er. Abhimanyu and Vincent T. H. CHU for being a volunteer in helping other engineers in solving problems related to structure design in R.C.C and Steel.

Expert 1
Name – Er. Gobind Khurana
Qualification:
1. Bachelor of Civil Engineering From Thapar University Patiala
2. Master of Structure Engineering from Delhi University.
Work Profile: Currently working as Consultant for structural problems in R.C.C and STEEL Design.

Expert 2
Name – Er. Abhimanyu
Qualification:
Bachelor of Civil Engineering From Thapar University Patiala
Training at site in Unitech ( during 6 month summer training)
Work Profile : Presently working as associate design engineer for Fluor Daniel India Pvt Ltd. Area of work is structural steel design and concrete foundations for both static and dynamics analysis ( mainly in oil and gas industry)

Expert 3
Er. Vincent T. H. CHU obtained the degree of civil and structural engineering in the University of Hong Kong. He is the author of the monthly column “The Civil FAQ” in the Hong Kong Engineer published by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and is the author of the civil engineering monthly columns “The Civil Q&A” and “The Civil Corner” on the websites on World Federation of Engineering Organization and the University of Science and Technology (American Society of Civil Engineers – International Student Group) respectively. He is the recipient of the Ombudsman’s Award 2007 under complaint-related category and Young Engineer of the Year Award 2008 (Merit) organized by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers. He is also the author of the engineering book “200 Question and Answers on Practical Civil Engineering Works”, “Civil Engineering Practical Notes A-Z” , “Ask Vincent Chu (Common FAQ on Practical Civil Engineering Works)” and “The Underlying Reasons in Practical Civil Engineering Works”.

So if you have any query regarding the concerned matter, just drop a comment and we will try to solve it as soon as possible.

3,910 comments on "Ask An Expert"

Jitendra Arora says:

Can you please explain step to step design procedure for RCC and Structural Steel members like beam, column , slab and equipment foundations

Vincent T. H. CHU says:

To: Jitendra Arora

You may refer to “Reinforced Concrete Design” by W. H. Mosley. It is too long to write it here regarding the whole design procedures.

haresh says:

what is the ratio of mass and weight of concrete.

Vincent T. H. CHU says:

To: haresh,

The ratio of mass and weight of concrete is gravity.

Jeremy Giddings says:

I intend to install 5 off air conditioning units, weighing @140kg each on a reinforced concrete roof. I dont know the specification of the concrete, but there is other plant on the roof such as air handling units, package chiller, boiler house etc. So i guess it has been designed as a plant room, load bearing roof.

The landlords agent wants an endorsement to say that what I intend to do is safe. I have contacted a structural engineer who has told me that without any construction drawings or specification of the roof, there is no way he will endorse my course of action.

What can I do now?

Vincent T. H. CHU says:

To Jeremy Giddings:

The Structural Engineer has to obtain design information such as the thickness and reinforcement details of the roof to check if it is structurally adequate to support your proposed loads.

Just give him the design drawings of the roof.

REDDY says:

SIR,
I PURSUING FINAL YEAR,CIVIL ENGINEERING.I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT THE INNOVATIVE MATERIALS IN CONSTRUCTION

Vincent T. H. CHU says:

To Reddy,

There are many innovative materials developed in the construction industry. For example, fibre reinforced plastic is proposed to replace traditional steel bars as concrete reinforcement.

Robert Dodge says:

I have tried the procedure for Sheet Piling near a rail line, where I have to include a relatively large surcharge. I’m then having trouble with the procedure in that on step No. 5, I’m coming out with a negative value for p6. This then yields a negative dimension “D” on Step No. 6.

Your program is helpful, but could you respond a.s.a.p. Thank you for the help.

Bob Dodge, S.E., P.E.

Paul B. Cormier, P.E. says:

Bob, I am designing some shoring and ran into the exact same problem you described. Did you ever get this resolved? Thanks.

Manoj says:

Sir,
What is the salary for civil engineers inside & outside, i heard that civil engineers have a great opportunity in gulf countries is it true

joseph calo says:

Sir Im taking up my undergraduate thesis this semester i would like to ask if you have any suggestion for a thesis title for me focusing in the field of structural & hydrology / water resources engineering etc. cause some of the group have took transportation and materials.

Thanks. hoping for your suggestion.

joseph calo says:

what thesis can we do for 2months time frame

sriramchowdary says:

Hai sir, Can you explain the economics of civil engineering and try to send that data to my mail.

javed akhter says:

my project is geometric design of a railway track plz send me best material about this project and also how to design a raily curve

ANANYA says:

sir,,kindly tell me the format of making a summer training report

Vincent T. H. CHU says:

To: Ananya

The summer training report can be presented as follows:

(i) Introduction
(ii) Programme of training
(iii) Skills and kowledge leant in training
(iv) Evaluation
(v) Discussion and Sharing
(vi) Conclusion

ANANYA says:

okay..thank you sir

ANANYA says:

sir,if the drawing of a beam is given then how to find out the steel ,,,i mean the area of reinforcement

ANANYA says:

sir vincent t.h.u thakyou for ur support

ANANYA says:

im in 4th year civil engg,,and my interest is in construction site work,,tell me sir,,what should i study after my b.tech

Firdaus says:

What are the disadvantages or problems faced when using the total station equipment

Rajendra S.B. says:

We want to construct A concrete wall at the sea shore. The soil investigation shows filled up soil upto a depth of 4m and further down is lateritic boulders and laterite rock. Now vertically at a distance of 12m from the proposed concrete wall the soil investigation shows marine clay with fine sand. I want to know whether is it safe to go bored RCC piles so as avoid sliding of the structure.

Vincent T. H. CHU says:

To Rajendra

To avoid sliding and deep-seated failure, your proposal to construct bored piles as foundation of the concrete wall is a feasible option. Depending on the scale of your wall, you may consider mini-piles ore pre-bored H piles which may save your costs.

I suppose the bored piles are designed as end-bearing piles which are founded beyond 12m from ground level. If it is intended as friction piles, careful analysis has to be carried out.

merun says:

sir,why do we carryover half of the moment towards a hinged end also as in the case of fixed end in moment distribution method

Vincent T. H. CHU says:

To merun,

Consider a singled-span beam with one end fixed and one end pinned.

MA, required to cause a rotation at the pinned end, x, may be expressed as follows:
MA = 4EIx/L

When this is true we find that moment induced at the fixed end
MB = 2EIx/L

Hence we may say that a moment of magnitude 0.5 of moment A from pinned end is
’carried over’ to the fixed end of the beam when MA is applied at the right. Hence the carry
over factor, CO, equals 0.5 for the structure.

In moment distribution method, the first step is to establish a false structure by fixing all joints. The fixed fixed beam structure is not the real situation, so we release each joint one
at a time and put in a moment to cancel the sum of the fictitious moments at a joint
and when we do so, we distribute the cancellation moments in accordance with the
distribution factors. While one joint is released the others are fixed still. While one joint is fixed and the other released, 0.5 of the cancellation moment goes to
the opposite side of the beam span. Hence, we carry over half of the moment towards a hinged end also as in the case of fixed end in moment distribution method.

Mohammad Tasawar Riaz says:

HI,
Dear Sir i hope you will fine.Sir i need to you about the steel elongation and how it can be calculate and what is the affect on steel durability.
I will be very thankful to you

Vincent T. H. CHU says:

To Mohammad Tasawar Riaz,

Just from elastic theory,

Elongation = Stress x length/Young’s Modulus

We have limitation of allowable elongation, otherwise the performance of the structure would be impaired.

K.P.Gopinathan says:

I would like to know, how we can co-relate the compressive strength of the concrete after conducting an ultrasonic test?
How reliable is ultrasonic test?

Vincent T. H. CHU says:

To K.P. Gopinathan

The relationship between ultrasonic pulse velocity and strength is affected by a number of factors including age, curing conditions,moisture condition, mix proportions, type of aggregate and type of cement. If an estimate of strength is required it is necessary to establish a correlation between strength and velocity for the particular type of concrete under investigation. This correlation has to be established experimentally by testing a sufficient number of specimens to cover the range of strengths expected and to provide statistical reliability.

RMREDDY says:

PLS SEND BITAMINOUS MECADEM&BITAMINUS CONCRERTE MIX DESIGN PROCEDURE.
REGARDS
RAVI

Sajin says:

What is the specific heat capacity of Flyash, Microsilica and Pozzolona Portland Cement?

rea says:

Sir,
I pursuing final year in civil engineering.i would like to know if the filter of cigarettes is effective to be a alternative building materials for concrete/hollow blocks?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ask a question