Terminology, Structures, and Implementation: Civil Engineering

This report, prepared by a student, delves into the core concepts of civil engineering, encompassing terminology, construction technologies, and sustainable practices. It begins with an introduction to construction technology and its significance, followed by a description of various construction activities, including residential, commercial, and industrial zones within city planning. The report then analyzes functional characteristics of infrastructure and building projects, evaluating them based on classifications. A key aspect involves comparing concrete and steel buildings in terms of fire resistance. Furthermore, it provides a comparative analysis of substructure and superstructure criteria for office buildings and warehouses, addressing factors relevant to design and construction. The report also discusses sustainability aspects in urban development and transport projects. Additionally, it includes a report on-site conditions, emphasizing the importance of pre-design studies and analyzing foundation types and structural components. The report references various sources to support its findings, providing a well-rounded overview of civil engineering principles and practices.

Terminology Basic civil engineering structures and their implementation1
Terminology, Basic civil engineering
structures, and their implementation
By Nuwantha Lakpriya
BTEC HND in Construction and the Built Environment (Civil Engineering)
Lecturer Ms. Poornima Dassanayake
Unit 2 - Construction Technology
Colombo School of Construction Technology
05/12/2021

Terminology Basic civil engineering structures and their implementation2
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Importance of construction technology....................................................................................................3
A. Describe the type of construction activity such as residential, commercial, and industrial Zone in city
plan development........................................................................................................................................4
a) Explain the functional characteristics in Infrastructure construction and Building construction
projects. Evaluate them according to the classification............................................................................4
b) “Concrete building has higher fire resistant compared to steel buildings”. Evaluate this statement
relating to the field of construction..........................................................................................................6
C). Compare the different evaluation criteria in substructure and superstructure in relation to office
building and warehouses in terms of the following factors......................................................................6
A "superstructure" is the top-most part of a building, such as a roof. A "substructure" is the foundation
below a building — it typically includes the ground and other elements that stabilize and support the
superstructure. Most construction projects will have both superstructures (the roof) and substructures
(the foundation). Superstructures are usually higher than substructures, but not always. A bridge might
have superframes in both directions (Mishra, 2010)................................................................................6
d) Discuss the overall aspects of ‘sustainability’ that we can use in the proposed Urban Development
cum Transport Improvement Project.......................................................................................................7
B. You are assisting as a Junior Quantity Surveyor of this SCDP Planning Committee. The design team
requested to have a report on-site conditions of the above site. As a planning committee member, you are
supposed to produce a report that describes the following factors...............................................................8
a) Describe the importance of pre-design studies and how it improves the construction process and
how it can be beneficial for the above scenario.......................................................................................8
b) Analysis of the appropriateness of foundation types that can be used for the above project................8
c) Structural components are vital parts in both building and other infrastructure projects. Explain how
effective are the structural components in the superstructure and substructure of the project and
illustrate how structural components fulfill their function as columns beams and slabs........................10
References.................................................................................................................................................12

Terminology Basic civil engineering structures and their implementation3
Introduction
Importance of construction technology
In the ever-increasingly competitive construction industry, it's important to find ways to keep up
with technological advancements. A decade ago, teams of skilled hands would work extensively
on a project from start to finish – from laying bricks, leveling cement, and paving roads –
without any use of modern machinery. As technology improved, so did the way buildings were
constructed. Eventually a combination of digital design software, 3D printers, and drones
became a common site for projects being built from afar or explored from aerial views by remote
operators with cameras mounted on their heads or bodies.
Nowadays, there are many different methods and technologies involved in the construction
process; each bringing its own advantages and disadvantages. For some projects, such as a
renovation of a home or office space, the traditional approach could be best. On other occasions
though, there are major breakthroughs that will enable us to build better structures without
making use of traditional methods.
Take for instance 3D printing. The technology has the potential to revolutionize construction by
taking out labor costs and freeing up engineers from having to work on real-life buildings all day
long.
A recent example of how advanced technologies can be used in the construction industry is the
world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. The structure is built from Ayer Dubai and can be seen
from miles away by passing cars and ships. However when it was being constructed, not only
was a lot of manual labor needed but it was also a long and arduous process that took seven years
to complete. Had the project been built using a remote-controlled drone with cameras attached to
it, the building could have been built much quicker without making use of thousands of human
workers.
Another example of amazing technology is the 3d printing of homes and offices. The technology
has been used in some countries to build whole cities made up of thousands of houses. It has also
been used to print a house that was constructed in under 24 hours, using no human labor besides
some assembly after it had been printed. 3D printers may not be available for every home just
yet, but as time goes on the technology is becoming more affordable and compact so that it can
be used for all sorts of different building projects at a fraction of the cost.
New technologies such as drones and 3D printers are already gaining popularity within the
construction industry.

Terminology Basic civil engineering structures and their implementation4
A. Describe the type of construction activity such as residential,
commercial, and industrial Zone in city plan development.
a) Explain the functional characteristics in Infrastructure construction and Building
construction projects. Evaluate them according to the classification.
The functional characteristics in Infrastructure and Building construction projects each have their
own set of challenges, but it's important to note the differences.
Infrastructure construction deals with items such as airports, roads, bridges, and tunnels. The key
challenge with infrastructure is the heavy demand for material and labor resources by other
sectors. This can be addressed by drawing upon available surplus capacity or developing new
sources of supply, such as through public-private partnerships for transportation infrastructure
projects.
Building construction deals with residential buildings, office buildings, hospitals etcetera. The
key challenge with building projects is juggling the engineering requirements for sustainability
while meeting other practical considerations like cost or timeframes.
The four functional characteristics of infrastructure and building construction projects are as
follows:
The quality-based functional characteristics are safety; security; reliability; adaptability, and
efficiency. The quantity-based functional characteristics are speed; take-up capacity, cost
economy, expertise, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness the time-based functional characteristics
are price competitiveness and time profitability.
It is important to note that the goal is to strike the appropriate balance between these four
dimensions which should result in a project that is "completed using superior quality at an
affordable cost". The ultimate goal of all infrastructure projects is to provide services that meet
their clients' needs with minimum inconvenience for the end-user (no author, 2021).
Major Types of Construction
Residential Building Construction
Specialized Industrial Construction
Commercial Building Construction
Infrastructure Heavy Construction

Terminology Basic civil engineering structures and their implementation5
Residential Building Construction-
Residential housing construction includes single-family homes, multi-family dwellings, and
high-rise apartments. In the development and construction of such projects, developers or
sponsors familiar with the construction industry usually serve as surrogate owners, arranging
contracts for the acceptance, design, and construction and financing and sales for the completed
structures.
Residential housing designs are usually done by architects and engineers, while construction is
done by builders who hire subcontractors for structural, mechanical, electrical and other
specialized functions. The exception to this pattern is for single-family homes, which can also be
designed by the builder (Anupoju, 2018).
Specialized Industrial Construction-
Specialized industrial construction usually involves large-scale projects such as oil refineries,
steel mills, chemical processing plants, and coal or nuclear power plants. Owners are usually
deeply involved in the development of a project and prefer to work with designers-builders so
that the full time to complete the project can be shortened. They also want to select a team of
designers and designers with whom the owner has built good working relationships over the
years (Perritano, 2012).
Commercial Building Construction-
Commercial building construction includes a wide variety of project sizes and sizes, including
schools and universities, medical clinics and hospitals, entertainment facilities and playgrounds,
grocery stores and large shopping malls, warehouses and light manufacturing plants, and high-
rise buildings for offices.
And hotels. The owners of such buildings may or may not be familiar with the practices of the
construction industry, but they are generally able to select competent professional consultants
and organize financing for the facilities being built. Specialized architects and engineers are
often involved in designing a specific type of building, and even general builders or general
contractors who undertake such projects may be specialized only for that type of building
(Hojati, 2018).
Infrastructure Heavy Construction-
The heavy construction industry is mainly made up of companies engaged in large-scale building
projects in infrastructure. Examples of construction projects include highways, harbors, dams,
cable and wireless networks, bridges, tunnels, water and sewer facilities, hydroelectric power
plants, railroads and tunnels (Sharma, 2014).

Terminology Basic civil engineering structures and their implementation6
b) “Concrete building has higher fire resistant compared to steel buildings”. Evaluate
this statement relating to the field of construction
Concrete is one of the most common building materials in the world, be it residential or
commercial. It's used for both exterior and interior walls, floors, partition walls, ceilings,
facades, and even roofs. What are some of the advantages of using concrete?
-Fire-resistance: because it generates heat internally when subjected to external heat sources
like fire-fighting water or cooling systems. Consequently, it can better withstand long
exposure to flames. Concrete buildings are typically much less likely to suffer serious
damage from fire events than steel buildings because steel heats up very quickly due to its
lower thermal resistance relative to other building materials. In the event of a fire, concrete
walls are typically able to help contain the flames inside the building giving firefighters more
time to reach the fire and placing less risk to civilians and firefighters.
- Thermal insulation: Unlike steel, concrete is a highly insulative material. In some cases, it
can keep temperatures within buildings below freezing point even on hot summer days.
Concrete has a high rate of thermal conductivity (heat transmittance), which allows air within
buildings to remain well-conditioned no matter how much heat is radiated from within an
area via natural radiation or artificial sources of heat, like electrical equipment ( BigRentz,
Inc., 2020).
C). Compare the different evaluation criteria in substructure and superstructure in relation
to office building and warehouses in terms of the following factors.
A "superstructure" is the top-most part of a building, such as a roof. A "substructure" is
the foundation below a building — it typically includes the ground and other elements
that stabilize and support the superstructure. Most construction projects will have both
superstructures (the roof) and substructures (the foundation). Superstructures are usually
higher than substructures, but not always. A bridge might have superframes in both
directions (Mishra, 2010).
Office buildings and warehouses differ in many ways. According to Thowsen, Meyers, &
Marshall (2012), office buildings require bodies of work that do not necessarily include heavy
materials or great amounts of inventory. An office building also requires large open spaces. On
the other hand, warehouses store products with large amounts of materials or inventory and often
have a higher volume of traffic than an average office building. Warehouses are designed for
heavy interior and exterior loading areas, long bay lengths, high ceilings for added height for
storage stacks, and a high number of forklifts per bay to increase efficiency. Differences could
significantly impact the overall cost. Office buildings and warehouses have different criteria that

Terminology Basic civil engineering structures and their implementation7
affect building design and construction; both examples will be compared to determine how they
differ. These are just some of the differences between office buildings and warehouses.
The support strategy in an office building will differ greatly from that of a warehouse. There are
specific capacity requirements for each type of building, which ultimately affect the design
loading criteria. These
Office Building Requirements: The following factors are requirements for a typical office
building: There are many more unique factors that must be considered when designing an overall
office building. "All buildings with greater than 15,000 gross square feet must have sprinkler
systems installed.
d) Discuss the overall aspects of ‘sustainability’ that we can use in the proposed Urban
Development cum Transport Improvement Project
The project will address the following topics:
- Noise mitigation in the residential and business areas of the area
- Traffic management that reduces congestion and is more environmentally friendly
- Land use that improves biodiversity and minimizes pollution
- Lifecycle assessment of all stages of development.
Over these last few decades, Kandy has gone through an incredible period of growth which has
seen the city evolve from being mostly rural to a mostly urban one. The city's population
currently stands at around 125,400, representing 23% growth within 20 years. With this fast
pace, new traffic challenges have arisen leading to greater congestion on roads as well as
worsening air quality and noise pollution levels. Sustainability has become a buzzword for the
decade and for good reason. Urban development can help lessen the negative impacts of growth,
such as issues with the transport of goods, air pollution, and noise pollution. Nowadays the way
we build our cities to both be sustainable and profitable is to use new tools developed across
disciplines (natural science, engineering, and architecture) to be able to develop sustainable
projects.
The project will have three stages:
1. Urban development through developing and planning an improved road network that connects
the existing ring-road system with the proposed busway commuter railway;
2. Introducing the new road network with a busway commuter railway;

Terminology Basic civil engineering structures and their implementation8
3. Improving public transport through a series of modal integration studies, adjustment to the
alignment, and on-ground works.
B. You are assisting as a Junior Quantity Surveyor of this SCDP
Planning Committee. The design team requested to have a report on-site
conditions of the above site. As a planning committee member, you are
supposed to produce a report that describes the following factors.
a) Describe the importance of pre-design studies and how it improves the
construction process and how it can be beneficial for the above scenario
Construction is a complicated process. Everything that goes into building a successful facility,
whether it be an office building or hospital, starts with pre-design studies. These studies can
include drawings and models filled with architectural concepts for the facility’s exterior and
interior design. This process has many benefits for all stakeholders in the project including the
construction company, architects, owner of the site, architect’s team members working on design
services for this particular project, engineers who are designing structural systems in the
building, etc. This is a very important process for the construction company. The pre-design
studies help them prepare for the start of construction, especially if the bathroom or kitchen is
being installed in a high-rise building. They also allow them to do cost estimates and budgeting
for their project by eliminating certain mistakes due to lack of information. There are many other
benefits as well such as the building owner can get design approval before allowing any
construction work to start, and they can also carry out a site investigation before starting this
work (Berra, 2021).
.
b) Analysis of the appropriateness of foundation types that can be used for the above
project.
The definition of the term foundation in construction is any structure that is used to support or
stabilize a building. The foundation helps to transfer the weight of the building from its deck, or
ground, to its vertical columns and walls.
Fundamentally, foundation materials are usually found at ground level. In contrast with piles
supported by artificial means like rebar or cast-in-place pile arrangement that may require
specialized equipment and skills for their installation and which can typically be installed only
when certain conditions are met. Every construction project needs a solid foundation in order for
it to be sturdy. Otherwise, if you have unstable footing on your site you could have issues with

Terminology Basic civil engineering structures and their implementation9
leaks and sagging floors. The foundation itself is a part of construction that is often overlooked
and undertaken by most homeowners, business owners, and contractors (K, 2017).
Foundations are also known as subsurface elements depending on their location beneath the
surface. The subsurface elements include the soil, rock, gravel, sand, concrete, and subgrade. A
type of foundation that involves an element other than the ground or earth consists of building
columns, piers, or walls supported by a superstructure (such as a floor) above them.
Type of Foundation-
1) Shallow Foundation
1) Individual Footing or Isolate Footing
2) Combined Footing
3) Strip Foundation
4) Raft or mat Foundation
2) Deep Foundation
1) Pile Foundation
2) Drill Shafts or Caissons Foundation
Individual Footing or Isolate Footing-
Common types of foundations are used for building construction. This foundation is built for a
single column and is also known as a pad foundation. The shape of the single foot is square or
rectangular and is used when loading the structure by strips. The size is calculated based on the
weight of the column and the protective bearing capacity of the soil. A rectangular isolated base
is selected when experiencing opportunities due to the eccentricity or horizontal forces of the
foundation load (Hamakareem, 2019).
Combined Footing-
When two or three columns are located very close to each other, a single substructure is
provided for them and the base is called a joint base. Joint feet are also usually made of
reinforced concrete. ... The object is to obtain a uniform pressure distribution under the base.
Strip Foundation-
Strip Foundation is a continuous concrete column placed under load-bearing walls. It spreads the
weight of the load-bearing wall evenly over the entire area of the soil. The base can be made of
plain concrete or reinforced concrete.

Terminology Basic civil engineering structures and their implementation10
Raft or mat Foundation-
A raft foundation is fundamentally a large combined slab foundation designed to cover the
whole or a large part of the building. Provided for heavy structures/ columns located closely
spaced in both directions, located over highly compressible and weak soils extending to large
depth.
Pile Foundation-
A pile may be defined as a long vertical load transferring element, typically made from steel or
reinforced concrete or a combination of both. When to Use Pile Foundation Following are the
situations when using a pile foundation system can be used.
When the groundwater table is high.
Heavy and un-uniform loads from the superstructure are imposed.
Other types of foundations are costlier or not feasible.
When there is the possibility of washing, due to its location near the river bed or seashore, etc.
Drill Shafts or Caissons Foundation-
Drilled shafts, conjointly observed as drilled piers, caissons, or bored piles, area unit deep
foundation solutions accustomed support structures with massive axial and lateral masses by
excavating cylindrical shafts into the bottom and filling them with concrete
A stepped foundation can be used for this project because, in the sloped ground, a stepped
foundation is adopted for giving is stability. During this case, the pile Foundation is to be
adopted in an exceedingly deeper section of ground to supply a level and additionally and certain
concerning future stability. This kind of foundation additionally resists earthquake vibrations and
wind masses pressures.
c) Structural components are vital parts in both building and other infrastructure projects.
Explain how effective are the structural components in the superstructure and
substructure of the project and illustrate how structural components fulfill their function
as columns beams and slabs.

Terminology Basic civil engineering structures and their implementation11
Primary elements of a building substructure include foundations, columns, beams, and walls.
Secondary elements of a building superstructure include floors, roofs, and exterior cladding
(walls or windows). Functionality and design criteria for each primary and secondary element
that the primary function of the structure is to:
-Provide structural support
-Transfer loads from floor levels to foundation levels
-Eliminate differential movements between various parts of the structure; for example foundation
movement as a result of ground settlement or foundation movement as a result of load or soil
bearing capacity increase.
Through these two functional components buildings can achieve their goals such as
height/volume limitations dictated by environmental concerns such as urban density regulations.
1. Walls:
2. Beams:
3. Columns:
4. Floor System:
The design functions of each element should be considered when designing the structure in order
to achieve optimum performance of the structure. The primary function of a structure is
dependent on design criteria, which are based on loading conditions, construction materials, and
methods as well as environmental parameters such as seismic forces and fire resistance ratings.
From the design perspective, both primary and secondary elements of the building should be
reviewed for their structural response and construction quality. The structural response is
measured in terms of its ability to support loads, resist lateral forces, and even self-weight
(reinforcement). However, inadequacy in structural response can occur in specific cases such as
low strength concrete or poor detailing. Construction quality refers to the strength of materials
used as well as their quality assessment. For example:
Poorly welded steel columns will not provide adequate support for a heavy concrete building
structure.
References

Terminology Basic civil engineering structures and their implementation12
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