Civil Engineering question with answer for Structural Components

What are the foundations of a building?
A foundation (or, more commonly, foundations) is the element of an architectural structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads from the structure to the ground. Foundations are generally considered either shallow or deep.

What is a foundation in engineering?
A foundation is the lowest part of the building structure. ... It is at the periphery of Civil, Structural and Geotechnical Engineering disciplines and has distinct focus on soil-structure interaction. It is also called as ground sill, which transfers loads to the ground. It is generally broken into two categories.

What is meant by footing in construction?
Footings are an important part of foundation construction. They are typically made of concrete with rebar reinforcement that has been poured into an excavated trench. The purpose of footings is to support the foundation and prevent settling.

What is a spread foundation?
Spread Footings. Square or rectangular shaped blocks of reinforced concrete that typically support a single column or wall of a building. The allowable bearing pressure on the soil determines the size of the spread footing.

What is a waffle slab?
Resembling the food after which they are named, concrete waffle slabs are reinforced concrete floors and roofs that use a square grid of deep sides. This form of construction is used in airports, parking garages, commercial and industrial buildings, bridges, residences and other structures requiring extra stability.

What is a mat foundation?
Mat Foundations. A mat foundation looks like it sounds. It is a “mat” of concrete that sits on or just below the ground; in other words, a shallow foundation. You may have heard it referred to as a slab foundation, a common choice among home builders.

What is a waffle raft slab?
Waffle raft slab construction is quite different from stiffened raft and footing slab structures. The slab ribs are formed on top of the ground using a grid of polystyrene void forms. These are laid out on a leveled area. The construction is ideally suited to very reactive clay sites.

What is the use of pile foundation?
Pile foundation systems[edit] Foundations relying on driven piles often have groups of piles connected by a pile cap (a large concrete block into which the heads of the piles are embedded) to distribute loads which are larger than one pile can bear.

What is a slab on grade?
Slab-on-grade or floating slab foundations are a structural engineering practice whereby the concrete slab that is to serve as the foundation for the structure is formed from a mold set into the ground. The concrete is then placed into the mold, leaving no space between the ground and the structure.

What is open foundation?
Open Foundation is a tertiary preparation program offered by the University of Newcastle for people who have been out of the education system for some time, and who hope to study in an undergraduate degree program in the future.

What is the difference between raft and footing?
Raft foundation is a thick concrete slab reinforced with steel which covers the entire contact area of the structure like a thick floor. ... A mat is necessary when the permissible soil pressure is low or where the columns and walls are so close that person foundation would partly cover or nearly touch each other.

What is the use of plinth beam?
You can see here the beam is constructed at ground level. The void between the foundation and plinth level is filled with compacted soil. Brick or stone masonry is usually constructed below the plinth beam. The plinth beam needs to be strong, but need not be made up of reinforced cement concrete (RCC) all the time.

How thick is a concrete foundation slab?
Around the edge of the slab, the concrete forms a beam that is perhaps 2 feet deep. The rest of the slab is 4 or 6 inches thick. A 4- or 6-inch layer of gravel lies beneath the slab.

What does on a grade mean?
In real estate, above grade means the portion of a home that is above the ground. The term is usually used to describe a room or square footage. For example, 3 bedrooms above grade means 3 bedrooms that are not in a

What does monolithic slab mean?
Monolithic slabs are foundation systems constructed as one single concrete pour that consists of a concrete slab with thickened portions of the slab under load bearing walls and all perimeter edges that take the place of footers.

What is the meaning of slab on grade?
A slab-on-grade means no basement, no basement walls, just one slab of concrete on which you build your house. They aren't suitable for all building sites, which we will get into later, but for now let's assume you can build on one.

What is a slab of concrete?
A concrete slab is common structural element of modern buildings. Horizontal slabs of steel reinforced concrete, typically between 4 and 20 inches (10 and 50 centimeters) thick, are most often used to construct floors and ceilings, while thinner slabs are also used for exterior paving.

What is the meaning of suspended slab?
Suspended slabs are above-ground level slabs which are not directly in contact with the earth. They are commonly used to create floors for the upper storeys of houses, but can also be sat on top of pre-constructed walls to form a ground floor.

What is span in civil engineering?
Span is the distance between two intermediate supports for a structure, e.g. a beam or a bridge. A span can be closed by a solid beam or by a rope. The first kind is used for bridges, the second one for power lines, overhead telecommunication lines, some type of antennas or for aerial tramways.

What is the meaning of suspended slab?
Suspended slabs are slabs that are not in direct contact with the ground. They form roofs or floors above ground level. Suspended slabs are grouped into two types: one way slabs which are supported on two sides. two way slabs which are supported on all four sides.

What is a beam and column?
If you keep it horizontally it is called a Beam which carries the loads by bending, simply called flexure. If you keep it vertically forms a Column which carries load by undergoing compression. If you keep it in an inclined fashion it is called a Strut which carries horizontal and vertical components of forces.

How thick does a concrete slab need to be for a garage?
The form should have a slight slope (a couple of inches per 20 ft) so that water runs away from the area instead of pooling on your garage floor. The slope should be steeper if you have a sink or water heater in the garage. Step 5: Pour and level the concrete. A standard garage floor is typically 4 inches thick.

Can you put concrete on concrete?
Yes, you can pour new concrete over top of the old, but here are some things to keep in mind. If your new slab will be larger than the old building, you need to be careful about cracks mirroring through around the perimeter of the old building. I would recommend using some extra rebar in these areas.

How thick does a concrete floor need to be?
A concrete floor should be about 4 inches thick if it is in a residential home or building. For a building supporting heavy loads, 5 to 6 inches is the recommended thickness. A good quality concrete floor will have even thickness throughout.