by Good Foundations Engineering Tutors CV Best Practice It’s crucial to have your CV in good shape when you are applying for graduate engineering jobs. In a competitive market, an average CV is enough to eliminate you from the hiring process at the first hurdle. This note will step you through the most important things to do when creating your CV. Formatting A simple well organised CV will be better able to convey the important information to the employer. The key elements of a simple, well-formatted CV are: Simple and repeated font types. Use 1 font type with only 1 or 2 variations (eg increased size, bold) for headings Ensure alignment is simple and consistent; Horizontal lines can be used as section breaks; A short CV is best (2-4 pages); Sections should be nicely spaced out and follow a simple reverse chronological order. (personal details - introduction – accreditation/qualifications - employment history – education – interests/other – referees) Cover Letter A cover letter should be included that specifically addresses the company and the advertised role. The cover letter should be brief (2-3 short paragraphs) and cover who you are, your engineering background, and why you are applying for the role. The cover letter can be formatted like a traditional letter and include your name and address in the top right-hand corner. Personal Details Your CV should include your name, email address, and phone number. Other personal details, such as date of birth, nationality, and a photograph should not be included. Introduction The introduction to your CV should be one short paragraph that functions as an executive summary. This might cover your degree and any specialisations, your relevant work experience, your goals and engineering areas of interest, and your best skills. In listing your skills it’s best not to be too general (for example easy-going is too general). Mentioning your excellent analytical and problem-solving skills is ok (if that is reflected within your CV). Accreditation/Qualifications In this section, you should mention your professional qualifications or memberships. If you are applying for graduate engineering jobs it is a good idea to become a graduate member of the ICE or IStructE as it shows your commitment to the profession and your interest in becoming a chartered engineer. You can also list any other short training courses or certificates you may have achieved (for example health and safety certifications). Employment History Your employment history should be in reverse chronological order with your latest position listed first. As a graduate student, your employment may not be engineering specific but it is still of interest to employers. You should also list any summer placements you may have undertaken as part of your engineering study. More emphasis should be placed on any positions that were engineering relevant. For each employment position, you should try to address what were the key accomplishments and experiences gained from the position. If you have previous engineering experience you should list the projects that you worked on, followed by any key experience gained. A useful way to summarise your project experience is by following this format: Project Name, Client, Location. Project Value £x. Brief description For example: Richardson Road Student Accommodation, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne. Project value £6 million. Six blocks modular student accommodation. Key experience gained: design development and co-ordination with modular unit manufacturers. Design of steel podium frame and concrete foundations to Eurocodes. Education List your education in reverse chronological order, starting with your engineering degree. This can include your secondary school education. Include any awards or positions of note achieved during your studies. Interests A very brief section describing your interests can be included. This adds a bit more flavour to your CV and gives the employer a more rounded picture of you as a person. When you review a company’s website you can often see what outside passions the current staff tend to have. For example, they might mention charity rides, sports days, or volunteering in the local community. It is worth investigating to see if there are any aligned interests and including these on your CV. Interests don’t have to be engineering specific, it's probably a good idea to include at least a couple of different interests to show your well-rounded, balanced nature. Referees It isn’t required to list referees on your CV, although it is common practice to state referees available upon request. Ideally, you should have at least two people in mind to provide a reference if requested. This could be a trusted lecturer at university, a supervisor from a summer placement, or even a superior from non-engineering employment. Conclusion Following the above advice will ensure your CV is simple, concise, and conveys the relevant information to employers. Article by Good Foundations Engineering Tutors Note by Will Whiting. Will is an engineering tutor and founder of Good Foundations Engineering Tutors. Good Foundations have helped graduate engineers gain jobs and placements at some of the UK’s best engineering consultancies. Please visit the website for more information.

What is a Cash Flow? The cash flow model is a valuation method used to estimate the value of an investment based on its expected future cash flows. Cash flow model analysis attempts to figure out the value of an investment today, based on projections of how much money it will generate in the future. This applies to the decisions of investors in companies or securities, such as acquiring a company or buying a stock, and for business owners and managers looking to make capital budgeting or operating expenditures decisions. info from Investopedia Cash flow Model Assumptions General, Technical and Financial assumptions considered in this cash flow model example are listed below in Tables 1 to 3.​ General Assumptions Table 1 - General assumptions of the base cash flow model Technical Assumptions ​​​ Table 2 - Technical assumptions of the base cash flow model Financial Assumptions Table 3 - Financial assumptions of the base cash flow model Cashflow Model Cash Flow Model Results Base Cash Flow Model results in summary Based on the cash flow model shown above the project under investigation is deemed viable and profitable to the equity investors involved. As shown in Table 4, an equity IRR of 11% and project IRR of 5.33% is calculated in the overall 20-year period assessed in the model. A low DSCR of 1.03 is found in year 5 due to the first loan repayment happening that year (see Table 3). The DSCR however increases to a high of 1.57 in the last year of the loan tenor. The minimum interest cover ratio of 2.93 as seen in Table 3, indicates that the SPC has sufficient revenues to pay interest payments. Figure 1 shows the net and cumulative cash flow of the project which converges to positive for both in the period the model was considered. As found in literature a minimum DSCR of 1.21 is suggested for onshore projects of base case P90 confidence of forecast with no dividends paid when DSCR is less than 1.14. Also, a gearing ratio of 75D/25E is suggested to be common with wind projects (Blaiklock, 2014). Overall, the project is deemed medium risk however due to the low DSCR of the first year of operations it is suggested that further debt sculpting is implemented to increase the minimum DSCR and minimize the risk of debt service default. References Statista, 2021. Norway: Inflation rate from 1986 to 2026. [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/327359/inflation-rate-in-norway/ KPMG, 2020. Taxation of wind power - 2020. [Online] Available at: https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/no/pdf/2020/12/The_Power_Of_Nature_Taxation_Of_Wind_Power_2020.pdf Byrne, R., Astolfi, D., F. C. & Hewitt, N. J., 2020. A Study of Wind Turbine Performance Decline with. MDPI - Energies 2020, 13(2086). Deloitte, 2014. Establishing the investment case of Wind power , Copenhagen: Deloitte. IRENA, 2020. Renewable power generation costs in 2020, s.l.: International Renewable Energy Association . Blaiklock, M., 2014. Infrastructure Finance Handbook : Principles, Practice and Experience. London: Euromoney Books. Wind Europe, 2020. Financing and investment trends - The European wind industry in 2019. [Online] Available at: https://windeurope.org/wp-content/uploads/files/about-wind/reports/Financing-and-Investment-Trends-2019.pdf

Nowadays, more and more engineering and consulting companies are using Revit to create and deliver project documentation. The main opportunities and benefits that the software of Revit provides is the collaboration and ease of accessibility that all different disciple members of a project can have access. This feature that BIM provides allows engineers and related parties working on a project to make changes faster and more efficient and please the client's wishes and remarks. 👉 Visit Structures Insider's homepage for more stories.👈 What is REVIT? Collaborate across teams, disciplines, and time zones Revit features tools for architecture, engineering, and construction professionals. Contributors across all disciplines work together in Revit, helping them deliver projects more efficiently and with fewer errors Design and construction teams can collaborate on Revit projects anywhere, anytime using BIM 360 Design, a powerful and secure cloud-based design collaboration and data management solution. Use Revit® to drive efficiency and accuracy across the project lifecycle, from conceptual design, visualization, and analysis to fabrication and construction. Begin modelling in 3D with accuracy and precision. Automatically update floor plans, elevations, and sections as your model develops. Let Revit handle routine and repetitive tasks with automation so you can focus on higher-value work. Source: Autodesk.com An essential part of every project is BOM and the possibility of reusing this document automatically is a big bonus of Revit. However, we need to configure this option manually, since Revit by default does not give it to us. A Bill of Materials (BOM) is a summary of items needed to manufacture a part or product. A BOM includes item numbers, quantities, part descriptions, lifecycle state, and other properties. Dimensions of BIM explained (4D, 5D, 6D,7D) Here are the steps on creating a Bill of Materials (BOM) list The model in Revit is building from the families and these families are part of the whole building we want to input in the BOM list. All families have parameters (many by default), however, Revit gives us the possibility to add our own parameters too. As a consequence, if we want to count of model elements, we should create necessary parameters in families. However, to have the possibility to count the number of elements present in a model, we need to create particular parameters in the families section. To understand what parameters we want to create we need to understand what BOM interface will look like. The main parameters I suggest to use are: BOQ_Count – parameter to show the real count or length for the instance; with this one we have the possibility to combine as count the lengths in one column. BOQ_Name –the name of the instance in BOM. BOQ_Type - a type of instance in BOM. BOQ_ Product ID – ID of the instance according to the manufacturer (art.). BOQ_Manufacturer – vendor of instance. BOQ_Units – units of the instance (here we can put “m”, “pcs”, and so on). BOQ_Note – some special notes for the instance. BOQ_Sort by Schedule – parameter to have possible to build its own structure of BOM (should be hidden). BOQ_Header – parameter to create a header for groups of parameters. In case, if you already have families in your Revit template that you are using in all projects, I recommend using the Journals to add a set of parameters in the family. It is a powerful tool if you want to make it fast. After adding all necessary parameters in families and are located in in the model, you can create your form of BOM. For this, use the tool “Schedules” on Ribbon (Tab View). Use Multi-Category Schedule and select parameters you want. Finally, you will receive the form of BOM according to your changes and you will have the possibility to make changes at any time you want. Recommended to you : Dimensions of BIM explained (4D, 5D, 6D,7D) Prepared by Ruslan Plechen ruslanplechen@gmail.com You May Also Like: BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING (BIM) - The digital transformation of the UK AEC Industry Read more...

Introduction Climate change has been on the topics of agendas of political and industry leaders for the past 20 years with the aim of bringing general awareness to the public as well as promoting sustainable development in the form of policies and investment opportunities. From a historical point of view, the first scientific concerns developed about the rising temperatures and the effects that climate change can have on our livelihood on earth were brought up in the 19th century when the greenhouse effect was first identified. Excessive use of coal and burning fossil fuels because of the industrial revolution and the release of Greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has accelerated the destabilization of our atmosphere with the consequences of global temperatures rising in an uncontrolled way. What is the DATA telling us? Global average temperatures have increased by more than 1℃ since pre-industrial times According to Our World in Data, 73.2 % of the global carbon dioxide equivalence (CO2e) was accounted for energy used in the industry which 17.5% was energy-related emissions from the generation of electricity and heat used in residential and commercial buildings. ​ Focusing on construction industry-specific, cement production accounted for a direct 3% and steel and iron production for 7.2% of the global emissions with energy-related emissions associated with the manufacturing of these products. In summary, the construction and manufacturing industries were responsible for 6.11 billion tCO2e, whereas the transport indirectly correlated with civil assets accounted for 7.7 billion tCO2e only second to Electricity & Heat-related emissions of 15 billion tCO2e as seen in Figures below. Read more about Sustainability: Designing buildings within Planetary Boundaries - 2050 Materials Life cycle stages in Construction works as per BS EN 15978: 2011 Declarations to net-zero emissions and International Agreements History The firsts modern history initiatives about international agreements in terms of battling climate change got firstly established in 1988 with the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The issue of climate change was viewed largely as a scientific concern and not as a political “problem” however after the production of the intergovernmental assessments created by the IPCC about the science, impacts, and response options of climate change, had the world leaders alerted about the issues. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was established and entered into force in 2005 with 192 countries entering the agreement. This was the first time Greenhouse gasses (GHG) reduction targets were set for industrialized nations. Following, the agreement put in place the COP 21 Paris Agreement has set ambitious goals to keep temperatures well below 2 °C and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C. The agreement signed by 175 countries had as a requirement to submit comprehensive nationally determined contributions (NDCs) which were essential interpreted as national climate change plans. The Paris Rulebook, a detailed set of guidelines implementing the agreement was set in 2018 COP 24 in Poland and set to get legal action in 2020 (Hirst, 2020). A revised version of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of the European Union has set ambitious goals of policies to deliver by 2030 and at least 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as compared to 1990 levels (NDC, 2020). The most recent COP 26 in Glasgow in 2020, the Nations agreed items include: Strengthened efforts to build resilience to climate change Curb greenhouse gas emissions and provide the necessary finance Pledge of providing 100 billion dollars annually from developed to developing countries Work to reduce the gap between existing emission reduction plans and what is required to reduce emissions, so that the rise in the global average temperature can be limited to 1.5 degrees. Phase down unabated coal power and inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels. Source: The Glasgow Climate Pact – Key Outcomes from COP26 What are we doing about it? Furthermore, the United Nations have released the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which urge for action by all countries to share a blueprint for “peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future” by the goals set for 2030. Nevertheless, the generality of the goals, Goals 9,11,12, and 13 have a direct and indirect relation to the infrastructure hence giving a lot of responsibility on the construction industry to take action and reduce carbon emissions Are we running out of Time?

by 2050 Materials A lot of the discussion regarding the impact of humanity on the environment these days revolves around carbon. There’s a good reason for that, as carbon emissions are the primary cause of global warming, which can trigger all kinds of catastrophic events for our planet. However, it’s important not to forget that keeping our planet livable takes consideration of many aspects. The planetary boundaries framework is a great way to operationalize sustainable development and break these aspects up into actionable components. What are the planetary boundaries? The planetary boundaries framework was developed by a team of Earth systems scientists at the Stockholm Resilience Centre to characterize the limits of acceptable alteration to 9 Earth systems: Biosphere integrity Climate change Ocean acidification Freshwater use Atmospheric aerosol loading The introduction of novel entities (e.g. micro-plastics) Biogeochemical flows Land-system change Stratospheric ozone depletion The goal of the framework is to set science-based targets that humanity must respect to avoid the risk of catastrophic environmental change at the global scale. Why designers are perfectly placed to address these risks Designers and engineers are found in a unique position to handle and address the risks associated with crossing the Planetary Boundary thresholds. The decisions taken today in how we design and build can cause the planet to move towards — or further away from — unpredictable environmental events. The long-term impacts of the built environment can directly affect the lives, behaviours and activities of all living creatures on Earth. They can define how people use space, travel, consume goods and use energy. Designing with the goal of minimizing our impact on the environment can yield benefits for decades and centuries to come. Actions to start designing within the Planetary Boundaries Design with technology Computational design and material innovations can reduce demand for carbon and water-intensive materials, as well as materials that require heavy land conversion and resource extraction. Additionally, designing with technologies can lead to higher material efficiency and lower volumes used, which can reduce particulate emissions and pollutants associated with extraction and production. Have you checked out the first version of our Design Optimization tool? It’s a free tool to see the impact of building material configurations for early design stages. Circular Material Flows Creating a circular construction sector implies the re-use of materials into new buildings. This can mitigate environmental degradation associated with material use by reducing the need for raw materials, as well as the need to refine, transport, manufacture, and dispose of old materials. Consequently, this leads to lower emissions, freshwater use, particulate matter and waste. Sustainable Materials Careful consideration and selection of the building materials that make up a structure can have a massive impact on remaining within planetary boundaries. Sustainable materials can be low-carbon, sustainably extracted, transported, and processed, and can contain very low amounts of compounds known to be harmful to the environment and people. This can reduce their ecological footprint and contribute to creating a world within planetary boundaries. Specifically, sustainable material selection can lead to low-carbon buildings, which directly contribute to slowing down climate change by reducing the embodied CO2e. Meanwhile, sustainable sourcing (e.g. using waste by-products as the raw material) can lead to lower embodied water demand, and associated particulate emissions and stop the introduction of novel entities such as micro-plastics. Want to see examples of sustainable materials that allow you to design within the planetary boundaries? Go to app.2050-materials.com and sign up for our Beta! Other actions Why stop there? There’s many things designers, engineers and planners can do to transform the impact the built environment has on keeping humanity within the planetary boundaries. Examples of actions related to neighbourhoods, cities and catchments are outlined in detail in Arup’s latest report on the Planetary Boundary Framework. The time to act is now The Planetary Boundary Framework helps us to understand the limits of Earth’s capacity when it comes to supporting the consumption patterns of our societies. Staying within the boundaries will require significant changes to the “business-as-usual”. The way we design and build can be a driver of this change. 2050 Materials is the platform for the construction materials of the future, available today. Our research and product data allow designers, architects and contractors to design buildings in line with a regenerative world that keeps us within planetary boundaries. Reach out to share your ideas with us and to get a demo of our platform:

by 2050 Materials International Living Future Institute The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) is a non-profit organization on a mission to build an ecologically-minded, restorative world for humanity. Using principles of social and environmental justice, ILFI aims to facilitate the re-engineering of our cities and towns to correspond more directly to the natural landscapes they inhabit. To achieve this, we need to create buildings that wean off the fossil fuel economy in the long term. The value of product-specific certifications For almost two decades, ILFI runs the Living Building Challenge (LBC), a rigorous standard for green buildings. Living Buildings strive for net-zero or net-positive energy, are free of toxic chemicals, and lower their carbon footprint many times below the typical commercial structure. To successfully implement such measures, however, emphasis should be communicated through the design and specification process. The Living Product Challenge (LPC) came to life to address this particular materiality aspect, it takes the principles of the ILFI building-wide certification (LBC) and applies them specifically to building products. The framework encourages manufacturers to create products that are healthy, inspiring and give more than they take across their life cycles. Recommended to you: Life cycle stages in Construction works as per BS EN 15978: 2011 Do specifiers understand toxicity concerns? Understanding the true composition, as well as the impact of different chemicals making up any building products you specify can be a notoriously time-consuming and complex task. On top of that, many manufacturers themselves may not be fully aware of what nasty chemicals are lurking inside their products. There are more than 85,000 different industrial chemicals in the world, and when considering the fact that the US bans fewer than 10 out of so many thousands, it's simply extraordinary. It is crucial for manufacturers and specifiers to be well informed about all the chemicals composing the building products or materials they manufacture and specify, which makes the Declare label an extremely powerful tool in the decision-making process. Declare label — What is it? Declare is a nutrition label for building products, designed to help specifiers identify products that meet their project requirements easily. It is a product transparency disclosure that enables a healthier, safer, greener, and more ethical built environment. Manufacturers get the opportunity to voluntarily disclose product information on easy-to-read Declare labels. These labels report all product ingredients through a simple color code system, flagging up chemicals of concern. In addition, further information is provided on manufacturing locations, end-of-life uses, life expectancy, and overall compliance with relevant requirements of building-wide certifications, such as: Living Building Challenge (LBC). International WELL Building Standard. US LEED, and more. The label also includes the Red List status of the product. The Red List is a list of chemicals, materials, and elements that ILFI believes should be phased out of production due to human/environmental health and toxicity concerns. These are chemicals that either pollute the environment, stick in the atmosphere for far too long, or pose a health risk to humans at all stages of the product's lifespan. The Red List status of the products means: Red List Free: Products that disclose 100% of product ingredients plus residuals present at or above 100 ppm (0.01%) in the final product and do not contain any Red List chemicals. Red List Approved: Products that meet the written requirements of the Living Building Challenge Red List Imperative, but rely on one or more Exceptions to demonstrate compliance. A minimum of 99% of product ingredients plus residuals present at or above 100 ppm (0.01%) in the final product are disclosed. Declared: Declared products disclose 100% of product ingredients plus residuals present at or above 100ppm (0.01%) in the final product, but contain one or more Red List chemicals that are not covered by an existing Exception. The case for Going-Green The climate emergency is now a reality, having record-high temperatures and record-high CO2 levels for thousands of years. Efforts should be focused on manufacturing and specifying regenerative and healthy products, to ensure the resilience of the built environment and its positive impact on the planet. As stated in the 2020 Economist Special Climate Report: De-carbonizing the economy holds many risks but it also offers plenty of opportunities. Firms that get ahead of their rivals will reap the biggest benefits. Embracing transparency is a robust starting point to stay a step ahead, both from manufacturing but also a design perspective. Manufacturers and specifiers have a critical role to play in the transition to a low carbon economy, and as decarbonization initiatives gain momentum, the only way to benefit from this growing trend is to integrate climate neutrality initiatives in the core processes of your business operations. 2050 Materials & Declare partnership 2050 Materials has partnered up with the International Living Future Institute to enhance the fight against climate change. We are helping specifiers understand the impact of their design decisions through simplified data visualizations while guiding manufacturers on their journey towards environmental transparency and client engagement. If you are a manufacturer trying to align your products with the climate emergency, you should opt for Declare (contact: declare@living-future.org) and be on 2050 Materials! It takes a few minutes to list a product and ensures your products are visible in the latest sustainability and reporting tools specifiers are using. Reach out to info@2050-materials.com to book a demo and get free listing access for the 2050 Materials beta.

As defined by ISO 14040 As defined by ISO 14040 an LCA analysis should consist of the phases illustrated in Figure above. A partial LCA framework is established for this study on the characteristics of construction materials and structural forms, including elements such as the study goal, the system boundary, scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment, and interpretation of results (Feifei Fu, 2014). 1.Goal and Scope Definition The goal and scope definition of an LCA is the most important aspect of the process since they define the intended application and reasons for carrying out the study as well as the intended audience the results will be directed to. Particulars of the project comprise defining the functional units, the product system to be studied, system boundaries and outlining limitations and assumptions. LCA is relatively a new system process with an iterative technique nature, hence clearly defined goals should be set for the clear distribution of results and for reaching justifiable conclusions. To answer the various questions arising from the scope defined of the assessment, a quantitative functional unit should ensure compatibility and comparability of LCA results. Functional units are most important when multiple elements of products are compared such an example being a direct comparison of an 80m highway composite bridge with one span 15m footbridge could not be directly achieved for reasons of bridges different purposes of use and different size (ISO14040, 2006) (Feifei Fu, 2014). The functional unit vastly accepted in practice is the normalised carbon (kgCO2e/m2) for carbon assessment of infrastructure (E.g. Buildings, bridges, etc.) 2.Life cycle inventory analysis (LCI) This phase of the assessment includes the data collection and calculation procedures to quantify relevant inputs and outputs within the selected system boundaries (ISO14040, 2006). A number of data associated with the inputs and outputs datasets analysed can be obtained from publicly accessible inventory databases such as the Inventory of Carbon and Energy that contains materials embodied carbon factor (ECF) for modules A1-A3. The LCI analysis inputs include data associated with raw material quantities, embodied carbon factors (ECF), transport emission factors (TEF) and waste generation per functional unit (e.g., kgCO2e/kg). However, the data inputs range is largely affected by the material process technologies applied, regional or global conditions of the markets and the variations on data from different sources (DU, 2015). For example, an embodied carbon factor for reinforcement bar from UK-based producers could have an ECF of 0.684 kgCO2e/kg, whereas a UAE- produced bar with no recycled content could reach up to 2.13 kgCO2e/kg (O P & J J, 2020). Furthermore, as seen in Figure below from (O P & J J, 2020), values of EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) data from 1500 specific concrete mixes were plotted showing the extensive range of carbon emissions of different concrete strength classes. This can be justified since the amount of Portland Cement of concrete mixes, heavily influence the embodied carbon. A much lower embodied carbon can be achieved without compromising the desired strength and other project-specific requirements by using cement replacements such as Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS), Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA) and limestone (O P & J J, 2020). Recommended to you: Declare: The building product nutrition label 3.Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) LCIA assessment is aimed at evaluating the significance of potential environmental impact categories, found from the LCI results of environmental releases (ISO14040, 2006). Such categories can be identified as global warming, acidification, abiotic depletion, urban air pollution and other (DU, 2015) (Kikuchi, 2016). LCIA quantifies environmental impacts by multiplying the results of LCI with environmental impact factors (Kikuchi, 2016). A common category of choice is the impact category of global warming that has the indicative environmental impact factor of Global Warming Potential (GWP) in accordance with the GWPs gases used by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change Act 2007 (IPPC, 2007) commonly referred to as carbon emissions. To carry a consistent analysis, different gases are weighted by their GWP, so that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are reported on a consistent basis. To achieve an easy overall benchmark impact of the analysis, an equivalent unit of measurement, the carbon dioxide equivalent (kgCO2e) is used where different greenhouse gases can be compared on a like for like basis relative to one unit of CO2e (PAS2080, 2016) (BS15978, 2011). GWP provides a common unit of measure, which allows the comprehensive compiling of data for comparison with aims of identifying reduction opportunities as well as a clear understanding of the data. For civil engineering projects most commonly measurements of embodied carbon from the material, construction and waste are analysed. 4.Life Cycle Interpretation The final stage of an LCA per ISO 14040 is the interpretation and presentation of the results obtained from the LCI and LCIA. The sensitivity and uncertainty of analysis are performed to modify the results and conclusions are presented according to the defined goal and scope. Analysis limitations, quality and uncertainties should be clearly and transparently explained and recommendations for further study should be made. Useful References Feifei Fu, H. L. H. Z. a. A. H., 2014. Development of a Carbon Emission Calculations System for Optimizing Building Plan Based on the LCA Framework. Hindawi Publishing Corporation Mathematical Problems in Engineering, 2014(Article ID 653849), p. 13. ISO14040, 2006. Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Principles and framework, Brussels: British Standard. Kikuchi, Y., 2016. Life Cycle Assessment. [Online] Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/life-cycle-impact-assessment PAS2080, 2016. Carbon management in infrastructure, London: BSI. BS15978, 2011. Sustainability of construction works — Assessment of environmental performance of buildings — Calculation method, s.l.: BSI.

Facts & Figuresℹ️ Antenna spire: 300.1 m (985 ft) Type of building: Commercial offices Floor count: 56 Floor area: 109,200 m2 (1,175,000 sq ft) Architect: Norman Foster. Developer: Commerzbank. Structural engineer: Arup, Krebs und Kiefer. Main contractor: Hochtief AG. Owner: Samsung, Korea Cost: DM 600 million. Construction dates: 1994-1997 👉 Visit Structures Insider's homepage for more stories.👈 Declare: The building product nutrition label Architecture🏢 At fifty-three storeys, the Commerzbank is the world’s first ecological office tower and on completion, it was the tallest building in Europe. The project explores the nature of the office environment, developing new ideas for its ecology and working patterns. Central to this concept is a reliance on natural systems of lighting and ventilation. Every office is daylit and has openable windows, allowing the occupants to control their own environment. The result is energy consumption levels equivalent to half those of conventional office towers – the offices are now naturally ventilated for 85% of the year. The plan of the building is triangular, comprising three ‘petals’ − the office floors − and a ‘stem’ formed by a full-height central atrium. Winter gardens spiral up around the atrium to become the visual and social focus for four-storey office clusters. From the outside, these gardens in the sky give the building a sense of transparency and lightness. Environmentally, they bring light and fresh air into the central atrium, which acts as a natural ventilation chimney for the inward-facing offices. Depending on each garden’s orientation, planting is from one of three regions: North America, Asia or the Mediterranean. Source: Foster + Partners For more information regarding the Sustainability aspect of the design read Norman Foster report: "Commerzbank: A Sustainable Skyscraper" Read more: 5 Structures you can't miss when visiting Madrid, Spain Planning a trip to Cologne? This is everything you need to know about Cologne Cathedral What's the most impressive ancient structure in the world? Engineering 🏗 To minimise settlements of the tower it is founded on a 50m piled foundation. The steel structure – up until then unique in Germany – consists of a perimeter tube made of Vierendeel-trusses. The 400m2 office floor petals are supported on 13cm thick steel-composite slabs. The service cores are integrated into building edges formed by the structural steel-composite mega-columns. Eight floors deep, Verendeel trusses provide the structure to span the gardens between the core vertical load members. All of these structural elements wrapped around a central void allow the building’s structure to carry loads like a tube, a very efficient method for forming a structure. Source: Arup.com

What is BIM? Building Information Modeling (BIM) helps create and manage information models in a custom data environment that contains both graphical and non-graphical information (Ingibjörg Birna Kjartansdóttir). The information associated with the 3D Model increases as the project progress increases. Building Information Modeling (BIM) refers to the consistent and continuous use of digital information throughout the entire lifecycle of a built facility, including its design, construction, and operation. BIM is beginning to change the way buildings look, the way they function, and the ways in which they are designed and built. The simplest way to explain BIM dimensions is that they are further details or pieces of information added to a model to help the project team better understand the model. They are the specific ways in which different data types are integrated into an information model. You get a better picture of the project by adding more dimensions of details, such as how it will be organized, its cost, and how it should be maintained. Read more about BIM... 5. Building information modeling: a strategic implementation guide for architects, engineers, constructors, and real estate asset managers by Dana K. Smith The optimal approach to design, build, operate, and maintain buildings With this book you’ll learn: how to implement this new technology as part of a comprehensive systems approach to the design, construction, management, operation, maintenance, and use of buildings. Understand how BIM supports more streamlined, integrated, and efficient business processes throughout the life cycle of buildings, from their initial conception through their eventual retirement or reuse. The benefits of BIM: better quality buildings, lower construction, and operating costs, shorter project turnaround times, and a higher quality of building information to support better business decisions. A plan for incorporating BIM into every organization’s existing workflows enables you to take full advantage of all the benefits that BIM offers. Throughout the book, sample documents and figures help you better understand the principles of BIM and how it works in practice. In addition, first-hand accounts show you exactly how adopters of BIM have gained a competitive edge. Buy at Amazon 4. Delivering Value with BIM: A whole-of-life approach by Adriana Sanchez This book provides a practical and strategic framework to realize value from implementing BIM by adapting Benefit Realisation Management theory. It presents an approach for practitioners aiming to implement BIM across the life-cycle of built environment assets, including both buildings and infrastructure. Also, the book features: wide-ranging information about BIM the challenges of monitoring progress towards benefit goals and the greater context of implementation; a set of dictionaries that illustrate: - how benefits can be achieved - what the benefit flows are and - the enabling tools and processes that contribute to achieving and maximizing them a suite of measures that can serve to monitor progress with examples of how they have been used to measure benefits from BIM real-world examples from across the world and life-cycle phases that show how these benefits can be achieved information on international maturity and competency measures to complement the value realization framework This book has been developed in close collaborative consultation with industry, government, and international research organizations and could be used for industry courses on BIM benefits and implementation for asset management or by universities that teach BIM-related courses. Buy at Amazon 3. Building Information Modeling: Technology Foundations and Industry Practice by André Borrmann This book combines discussions of theoretical foundations with reports from the industry on currently applied best practices. Part I discusses the technological basics of BIM and addresses computational methods for the geometric and semantic modeling of buildings. Part II covers the important aspect of the interoperability of BIM software products and describes in detail the standardized data format Industry Foundation Classes. It presents the different classification systems, discusses the data format CityGML for describing 3D city models and COBie for handing over data to clients, and also provides an overview of BIM programming tools and interfaces. Part III is dedicated to the philosophy, organization, and technical implementation of BIM-based collaboration, and discusses the impact on legal issues including construction contracts. In turn, Part IV covers a wide range of BIM use cases in the different lifecycle phases of a built facility, including the use of BIM for design coordination, structural analysis, energy analysis, code compliance checking, quantity take-off, prefabrication, progress monitoring, and operation. Part V, a number of design and construction companies report on the current state of BIM adoption in connection with actual BIM projects and discuss the approach pursued the shift toward BIM. Part VI summarizes the book’s content and provides an outlook on future developments. The book was written both for professionals using or programming such tools and for students in Architecture and Construction Engineering programs. Buy at Amazon Recommended Dimensions of BIM explained (4D, 5D, 6D,7D) 2. Building Information Management. A Standard Framework and Guide to BS 1192 This book is a guide to BS 1192:2007 Collaborative production of architectural, engineering, and construction information, the standard that provides a best practice method for the development, organization, and management of production information for the construction industry. This book explains in detail: the processes and procedures needed to improve the quality of production information. It will help designers prepare the information before passing it to a construction team to enable a project to be constructed. The adoption of the management processes required to manage information throughout a project lifecycle will also allow the move from a document-centric environment to an information-centric environment unlocking the power of information technology. Buy at Amazon 1. BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Designers, Engineers, Contractors, and Facility Managers The BIM Handbook provides: an in-depth understanding of BIM technologies the business and organizational issues associated with its implementation the profound advantages that effective use of BIM can provide to all members of a project team. This book also includes: Information on the ways in which professionals should use BIM to gain maximum value Topics such as collaborative working, national and major construction clients, BIM standards, and guides A discussion on how various professional roles have expanded through the widespread use and the new avenues of BIM practices and services A wealth of new case studies that clearly illustrate exactly how BIM is applied in a wide variety of conditions Buy at Amazon

by Abdullah Ali Abbasi Civil engineering is all about the construction and rehabilitation of structures. It is one of the oldest known branches of engineering. There are several types of construction. It defines the types of construction based on their nature, environment, and methodology. Large scale structures may include dams, airports, highways, canals, rivers, railways, bridges, abutments, apartments, high-rise buildings, banks, bridges, and military safe-haven, etc. Let’s talk in detail What Does a Civil Engineer Do? Construction of Dams and rivers that store rain and natural stream water are Civil Engineers’ work. Flyovers, Round-About, Freeways, Highways, and other road and infrastructure works are also works that civil engineers do. Irrigation systems for prosperous agricultural growth are also works that Civil Engineers do. Designing and constructing of High rise buildings, public buildings, and housing facilities are other works that civil engineers perform. Have you ever took a flight to move from one city to another or one country to another? You must have used a runway for take-off, a facility to board in, and recreation areas for waiting and leisure. Civil Engineers build these massive structures. I am a Civil Engineer, and I love travelling by railway. I was recently checking videos of Amtrak, and they were fascinating. Do you know who designed and laid the railway lines and all the small and gigantic railway stations? Yes, you guessed it right, Civil Engineers are behind these massive structures. Please read here the Top 5 malls in Islamabad and concerns on the Eighteen Islamabad Project. Cleaner Energy is what we need to save our future generations from the destruction of climatic changes. Clean electricity production on dam turbines is the works of civil engineering professionals. The energy created using water-powered turbines is cleaner in production and also lays off the burden of oil usage. The construction of gardens and other recreational areas is possible due to what civil engineers do. The duties of a Civil Engineer vary as per the major they select in their final year of bachelor’s studies. Masters in Civil Engineering also defines the field an Engineer is ready to practice at a higher level of autonomy and understanding. How hard is Civil Engineering? Civil Engineering is a mildly difficult subject. It requires a lot of numerical works, mathematics, logical interpretations. Students are expected to develop analytical skills to analyze and derive results from various challenges. Students are expected to spend months if not years practising these subjects. Students are expected to learn material properties and the impact of weather on civil works. The numerical solutions that may involve torque, bending forces, shear forces, air pressures, soil profiles, physical phenomenon, geological factors and other areas of science are an important part of learning. Leadership and Problem Solving: Every Engineer is a leader. You are expected to lead several people, and this needs you to hold a cleverer personality. The profession of Civil Engineering expects you to find problems and solve them at a higher rate with great precision. Therefore, you need to develop meditation, patience, fortitude and strategy. Mathematics and Calculations: Mathematics is a branch distant from science. It has more or less a relationship with physics, logic, and abstract ideas. Mathematics is the mother of the Engineering profession, and all the majors of civil engineering contain the influence of mathematics in one way or another. Anyone looking to pursue a career in Civil Engineering is expected to keep a strong knowledge of Trigonometry, Differential Equations, Algebra, Calculus, and Probability. Efficient Learner: A student admitted in Civil Engineering technology is expected to learn a variety of ideas efficiently. There are more than six subjects per semester, each having a minimum of four assignments and four quizzes. Then there comes extracurricular activities and routine life engagements. Every student is expected to grasp the ideas delivered or tutored during a lengthy 1-hour lecture, much time to lose attention and patience. There is no way to escape boredom. Benefits of Effective Communication: I am a Civil Engineer with hands-on real-time field experience. I can’t express the importance of effective communication “where necessary” in Civil Engineering. You need to hide and reveal ideas as per their strategic importance. However, when the time comes, you are required to express with full zeal and zest. We have written a detailed article on the benefits of communication that all help develop a charismatic personality. Students get their hands on a variety of life-changing subjects. Communication Skills, and Logical Reasoning. Analysis and Cognitive Abilities. Usage of ICT in a variety of problems and conveying ideas using good writing abilities. Structural Analysis and Integrity Measurement. Irrigation Engineering, and Fluid Mechanics for sustainable environment and improved fluids physics in action. The integrity of Soil and pre-foundation studies for public safety and structural integrity. Usage of Computer Aided Drawing and Designing is an essential outlook of the importance of technology in Civil Engineering works. Civil Engineers also learn subjects like computer programming, and differential equations for their usage in the military, economy, and strategy. Technology Fusion with Ancient frontiers building and construction for a prosperous and excelling lifestyle. Construction work was first named civil works in 18 century. Before the 18th century, there was no title of a civil engineer. There was also no syllabus and teaching school for the subject. Civil Engineering is a field of challenges and stress. Civil works are required to perform in changing and challenging circumstances. It also requires a lot of patience. Site conditions are usually not favourable for civil engineers. However, termination of construction because of the changing environment and climate conditions is possible. But these cases are rare, and work has to be carried in all weather conditions. History of civil works. Branches Of Civil Engineering There are various branches of civil engineering, all dealing with different sectors. The branches of civil engineering are differentiated based on the nature of the work. However, these branches are related to research programs after a bachelors degree in civil engineering. Water Engineering is one of the desired fields. Water is life. Everyone needs water to live on. So, it is the most important branch of civil works. Structural engineers design and analyze. It deals with public safety. Transportation is the main sector of civil engineering works. Million of people daily use different modes of transport. Proper handling can save a lot of time. It can also help in reducing depression. Management has to manage the projects. This involves techniques to handle different phases of a project. An amazing nature shows off. Civil engineers usually work on sites. But they have office work too, to handle. Their duties may include preparation of working schedules, assignment of duties, crew management, material procurement, human resources, conflicts management, project management, and project exploration. To ensure the safety of structures, a civil engineer is solely responsible. However, a team of civil engineers performs different duties at a particular time for the completion of a project. A civil engineer keeps the right of terminating a project if it isn’t safety compliant. How to Become a Civil Engineer? The person who wants to peruse their career in the field is called a civil engineer. Due to the complex nature of civil works, it requires proper qualification. Mostly after the completion of a bachelors degree, a person can be called a Civil Engineer. Safety is the highest priority of a civil engineer. A civil engineer also keeps the right of terminating a project if it isn’t safety compliant. You can find the work of civil engineers all around you. When you have to visit the washroom to clean yourself, civil engineering works offer a variety of services to you. Whenever you clean your utensils with clean water, remember a civil engineer at work. If you feel safe inside your home, say thanks to the civil engineers. The roads you use to commute daily are an outcome of civil engineering works. Civil Engineers are finely crafted by the bridges that connect you and the recreational areas that help you rejoice in your feelings of happiness. Civil engineers construct the front line of defence of nations. A civil engineer can help you win a war, as he masters in terrain selection. We love sand. We live in the desert. Our Life is under the sun. Civil engineering is the job of a gentleman. We expect an increase in demand for civil engineers at a pace of 6% in the future. Structures expire and we have to rebuild them otherwise we have to repair them. On the other hand, the world is building at a higher pace. Developing countries are spending billions on the construction of their infrastructure. Whereas, war-torn countries are losing their already built structures. The population of this world is increasing. It requires an increase in all services. These facilities include Housing schemes. New hospitals. New schools. Business centres. Parking areas. Community centres. Civil Works – Engineering Practices A typical hierarchy of civil engineering works includes a preliminary examination, designing, building, supervision, operation, construction, and maintenance of a structure. A survey before working. Site instigation helps you know the site in detail. Design inquiry can help a lot. Supervision means the construction under the instructions of a civil engineer and in compliance with professional practices. Civil Engineers should maintain the operation of works under optimal conditions. Both in terms of nature and environmental conditions. A Civil Engineer should maintain a log of material acquired. Daily progress reports are also mandatory to produce. And can help in conflicts resolution. Project management includes an indication of discrepancies in drawings and methodology adoption. Civil Engineering Law (FIDIC) In every sector of life, the law has its importance. Whenever we deal, there is a chance of struggle. The resolution of the dispute is possible by enforcing the law. There are technical difficulties in the usage of general law. However, civil engineers have made their law. There is a complete system. This system is powerful enough to resolve issues. Law is life. It creates ease. It helps! History of Civil Engineering Engineering profession dates to 5000 Bc. Civil works masterpieces are visible all around the planet. During the exploration of archaeological sites, a complete system of life indicates the mastery of ancient professionals. These discoveries show the usefulness of Civil Engineering. An amazing civil engineering structure from ancient times is in the Middle East, the Egyptian-Pyramids. The weight of the stone weighs several tons. Top 10 Impressive Civil Engineering Structures Egyptian Pyramids is located in Egypt. Great Wall Of China is in China. Aqueduct Of Segovia is in Spain. Brooklyn Bridge is in New York City. Panama Canal is in Panama. Hoover Dam is in the United States. Golden Gate Bridge is in San Francisco. English Channel Tunnel is in France. Burj Khalifa is in Dubai. Qingdao Bridge is in China. These projects require a lot of time and effort. In civil works, we often meet accidents. Many people have to face a life-lasting illness. For construction works, safety should be the highest priority. Old is Gold. Gold is Real. Real is Worthy. Civil Engineering represents Nature, Civil Engineers Improving Lives Public works departments are responsible for providing facilities. Governments allocate funds for them. They receive their pays from the government. Civil Engineers improve living standards. The sustainability of a structure ensures the safety of any nation. Whereas, public health is also a direct beneficiary of civil works. Pure water reaches people after covering a long distance. Researchers say that pure water can be the next global issue. Climate change is emptying the global water reserves steadily. However, water researchers are working to save water. Better housing facilities are improving global living standards. Sustainable structures are saving millions of lives. Earthquake resistance, improved safety against rain and floods, are making us live safer. Improved Defense of security facilities is made possible. The arguably strong structures are a blessing in today’s chaotic world. Engineering works improve living standards. Dam construction Importance Of Technology In Civil Engineering Civil Engineering relies on the usage of technology. From the production of raw material to its usage, all processes are performed using technology. Various technologies include heavy machinery, surveying tools or instruments, laboratory equipment, and other safety gadgets. Heavy machinery includes dumper, shovel, tractors, generators, concrete pumps, blowers, water pumps, cranes, vibrators, etc. Surveying tools include theodolite, total station, measuring tapes, recorders, GPS systems, and other modern devices. Laboratory equipment includes oven, heaters, sieves, mixers, material testing equipment, UTM’s, etc. However, cutting edge technology can play a vital role. A widely discussed such technology is self-healing concrete. This concrete is to overcome the cracking problem. Soon after casting the concrete generate cracks. This concrete can recover from those cracks on its own. The bacteria start multiplying its growth. Hence, overcomes the cracking problem. The usage of Virtual reality is next on this list. This technology is used to see the architectural view of the building on site. This helps in removing the bad appearance of the building before construction. Technology also takes the help of augmented reality. Let’s now talk about 3d printing. With the usage of this technology, we generate 3d models. These models can be taken against virtual reality. To ensure public safety civil engineers make use of tech. Computer software is a must to achieve the required results. On a massive scale, their importance increases. Commonly used software are as below SAP 2000 is often used. Sketchup helps in 3D modelling. E-Tabs is also used. Civil Engineering We make use of technology for excavation. The architectural stone is used to increase the beauty of the civil works. It requires great care and a high finish. These processes include the usage of technology. A Revenue Generating Field The Civil Engineering field generates a lot of money. We have discussed several business opportunities. Millions of people are working in this field. Still, millions are trying to expand their circle of influence. All these working generate a lot of money. Only the Cement industry makes billions every year. Let alone the labour industry, professional services, and other production facilities. There are many ongoing construction projects like Eighteen Islamabad, Palm Jumeirah, and Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link (Denmark). Millions are spent every year on painting civil structures around the globe. It requires several labour contractors to perform activities and get the jobs done. Several engineers supervise the civil works and ensure public safety and structural integrity. As small mistakes can ruin a project and incur everlasting damages in cases of money and life loss. Therefore, proper planning, execution and monitoring of civil works are necessary for a successful engineering project. Careful Practices To Increase Revenue Adoption of Technology Solutions. Better planning can help you a lot. Skilled workers are a blessing. Improved safety will increase the work pace. Better communication matters. Rules implementation is necessary to succeed. Market Analysis can save you in difficult times. A Civil Engineer is required to maintain a record of all civil works. Keep close ties with the working crew. Respecting and solving problems and issues of workers for smoother works execution. Awarding workers bonuses for their hard work can expedite the pace of Civil Engineering works. Necessary inter-stakeholders meetings can help bolster confidence and better understanding. Famous Types of Civil Engineering Structures: Civil Engineers use wood as a material for Civil Engineering Works. Wood structures are still seen as a symbol of luxury and used in the majority of the united states. We often use wood as an architectural element and is affordable. Good quality wood is expensive, and we rarely use it. However, its beauty and long life make it second to none. Stones are also used as a building material in Civil Engineering Structures. They are not very good independent structures in case of earthquakes and landslides but still are widely used to build heavy structures where cracks are breakages are tolerable, as in the case of boundary walls. Stone structures are hefty and difficult to work. Frame Structures are the most popular Civil Engineering structures. These structures are comprised of concrete and steel. These are by far the most efficient and safe engineering structures. We lay foundations then work on columns, beams, and slabs. These structures are smart and we can use bricks, blocks, or wood partition walls for separating rooms and other areas of a building. Scope Of Civil Engineering The options available for working in civil engineering are vast. Several fields are linking to civil engineering. All these various fields increase the importance of the field. Whereas, these signs increase the trust of the public. This increase in trust helps in creating new jobs. So, it shows an increase in reputation. Hence, an increase in trust increases business. Private sector firms are also investing in civil works. Land purchasing is a safe way to invest. People invest in civil projects as it's safe. Due to inflation the worth of land always increases. Peace In the United States, more than 2 million people work in this field. It produces 10 billion tons of concrete in a single year. China is a big consumer of concrete. During 2017 it alone produced more concrete than the entire world. Here it is important to mention that the production of cement emits carbon and other gasses. These gases contribute to climate change. It is necessary to reduce the usage of concrete. Millions of people die every year due to these harmful gases. Many people especially infants have to face genetic disorders. Societies Of Civil Engineers There are various societies of Civil Engineers. Students and professionals interact there with each other. They publish journals to educate readers. These societies work for the welfare of civil engineers. They also provide a platform for discussing ideas. These societies include the American society of civil engineers, ICE, etc. Many schools are teaching Civil Engineering. How can you know about the quality of a civil engineering institution? It is based on the teaching quality and research output. The first Civil Engineering student was from 18 century. Future of Civil Engineering The future of Civil Engineering is safe with pros and cons. There is a chance of an increase in economic activity around the globe in the field of Civil Engineering. And as the population increases, so the facilities have to. Thus the field has the capacity of embracing expansion. One can say the future is bright by relating it to the increase in the population. The more there are people, the more are the opportunities for Civil Engineers and profession. Although the field is rough & tough in terms of working conditions and working wages in under-developed countries, expectations are great for the coming future. civil works We are entering the era of modern building materials, strategies, and techniques. The field of civil engineering is expected to grow in 2021 and beyond. by Abdullah Ali Abbasi

Introduction Concrete is an artificial building material obtained by mixing cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, and water in suitable proportions. Cement act as a binding material and it forms a paste with water. It holds coarse and fine aggregates together to form a solid mass. The concrete mix is used for constructing slabs, roofs, retaining walls, pillars, dams, etc. Concrete is a mixture of cement, aggregate, and water, the properties of constituents affect the properties of concrete. The quantity of cement and water affects the strength of concrete. The size and shape of aggregate affect the strength and workability of concrete. Compaction (the method of removing voids between the aggregate) also influences the properties of concrete. There are two stages for concrete · freshly prepared concrete i.e. in plastic stage · hardened concrete (after attaining its full strength) Components of Concrete The components of concrete are as follows: Ø Cement: Cement is the most important ingredient of concrete. It is used to bind the fine and coarse aggregates together. Most of the concrete is prepared with ordinary Portland cement. Other special varieties of cement-like waterproof cement, rapid hardening cement, and high alumina cement are used under specific circumstances. Ø Fine aggregate: Fine aggregates are inert or chemically inactive material. River sand, crushed stone, crushed gravel, etc. are used as fine aggregate. Fine aggregates are used to make the concrete denser by filling the voids of coarse aggregates. It is used to make the concrete mix economical and it reduces the shrinkage of concrete on hardening. Ø Coarse aggregate: Uncrushed gravel, broken bricks crushed stone, etc. are used as coarse aggregate. They make concrete strong and tough. Ø Water: Water is used for mixing concrete. It should be potable (fit to drink). Water acts chemically with cement to form a paste for binding the aggregates. It also enables the concrete to flow into molds. Water required for hydration of one part of cement is about 0.3 part of water, but for lubricating, the aggregate extra water is required. Hence, the water-cement ratio for the medium and high strength concrete is 0.6 and 0.35 respectively. Insufficient quantity of water makes a concrete mix harsh and unworkable whereas an excess quantity of water causes bleeding and segregation of concrete. The strength of concrete is inversely proportional to the water-cement ratio. That is if we decrease the water-cement ratio we can increase the strength of concrete. But for water-cement ration less than 0.35 it is very difficult to work with than concrete. Water cement ratio depends upon the following factors: · Quality of cement · Quality of aggregate · Internal moisture content · Atmospheric temperature · Size and age of test specimen Sometimes ingredients other than the above are added in concrete for improving or imparting certain properties and these ingredients are known as admixtures. The addition of admixtures improves durability, workability, water-resisting power, the strength of concrete, setting time of concrete, reducing shrinkages, imparting color, reducing bleeding, etc. Commonly used admixtures are lime, alum barium oxide, soap, aluminum sulfate, calcium chloride, mineral, and organic oils, bitumen, etc. Properties of freshly prepared concrete The properties of freshly prepared concrete are as follows: · Workability: Workability is the ease with which concrete can be mixed, transported, and placed in position. · Segregation: Segregation can be defined as the separation of the constituents of a concrete mix during the transportation of prepared concrete. · Bleeding: Bleeding is defined as the separation of water or mortar from the freshly prepared concrete. This is due to the high water content in the mix. This will cause the formation of porous, weak, and non-durable concrete at the top of the placed concrete. Properties of hardened concrete Properties of hardened concrete are as follows: · Strength: Good quality concrete in a hardened state should possess desired crushing strength. The compressive strength of concrete at 28 days after casting is known as the designed strength of concrete. · Durability: It is the ability of concrete to resist weathering agents, chemical action, seawater, fire, and wear. Durability depends upon the quality of aggregate and water-cement ratio. · Shrinkage: Concrete experiences shrinkage during hardening. This depends upon the constituents of concrete, atmospheric temperature, and size of the structure. It can be minimized by using the designed quantity of water-cement ratio and by proper curing. · Creep: Creep may be defined as the time-dependent elongation of concrete structure under the external loads. It depends on the water-cement ratio, nature of aggregate and its grading, the humidity of the air, intensity and duration of load, and age at the time of loading. · Fire resistance: It has good fire resistance properties and acts as a good insulator. · Density: According to BS EN 1922-1-1, the weight density of concrete should be approximately 2500kg/m3. · Bond strength: The strength of the bond between the steel reinforcement and the surrounding concrete is a very important factor for RCC structures. Bond strength is determined by pullout tests i.e. the load required to cause a slip of 0.25mm divided by the area of contact between the steel bar and concrete. · Elasticity of concrete: Concrete behaves elastically only up to 10 to 15% of its ultimate strength. Up to that loading, condition stress is directly proportional to strain. Modulus of elasticity of concrete depends upon the strength, water-cement ratio, moisture content, quality of aggregate, and age of the structure. · Permeability: Concrete consists of so many pores. Permeability of concrete is a function of porosity, size, and continuity of pores. The porosity of cement gel is about 28% but its permeability is 7×10-14 cm/sec. It is due to the fine texture of hardened concrete. Factors that affect the permeability of concrete are water-cement ratio, quality of aggregate, curing, uniformity of concrete, etc. · Thermal properties of concrete: Basic thermal properties of concrete are thermal conductivity and diffusivity, specific heat, and coefficient of thermal expansion. These properties of concrete are required for the study of insulating properties of concrete, sweating of concrete in different climates, temperature conditions in mass concrete. · Resistance to wear and tear: Concrete floors and road and runway pavements are subjected to abrasion and impact, which cause wear of the surface. The wear resistance of concrete can be improved by using a lower water-cement ratio, lowest slump, good quality graded aggregate, etc. Also for you: CMG Headquarters - Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete Structure Applications of prestressed concrete Testing of concrete Compressive strength test of concrete The compressive strength of concrete depends on the water-cement ratio, grading of aggregate, the proportion of constituents, type of aggregate, mixing efficiency, etc. The strength of the concrete usually increases with the age. Among all other properties of concrete, the compressive strength of concrete is the most important property and this value is used for the design of structures. Hence for the design, we must know the strength of concrete. For compressive strength testing, first, prepare 12 cubes of concrete with 15cm sides. 6 cubes will be cured for 7 days and the rest of them will be cured for 28 days. The cured specimen is loaded in a compression-testing machine at a standard rate of 315 kN/minute. Note down the load at which the specimen ceases to break. Compressive strength can be calculated using the formula given as follows: Similarly, we can also find the compressive strength of concrete for 28 days. REFERENCES 1. P. Bamforth; D. Chisholm; J. Gibbs; T. Harrison, Properties of Concrete for use in Eurocode 2, Cement and concrete industry publication, sefindia.org https://www.sefindia.org/forum/files/properties_of_concrete_for_use_in_eurocode_2_135.pdf 2. Pablo Tamayo; Joao Pacheco; Carlos Thomas; Jorge de Brito and Jokin Rico, Mechanical and Durability Properties of Concrete with Coarse Recycled Aggregate Produced with Electric Arc Furnace Slag Concrete, Applied Sciences, 2020, doi:10.3390/app10010216 3. Md. Shahrior Alam; Syed Ishtiaq Ahmad, Concrete and It’s properties, Presentation · 2020, doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.18980.50564 4. Tehmina Ayub; Sadaqat Ullah Khan and Fareed Ahmed Memon, Mechanical Characteristics of Hardened Concrete with Different Mineral Admixtures: A Review, The Scientific World Journal, Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/875082

137,500 elephants, each weighing an average 6000kg corresponds to 330,000 of concrete used for the Burj Khalifa 🐘 Also, 55,000 tonnes of steel rebar, as well as aluminium, glass, stainless steel and silicone, was used. 👉 Visit Structures Insider's homepage for more stories.👈 Engineering 🏗 Materials ♺ used for Burj Khalifa’s construction: Concrete:🧱 High strength concrete varying from C50-C80 concrete strength was used. A huge pile supported raft, 3.7m thick utilised 12,500 cubic meters of 50 MPa cubic strength concrete that incorporated 40% fly ash and W/C ratio of 0.34 in its mix. Furthermore, C60 concrete was used for the foundation piles. Due to the highly corrosive groundwaters of the dessert, cathodic coding protection was required for the piles. Each floor consists of 200mm to 300mm two-way reinforced concrete flat plate slabs spanning in modules of 9m. From level 156 and above a steel braced frame structure is placed. Steel:⛓ steel brace frame structure was used for the construction of level 156 and above with a purpose of reducing the structures overall weight. Check us out on Instagram : Structures Insider on Instagram: “Burj Khalifa the worlds tallest structure height at 829.8m ‼️ United Arab Emirates Construction facts: ⛓ Concrete used :…” Read more: 5 Structures you can't miss when visiting Madrid, Spain Planning a trip to Cologne? This is everything you need to know about Cologne Cathedral What's the most impressive ancient structure in the world? You May Also Like: