CIVIL ENGINEERING
For Degree, Diploma and A.M.I.E Students
Building Construction is an Engineering Science, which deals with the technique of construction of buildings. A building is defined as an enclosed space covered by a roof. Building in general can be classified into two categories viz. Public Buildings and Residential Buildings. Public buildings are those which are primarily meant for the use of the general public, such as an office, a school, a college, a hospital, a cinema house, etc. whereas a residential building is only meant either for a single individual or group of individuals, such as an ordinary dwelling house or a bungalow. As far as techniques of construction are concerned, for an engineer both are the same.
This chapter is particularly devoted to the most important part of a building, that is, its foundation. Every structure has two component parts. One is called foundation and the other super-structure. Foundation is that part of the structure which is generally constructed below the ground level. It is often confused that foundation is constructed to take up the load of the structure or to support it.
But actually this is not the case. No doubt the structure rests over the foundation but it is not supported by the foundation. The foundation transmits the load of the structure to the sub-soil below it, over a larger area uniformly. The word foundation as applied to buildings is defined as the extended base of walls and pillars carried below the ground level, to distribute the load of the structure over a large area of the sub-soil.
The foundation is the most important part of a structure. The strength and stability of the structure depends upon its foundation. If the foundation fails, the super-structure however strong it may be, cannot stand. Hence for stable structure, a good foundation is essential. As stated above, the foundation are constructed to keep the structure in position. However the following are the objectives of the foundations :
- To distribute the load of the structure over a larger area of substratum and prevent overloading.
- To prevent tilting and over-turning of the structure and increasing its stability.
- To prevent the lateral escape of the supporting material.
- To provide a levelled base for the super-structure.
- To prevent unequal settlement of the soil and super-structure by loading the sub-soil evenly.
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