Civil Engineering 1j6c1f

The functions of civil engineers fall into three categories: 1. before construction (feasibility studies, site investigations, and design) 2. during construction (dealing with clients, consulting engineers, and contractors) 3. after construction ( maintenance)

Any major civil engineering project starts with a feasibility study to access both financial and engineering aspects. During the feasibility study a preliminary site investigation is carried out. Once a scheme has been approved, a more extensive investigation is usually necessary to evaluate the load-bearing qualities and stability of the ground. This field is called soil mechanics. The design of engineering works may require the application of principles of hydraulics, thermodynamics and nuclear physics. During the construction phase, a consulting engineer is often employed to be responsible for design of the works, supplying specifications, drawings and legal documents to get competitive tender prices. In a turnkey or package contract the building contractor undertakes to finance, design, specify, construct, and commission the whole project. Maintenance is normally carried out by the contractor as part of the agreement; if there are maintenance problems, it is the responsibility of the contractor to pay for any necessary work.

Match the following words and phrases with their definitions

1. feasibility study

a. building or installation, which is built, supplied, or installed complete and ready to operate. 10

2. site investigation

b. activities carried out after the project to ensure problems are solved. 3

3. maintenance

c. detailed plan of proposed structures. 5

4. soil mechanics

d. dimensions and measurements 6

5. specifications

e. extensive investigation to evaluate the load-bearing qualities and stability of the ground.2

6. technical drawings

f. investigation to assess both financial and engineering aspects of a project 1

7. commission a project

g. offer of a bid for an engineering contract 9

8. costing system

h. procedure to monitor the costs of a project so that management can get information on development 8

9. tender

i. study of the proposed location to assess geology of the area 4

10. turnkey project

j. to order a plan to be carried out 7

Road Building

The simplest type of a road is that made by scraping and pushing the earth with a grader until it has a rounded surface. The materials for such a road should contain 12-18 percent slit and 65-60 percent sand, some stone and grit. If the natural soil does not contain these proportions, it should be corrected by adding the material which is short. This material is spread over the road and worked into the surface with a harrow or a grader. It is then compacted by traffic or by a road roller. This technique is known as soil stabilization. Soil stabilization is applied when it is necessary to correct the shortage in the natural soil under the road so as in strengthen it. Another type of a road is water-bound macadam. It consists of a layer of stones from 2 to 5 cm in size cemented by earth and sand. These ing materials are worked into the layer of stones by watering. When roads are expected to carry heavy traffic, the total thickness of the road may reach 45 cm. Depending on the wearing surfaces, roads and runways are called either flexible pavements( surfaced with bitumen, tar, etc.) or rigid pavements( surfaced with concrete). A rigid pavement always has a thicker surface than a flexible one - about 10 cm. A flexible pavement has a wearing surface of only 5 cm or less, simply a layer of tar sprayed over a stabilized soil road. Below the wearing surface is a layer of stone of gravel called the base, and below that there may be another layer of bigger stones called the subbase, laid directly on the foundation bed.

In wet regions the soil beneath the road. Must be drained. Freezing of soils containing excess of water is likely to swell them, lifting the road and breaking its surface. This is called frost heave. It can be avoided by laying subsoil drains across the road.

Vocabulary to scrape - raschiare, grattare grader grit -grana harrow -erpice road roller - rullo stradale slit - fessura, fenditura, fendere tar - catrame rigid pavement - pavimentazione rigida frost heave -