Posts by Kanwarjot Singh

Contour maps are very useful since they provide valuable information about the terrain. Some of the uses are as follows:

i) The nature of the ground and its slope can be estimated

ii) Earth work can be estimated for civil engineering projects like road works, railway, canals, dams etc.
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Two methods of Contouring are:-
i) DIRECT METHOD
ii) INDIRECT METHOD
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Cross section method is most suitable for preparing contour maps for road works, rail works, canals etc.
Typically, this type of land has a very long strip but narrow width.

The steps involved are as follows:
i) The centre line of the strip of land is first marked

ii) Lines perpendicular to the longitudinal strip are marked dividing the strip into equal sections
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Squares or grid method is suitable for contouring of plains or gently sloping grounds.

The steps adopted are as follows:
i) Mark square grids on the land to be surveyed. The grid size would depend on the extent of survey.
Generally a 1m x 1m grid is selected for small works and a larger grid size for large works
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Tacheometric method is adopted for contouring of very steep hills.

The steps are as follows:
i) Set up the tacheometer at the top of the steep hill. Tacheometer is a theodolite fitted with stadia diaphragm. The stadia diaphragm has three horizontal parallel hairs instead of one as found in a conventional cross hair diaphragm.

ii) With the help of a tacheometer it is possible to determine the horizontal distance of the point from the telescope as well its vertical level.
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The Comparison of Direct and Indirect Contouring Methods is shown below in tabular form
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By
Er. Kaushal Kishore ,
Materials Engineer, Roorkee

INTRODUCTION
Concrete can be converted into precast masonry units such as Hollow and Solid normal and light weight concrete blocks of suitable size to be used for load and non-load bearing units for wallings. Use of such concrete blocks are more appropriate in region where soil bricks are costly, poor in strength and are not available. Depending upon the structural requirements of masonry unit, concrete mixes can be designed using ingredients available locally or if not found suitable then with in the most economical distance. The concrete mix used for normal hollow and solid blocks shall not be richer than one part by volume of cement to 6 parts by volume of combined room dry aggregates before mixing. Hollow concrete blocks for normal work used in masonry when reinforced is used shall not be leaner than 1 part cement to 8 parts room dry sand by volume. The mixes are designed with the available materials to give overall economy and the required properties of the products. The hollow load bearing concrete blocks of the standard size 400 x 200 x 200 mm will weight between 17 and 26 kg (1063 to 1625 kg/m3) when made with normal weight aggregates. Normal weight blocks are made with cement, sand, gravel, crushed stone and air-cooled slag. The grading for sand used in Hollow concrete block shall be as given below:
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Ten percent fines value is a measure of the resistance of aggregate crushing subjected to loading and it is applicable to both weak and strong aggregate. Fine aggregates are defined as those passing 2.36mm sieve.
The test aims at looking for the forces required to produce 10% of fine values (i.e. weight of fines aggregates/weight of all aggregates = 10%). This test is very similar to Aggregate Crushing Test in which a standard force 400kN is applied and fines material expressed as a percentage of the original mass is the aggregate crushing value.
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Isolation joints are introduced where the pavement contains manholes and other structures. The joints allow independent movement of the pavement and roadside structures without any connection which otherwise could result in damage.
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There is an optimum time to saw contraction joints in new concrete pavement. Sawing cannot be carried out too early because the saw blade would break out particles from pavement and this results in the formation of jagged and rough edges. Such raveling is undesirable as it would impair the appearance and the ability to seal the joint properly.
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