Cracking in Concrete

Learning Basic Knowledge As Civil Engineer

Cracking in concrete

ohayo gozaimasu.  

• As Civil Engineer, cracking in concrete is hard to determine either it can affected the strength of structural or the structural is safe to be use.  
• Based on experience working as Civil Engineer, the crack issue sometime become complicated to resolve between contractor and consultant. 
• So far in Malaysia there no guide line and standard procedure that shall be follow in order to resolve this cracking issue. 
• Please be reminded that crack and honeycomb is not a same. If honeycomb even it seen as severe honeycomb, it still can be repaired by proposing using grout cement material. However, cracking in concrete is sometime more difficult to handle. Even it seen barely visual, it is hard to prove to designer that the integrity of structure is not affected.
• Many cases, when this cracking in structure raised up to top management, normally main consultant will reject the structure with reason the cracking in concrete are not acceptable to be use because the strength and durability of structure is affected and questionable unless the contractor can prove otherwise.
• If the structure such as sump, drainage or any structural as long it not involving the public and live load, it still can be acceptable by main consultant. Normally the cracking in concrete will be come to argument for the pre stressing structure such as Precast Beam, Precast Box Girder etc because of it is main structure and the cost is very expensive.
• Concrete is basically a mixture of three components: aggregates, water and cement. The aggregate component is normally comprised of sand and gravel or crushed stone.
• The cement component is normally comprised of cementing materials, (portland cement with or without supplementary cementing materials), water, and air.

HOW TO BE AN ENGINEER

YOU MAY BE AN ENGINEER...

If you refer to your spouse as "\woman at home.wife," 
If your favorite TV show is "Mr. Wizard" instead of "Baywatch," 
If when your family is expecting, you are more interested in the ultra-sound equipment than the test results, 
If when someone asks "What's new?" you answer "C over lambda," 
If you know Bill Gates' e-mail address, and don't remember your own, 
If you are always asking your friends from marketing to hold two leads to a giant capacitor, 
If you find your head nodding up and down every time you read Dilbert, 
If your pocket is full of too many mechanical pencils, 
If when your 3-year old asks "Why is the sky blue?" you start explaining it to them, 
If you can explain which direction the water spins as you flush the toilet and why, 
If you go to the air show, and you start calculating how fast the sky divers are falling, you may be an engineer; if you start telling all the people around you, you definitely are. 
If you need a spreadsheet to figure out who owes what for lunch, 
If you plan your family vacation on a Gantt chart, 
If you pre-plan your route on a map of the exhibits through the annual computer show at Moscone Center, 
If you read PC World and Popular Mechanics while on vacation, 
If you are willing to debate for two hours the possible results of an experiment that takes five minutes to run, 
If you know the altitudes at which you must turn off electronic devices on an airplane, and why, 
If on a camping trip, your spouse starts complaining about bug "bites" and you respond that "Yes, we do need more memory in our computer," 
If Dilbert is your hero
If you stare at an orange juice container because it says CONCENTRATE
If you want an 8X CDROM for Christmas
If you can name 6 Star Trek episodes
If the only jokes you receive are through e-mail
If your wrist watch has more computing power than a 486DX2-50

If your idea of good interpersonal communication means getting the decimal point in the right place
If you look forward to Christmas only to put together the kids' toys
If you introduce your wife as "mylady@home.wife"
If your spouse sends you an e-mail instead of calling you to dinner
If you can quote scenes from any Monty Python movie
If you use a CAD package to design your son's Pine Wood Derby car
If you have used coat hangers and duct tape for something other than hanging coats and taping ducts
If, at Christmas, it goes without saying that you will be the one to find the burnt-out bulb in the string
If you window shop at Radio Shack
If your ideal evening consists of fast-forwarding through the latest Sci-Fi movie looking for technical inaccuracies

If you have "Dilbert" comics displayed anywhere in your work area
If you carry on a one-hour debate over the expected results of a test that actually takes five minutes to run
If you are convinced you can build a phazer out of your garage door opener and your camera's flash attachment
If you don't even know where the cover to your personal computer is
If you have modified your can-opener to be microprocessor driven
If you know the direction the water swirls when you flush
If you own "Official Star Trek" anything
If you have ever taken the back off your TV just to see what's inside
If a team of you and your co-workers have set out to modify the antenna on the radio in your work area for better reception
If you ever burned down the gymnasium with your Science Fair project
If you are currently gathering the components to build your own nuclear reactor
If you own one or more white short-sleeve dress shirts
If you have never backed-up your hard drive
If you are aware that computers are actually only good for playing games, but are afraid to say it out loud

If you truly believe aliens are living among us
If you have ever saved the power cord from a broken appliance
If you have ever purchased an electronic appliance "as-is"
If you see a good design and still have to change it
If the salespeople at Circuit City can't answer any of your questions
If you still own a slide rule and you know how to work it
If the thought that a CD could refer to finance or music never enters your mind
If you own a set of itty-bitty screw drivers, but you don't remember where they are
If you rotate your screen savers more frequently than your automobile tires
If you have a functioning home copier machine, but every toaster you own turns bread into charcoal
If you have more toys than your kids
If you need a checklist to turn on the TV
If you have introduced your kids by the wrong name
If you have a habit of destroying things in order to see how they work
If your I.Q. number is bigger than your weight
If the microphone or visual aids at a meeting don't work and you rush up to the front to fix it
If you can remember 7 computer passwords but not your anniversary

If you have memorized the program schedule for the Discovery Channel and have seen most of the shows already
If you have ever owned a calculator with no equal key and know what RPN stands for
If your father sat 2 inches in front of your family's first color TV with a magnifying lens to see how they made the colors, and you grew up thinking that was normal
If you know how to take the cover off of your computer, and what size screw driver to use
If you can type 70 words a minute but can't read your own handwriting
If people groan at the party when you pick out the music=7F
If you can't remember where you parked your car for the 3rd time this week
If you did the sound system for your senior prom
If your checkbook always balances
If your wristwatch has more buttons than a telephone
If you have more friends on the Internet than in real life
If you thought the real heroes of "Apollo 13" were the Mission Controllers
If you think that when people around you yawn, it's because they didn't get enough sleep
If you spend more on your home computer than your car
If you know what http:/ stands for
If you've ever tried to repair a $5.00 radio
If you have a neatly sorted collection of old bolts and nuts in your garage

If your three year old son asks why the sky is blue and you try to explain atmospheric absorption theory
If your lap-top computer costs more than your car
If your 4 basic food groups are: 1. Caffeine 2. Fat 3. Sugar 4. Chocolate

HOW THE ENGINEER THINK?

Sometime it hard to understand the mind of Engineer. It not too detail like doctor  also not to complicated like lawyer but it more outside the box.

Maybe Engineer's life  facing  not only look to detail by take a lot of risk during design stage when money is main criteria in order to meet requirement in term of technical aspect. Engineer also cum to lawyer in order to ensure all trade in contract to follow as stated in contract document so that all work shall be in legal aspect but sometime need to gamble when period of construction time is critical to the project. The also need to be as politician when facing the third parties problem that can affected the project  in order to buy a time so that the work can go without delay. The worst thing as engineer when need turn to magician where the work need to proceed at critical area with critical time without follow normal procedure of work but it full fill all requirement in design.

DO YOU BELIEVE WHEN ENGINEER SPEAK?

I really like the humor regarding  on character of Engineer when speak a word especially during meeting because i also used a same word in order to cover our ass.

 It was funny because the engineer is  not a good liar and a reason given by quote the technical fact sometimes it mean nothing at all.

What is said
A number of different approaches are being tried.
What it means
We don't know where we're going, but we're moving.

ARE YOU OVER CONFIDENT OR YOU ARE DAMN DRIVER

Bridge Vertical Clearance

If we see the picture, absolutely we will ask the question why this incident happened. 

Did the driver of truck is over confident with his assumption that the clearance provided enough to get through the bridge. 

 Or did the engineer not consider the high of truck in the design ?

Or did the driver are not well educated in the clearance high of bridge by authorities?

With reference to the Bridge Design For JKR Specification (Malaysia), the designer shall refer to the latest Authorities Requirement for roadway crossing in their bridge design in order to obtain an approval for construction. 

The local authorities such as State JKR, Town Municipal, etc will provide the specification of their department to consultant to comply in the design for crossing bridge.   


The following information of the crossing road is required for bridge planning

    (i)  About Existing Road
􀂊              Class and grade
􀂊              Cross sectional profile
􀂊              Right of way
􀂊              Clearance limit
􀂊              Longitudinal profile

    (ii) About Future Plan
􀂊              Designated, or not designated to roads of city planning 
               Sidewalk   plan, or not
􀂊              Overlay and widening plan, or not
􀂊              Cycle track plan, or not

    iii) About Public Utilities

    iv) Vertical Clearance Limit

In Malaysia the standard clearance height of 5.3m above the existing
road surface under the soffit of the planned bridge beam is recommended for the design.

So far there no  accident reported regarding on the truck hit the bridge due to the vertical clearance. maybe  Malaysian driver is well educated with the clearance of bridge.  I hope the below accident will not happened in Malaysia

if it happened in Malaysia  I believe that the driver is really damn stupid driver and how he get the license.   

THE DEEPEST BORE HOLE IN THE WORLD

I have read very interesting articles regarding on the deepest drilling bore hole in the world.  Based on the articles it was amazing that the race to drill the deepest hole between USA and USSR as same as fighting to be the first mankind on the moon.  The big project began since 1962 was led by USSR’s Onterdepartment Scientific Council for Study of the Earth’s Interior and Superdeep Drilling. 

Water Transfer Pahang To Selangor Project

The idea of these smart project began after  Lembah Klang Water Crisis 1997 involved more than 1.4 million people including myself. That the worst time  in our life,  living without the water. These crisis  turn down the Jabatan Bekalan Air Selangor to privatisation as water operator  to PUAS and now to SYABAS. I hope the political issue shall put aside in order to avoid another water crisis hit Selangor by 2014.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF IRON MOSQUE PUTRAJAYA

Masjid Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin - A Journey of life

(Photo Source from Google)

The Second mosque at Putrajaya namely  Masjid Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin or known as Masjid Besi (Iron Mosque).  The  Construction of this unique mosque began in April 2004. Known as ‘Masjid Besi’ because it was built by using six thousand tons of steel  with contributed  more than 70% of the entire building.

TEMPORARY WORKS - COMPOSITE BRIDGE

CONSTRUCTION OF TEMPORARY BRIDGE.

In Construction, the most important thing during planning stage are to identify and observed the access and  temporary works need to be implemented during construction stage. As Construction Manager, it is necessary to understand the obligation of contractor as per Contract Document for the temporary works items in order to avoid the cost implication to the company.

Ready-Mix Concrete Batching Plant

Politeknik Merlimau Melaka

My first project as civil engineer began in July 1999 just after Malaysia's economic hit by currency crisis. I still remember during  an interview with the Project Director, he come to a room and only said that the company only can pay RM 1,200 as basic salary and  no further negotiation. I took the job because the work area nearby with my village.

I was assign as Site Engineer for the construction of new Politeknik at Merlimau Melaka Project with total project cost  about RM 146 million.

SUZUKI JIMNY - A JOURNEY

For those civil engineer have been involved under massive construction works during 1995 - 2000 at Putrajaya, KLIA, Bukit Jalil, LRT Project, Cyberjaya etc. absolutely have an experience driving the small 4 x 4 Suzuki Jimny. When i was in final year studying in Engineering at UKM, i saw a lot of construction peoples from Putrajaya Project park their Suzuki Jimny  at Sekyen 1's Stall, Bangi  for having a lunch.  It was an amazing car and become a symbol or trade mark for the people that as automatic recognized the driver of Suzuki Jimny surely working in construction site.

Cikampek - Palimanan Toll Road - a journey

I read the news from Jakarta Post about the construction of Cikampek - Palimanan Toll Road. At last this project come to construction stage after land acquisition matter finally come to complete.

Actually I'am lucky because have been there only a month to assist the project team for identify the temporary works estimates of the project.

Industrialized Building System (IBS) in Malaysia

I have an experience involving with IBS (Industrialized Building System) Construction in 2009 during Penang Second Bridge Project .  The method of construction is very interesting  like playing "logo" or puzzle.

It also called Modular method because it  consist of multiple modules or sections which are built in factories or other facility and then delivered to piece by piece and assemble at site.  The modules or component to be assembled by  using either a crane or others girder methods.

The advantages with this systems are cost effectiveness compared to common conventional construction. Typically  the component to be
constructed in an enclosed facility, therefore weather is not a factor in the construction timeline. Material delivery fees are also out of the equation because an ample amount of material will always be available at the facility, as opposed to being delivered in limited quantities to the job site, nearly eliminating construction delays, and theft of building materials from the site.

By using this system speed of construction can be increase and it can reducing the overall completion schedule by as much as 50%.  Since the method like puzzle,  this modular concept reducing waste and site disturbance compared to site-built structures.

REPORT OF LANDSLIDE

The followings is an example report to be prepared by civil  engineer  on the slope failure cases.  

Project :  KEGAGALAN CERUN DI KM 44, JALAN SIMPANG PULAI-CAMERON HIGHLANDS ( GUNUNG PASS ) PAHANG

1.0        Introduction

The Simpang Pulai – Cameron Highlands road is part of the highway connecting Simpang Pulai in the state of Perak to Kuala Berang in the state of Terengganu. A significant and large landslide began in September 2003 in a newly-cut slope in the mountainous region located at the 44^th kilometer stretch of the Simpang Pulai – Cameron Highlands road.This portion of the road is also known as Gunung Pass.

PENANG SECOND BRIDGE PROJECT

Penang Second Bridge Project (P2x)

Previous proposed  erection method of  Box Girder segments for Penang Second bridge Project.  however the erection method using crane barge is too expensive and it was change to implemented movable launching girder. 

i just sharing an engineering knowledge among us. Enjoys.

PENANG SECOND BRIDGE PROJECT

Penang Second Bridge Project

There some interesting picture of Penang Second Bridge Project (P2X).  The bridge will link Batu Kawan ( Seberang Perai to Batu Maung (Penang Island).  Honestly I am proud because once be part of these Mega Project. 

PENANG BRIDGE WIDENING PROJECT

Construction of Penang Bridge Widening Project Malaysia.

That one of greatest construction works in Malaysia and the these knowledge shall be share among Malaysian.

Malaysia Boleh!