Site Work

During our stay on the site, we haven’t got the chance to see the work before or after the foundation is
constructed. Even though that’s the case we tried to ask the site engineers, and we were given updates
on what was going on before the construction of the foundation began. We have tried to grasp a lot of
practical knowledge regarding different perspectives. During our stay we have tried to grasp knowledge
on construction of formwork, reinforcement spacing, concrete work

Site clearance

Site clearance is an important part of many construction and demolition project. It involves removing
machinery and hazardous substance from a site, as well as leveling and preparing land for any planned
construction or landscaping. Proper site clearance is essential for the safety of all workers and anyone
else that may be present onsite. The site was cleared by the help of excavator.

Excavation

It is the second step which performed after site clearance is taken place and also which have different
function. Normally these excavated materials are then used to make fill in other portion of the project
site. In general, there are 80cm. 3 types of excavations. These are pit, trench, and bulk excavations.

Bulk excavation: -is an excavation made in larger horizontal size than its vertical depth. It is usually done
for the removal of poor soil from the site to replace with selected materials or to make it level if the site
doesn’t have equal elevation. The minimum depth of excavation is taken 80cm. In our site we have
seenkkkkkkkkkkkkk

Pit excavation: -this excavation is made for the footing. Usually the consultant decides the depth of the
excavation based on the soil type, and we should also leave 50 cm of working space .Mostly it is done by
manual labor. . But in our site this excavation did not take place.

Trench Excavation: -trench is executed for two purposes one is when the footings are near to each other
and for the construction of masonry around the periphery of the building. But in our site this excavation
did not take place.

Lean concrete

Most of the time the C-5 grade concrete is called lean concrete. We use 50 mm lean concrete of class
C5 with minimum cement content of 150 kg/m3 of concrete. It is mostly used under sub structures.

- Under footing

- Under masonry

- Under grade beam

- Under ground floor slab

- Under retaining wall

It has some advantages like;

- It acts like a hard stratum

- It protects all sub structural elements from extra moisture.

- It prevents direct contact of foundation from soil

FOUNDATION

The lowest man-made part of a structure that transfers the load from the structure to the ground is
called the foundation. The foundation of a building is always built below ground level to increase the
horizontal stability of the building. The basic function of the foundation is to transfer the load of the
upper structure to the ground where the structure rests, so that:

• The ground does not collapse according to shear failure standards

• Settlement occurs within allowable limits without causing cracks in the Superstructure

• Distribute the structure's load onto a large supporting surface so that the load intensity is within the
safe load-bearing capacity limit of the underlying ground..

• Evenly distribute uneven loads from the top to the subsoil to avoid uneven settlement..

• It anchors the superstructure to the ground, thereby providing lateral stability to the superstructure..

• Provides structural safety against scouring (scrubbing) from burrowing animals and flood waters..

• Ensure the ground surface is flat and firm for construction activities.

Selection of Foundation Type

In selecting the foundation type the following points must be considered

a. Function of the structure

b. Loads it must carry

c. Subsurface conditions

d. Cost of foundation in comparison with the cost of the superstructure

In our case we used mat foundation, mat is a combined footing that covers the entire area beneath the
structure and supports all the walls and columns.

It is used where:

The allowable soil pressure is low,

The building loads are heavy,

The use of spread footings would cover more than half the area,

The soil mass contains compressible lenses,

The soil is sufficiently erratic so that differential settlement would be difficult to control.

Raft foundation is also used to reduce settlement above highly compressible soils, by making the weight
of the structure and raft approximately equal to the weight of the soil excavated (Floating).

As we previously stated when we choose the type of foundation we need to know the bearing capacity.
There are different types of soil like sandy soil, loose soil, clayey soil, and expansive soils. Form the
surface to a depth of 3m is termed as top soil, and subsoil begins after 3m depth. Characteristics
specifically bearing capacity of both topsoil and subsoil layers would to a great extent controls the
foundation selection.

For low bearing capacity soil, stronger and suitable foundation shall be selected compare to with case
where the soil has strength bearing capacity. The bearing capacity is the ability of soil to safely support
structural loads without suffering shear failure and intolerable settlement. After inspection and different
test is done to the site they have concluded that the site has clay soil.

Clay soil has great capacity for water retention that is why great expansion and shrinkage are expected
in this type of soil. As a result, foundation structure can suffer from great settlement and uplift pressure
that is why clay soil is not desirable. Mat foundation is the best foundation type to be built on clay soil,
and ribs and beams can be incorporated into it to increase its stiffness. If raft foundation is costly,
imposed loads are large, or strong soil layer is not available at shallow depth, then under reamed pile
should be selected.

Columns

Columns are structural members of buildings used to carry loads (horizontally, vertically and laterally) of
a building and transfer the load safely to soil. Concrete columns are made from steel and concrete cast
in a formwork. These are done in circular, rectangular or square shapes. Columns can be erected as free
standing, used for hanging gates. Alternatively they can be incorporated within the walls of a building
structure.

The columns constructed in the project are of dimensions 90*90cm, 80*80, 70*70, 60*60, 60*50,
60*40. The height of the basement columns is 3.04m, the height from the semi basement to ground
floor is 3.84m and the height of ground floor columns is 3.2m, the basement column was the only one
constructed during the internship period. 25 columns were constructed on the third basement during
internship program, all were quadrilaterals. The construction process of columns can be divided in to
three steps. These are placing reinforcement bars for the columns, placing formwork for the columns,
and finally casting concrete and curing it till it hardens. We will try to briefly describe the first two
stages.

Reinforcement bars are needed in concrete structures since concrete can’t withstand tensile forces by
itself. In our case, the designer of the building recommended the use of S300 grade steel for bars with
14mm diameter and S400 grade steel for bars with diameter larger than 14mm. Reinforcement bars of
16mm, 20mm and 24mm diameter were used for the columns. The number of reinforcement bars
required for each bar has been given in the structural drawing of the building. Each column has its own
reinforcement detail. Based on the given reinforcement detail, reinforcement bars are cut respective to
their assigned height. After that these bars are attached to Starter bars. Starter bars are bars that are
left hanging during construction of previous columns or foundation. The newly cut reinforcement bars
should be firmly attached to starter bars in order to fully support loads arising from bending moments.
After each reinforcement bar is placed, lateral ties are placed to put the reinforcement bars in place
during casting. The diameter and length of stirrup varies in columns depending on the size of each
column and the amount of load placed on them. Stirrup are placed according to the spacing distance
provided by the designer. Stirrup are massively placed near the upper or lower ends of a column due to
the presence of large shear force in the locations mentioned. Spacers are also provided to maintain the
correct amount of concrete cover recommended in the design. Spacers are made as thick as the
concrete cover. They are made of concrete, and placed in various points along the member. Without
adequate concrete cover, reinforcement bars will corrode thus making the structure unstable. Concrete
cover also protects the reinforcement bars from being damaged by fire.

After we place reinforcement, we prepare formwork for the columns. A formwork is a temporary
structure that is made to hold the fresh concrete in place as it hardens. Since concrete cannot support
itself unless it hardens, formworks are a must to protect it from external forces. Concrete gains its full
strength in 21 days without the use of admixtures. But the formwork for columns can be removed after
1 or 2 days upon casting.

There are two types of formwork that are available locally. These are metal sheathings and timber
plywood. Metal sheathings or locally known as panels, come in fixed sizes and shapes. On the other
hand, timber plywood can be cut to any shape and size as per requirement. Timber plywood provides
much better quality compared to metal sheathings.

However, timber plywood costs a lot compared to panels and reusing it might decrease the quality and
strength of the concrete member. If not properly coated, both types of formworks can stick to the
concrete, causing it to have uneven and rough surface after dismantling.

Both types of formwork have been used while constructing the columns in the project. Timber plywood
was used to construct the rectangular columns while the metal sheathings have been used for the spiral
columns. The carpenters had to cut the timber plywood to make it fit for each column. While cutting,
one must take the thickness of the plywood into account. For instance, for the 70cm*70cm columns, the
formwork around its perimeter had to be of width 70 cm and 80 cm. we add 10 cm (twice the thickness
of a plywood) to the two parallel sides to compensate for the thickness of the plywood.

Before placing the formwork around the column, we have to construct a support structure called
crachery that is placed at the bottom of the column. It is used to fix the base of the column at an equal
distance from the reinforcement. Then the formwork is placed between the crachery and the
reinforcement. After that, each side of the formwork is attached to the next by using short slender
wooden bars called kerevat. Once this is done, the formwork for the columns is erected properly by
using large wooden bars called meweteria which are attached to an even larger bar called gindila. This
bar is firmly fixed at an equal distance between two columns. Finally, the column is erected at a straight
position by using plumb bob or locally known as tumbi. When using a plumb bob, if the distance
between the string and the plywood isn’t uniform throughout the height of the column, the meweteria
is adjusted till a tolerable difference is achieved. The supervisor has to make sure whether all joints are
completely sealed and kerevats are firmly tightened.

Shear walls

Shear walls are vertical structural members that resist lateral loads like lateral earth pressure, wind
loads and seismic loads. They help in the transmission of lateral loads to the foundation. They also
provide resistance against earth pressure arising from the placement of soil around the structure. The
primary purpose of shear walls is to provide stiff resistance against vertical and horizontal external
forces. Shear walls can also act as a support for elevators. The shafts in which elevators are installed, are
basically shear walls that run along the height of the building. Elevators should be placed in a safe and
stable environment, meaning that effects of loadings such as wind and earth quakes should be properly
mitigated, which is why shear walls are constructed around them. Shear walls in high rising buildings are
constructed throughout their heights in order to resist higher wind loads.

The construction process for shear walls is as follows. For the shear walls surrounding the structure, the
external formwork is placed first. But for elevator shaft, the internal formwork is placed prior to the
placement of reinforcement bars. It is very important to point out that shear walls in elevator shafts
should be constructed with the highest level of workmanship and skill. If the shaft is uneven throughout
the height of the building, it will lead to the failure of the elevator as a whole. After the formwork is
properly placed and secured, the inner and outer formworks. Then follows the concrete work, since
shear walls are vertical structures like columns, their formwork can be dismantled in 1 or 2 days after
concrete casting.

Retaining wall

Structures built to retain vertical or near-vertical embankments of earth or other material are called
retaining structures. Retaining walls are used in many places, such as to retain soil at an elevation (if a
building is desired to be built at the lowest elevation) or to keep a highway from collapsing and for a
number of applications .The main types of retaining walls are gravity wall, cantilever retaining wall,
counterfort RW, buttress wall. In our site the retaining wall that’s we used is different than this, it is just
a wall that is made kkkkkjkkkkkkkkk

Concrete works

Concrete is a composite material that is composed of cement, aggregates (coarse & fine), water and in
some cases admixture. Concrete is excellent when it comes to resisting compression forces but is weak
at resisting tension forces. Thus, as mentioned earlier reinforcement bars made of steel are placed to
cover its weakness. Each component is carefully selected as per the type of concrete that is required for
the structure. Components of concrete are discussed below.

Cement

Cement is most important ingredient of concrete because its hydration reaction gives strength of
concrete. The types of cement used in our site are locally supplied and are ordinary Portland cement
(OPC). It should be properly stored separately from other items on the site to keep it in good condition.
It is free from dampness, due to whether or ground condition.

Aggregates

Aggregates are the most important constituent on concrete. They give body to the concrete, reduce
shrinkage, and effect economy. The fact that aggregate occupy 65 - 75 percent of the volume of
concrete, their impact on various mix and properties of concrete is considerable. Therefore choosing
attention should be given to four general requirements.

☞ Economy of the mixture

☞ Potential strength of hardened mass

☞ Probable durability of the concrete structure

☞ Workability when fresh

Water

Water for concrete mixing and curing Water shall be piped or otherwise stored in an enclosed container
free from contamination. Since water helps to form strength giving cement paste, the quality and
quantity of water required is to be looked very carefully. Generally, the water used for drinking is
suitable for making good concrete.

Batching materials

Before we start batching (proportioning) materials and mixing them, we have to find out the intended
grade of the concreted mix in accordance with the member. As per EBCS, for a class 1 work, concrete
can be graded as C5, C15, C20, C25, C30, C40, C50 & C60. It also specifies that C5 grade concrete shall be
used only as lean concrete, for shear walls, elevator shafts and columns use concrete of grade C35/45
and for beams, slabs including ramps and stairs, foundation pads and barrier walls use concrete of grade
C30/37.

C-35 1:2:3 14*40*50

C-30 1:2:3 16*40*50

The aim is to mix these materials in measured amounts to make the concrete easy to: Transport, place,
compact, finish and harden, to give a strong and durable product. The three ingredients of concrete such
as aggregate, cement and water are combined to give a hard and monolithic solid that would take the
form of the formwork.

For the concrete to meet its intended purposes its ingredients have to be of good quality and the
batching and mixing of the ingredients/constituents should be handled in a concrete friendly
environment.

Batching plant

Batching plant is a place where ingredients of a concrete are mixed with in a right proportion. For good
mixing of ingredients it is essential to measure the materials accurately. The concrete may be batched
either by weight or by volume. BetonWin software is used for ordering and controlling of concrete
mixing .

Measure by weight

This is a method where a beam balance or scale balance is used to measure and adjust the right quantity
(in grams, kilograms...) of sand and aggregate. For instance: for a mix ratio by volume of 1:2:3 (1 cement,
2 sand & 3 aggregate) the ratio could be converted in to weight as follows.

 1 bag/sack of cement weighs 50Kg

 Therefore the sand should weigh 2*50Kg = 100Kg and  The aggregate should weigh 3*50Kg =
150Kg.

This method of measuring is time taking and not applicable in smaller constructions, but our project is
huge so they have been using this method, so as the site that we were working is a big site so we used
weight batching.

Truck mixer comprises around 10 m3 ingredient of concrete used are Course aggregate = 798 kg

Fine aggregate = 328 kg Sand = 765 kg

Cement = 430 kg

Water = 160 kg
Admixture = 6 kg

The plant that we were working used weight batching.

Transporting

Concrete has to be transported from the place of mixing to the place of deposit as rapidly as possible to
avoid re-handling and flowing, as well as to prevent segregation. In our site the transport process was
from a different location so we used truck mixer so had to use a retarder admixture so that it wouldn’t
set before it got to the location. After mixing, concrete is fluid and it can be transported to the location
where needed. At the site, Concrete was handled from the place of mixing to the place of final deposit
as rapidly as practicable by methods, which will prevent segregation, loss of ingredients and it must be
before it set. It was deposited as near as practicable in its final position to avoid re-handling or floating.

Placing of concrete

The aim of good concrete placing is to get the concrete into position at a speed, and in a condition, that
allow it to be compacted properly. After checking the reinforcements as satisfactory by the engineer and
consultant, casting of concrete taken place.th placing of concrete is done by man power in our site.

Compaction of concrete

Once the concrete has been placed, it is ready to be compacted. The purpose of compaction is to get rid
of the air voids that are trapped in loose concrete. It is important to compact the concrete fully because,
air voids reduce the strength of the concrete. For every 1% of entrapped air, the strength falls by
somewhere between 5 and 7%. This means that concrete containing a mere 5% air voids due to
incomplete compaction can lose as much as one third of its strength.

Air voids increase concrete's permeability. That in turn reduces its durability. Moisture and air are more
likely to penetrate to the reinforcement causing it to rust. Summing up, fully compacted concrete is
dense, strong and durable; badly compacted concrete will be porous, weak and prone to rapid
deterioration.

Vibration: To compact concrete you apply energy to it. Air trapped in it can then rise to the top and
escape. Vibration is the quickest method of supplying the energy. Manual techniques such as Roding are
only suitable for smaller projects.

 Vibrator-is a machine used to compact or reduce the void space during concrete casting and to
form closer configuration between concrete particles.

Concrete cover

Clear cover has the following crucial uses:-

To ensure good bond between reinforcement and concrete

To prevent the reinforcement from corrosion that may result from being exposed to the environment

To prevent the reinforcement from bursting out so that it will be retained in its position

To protect steel reinforcements from exposed condition such as fire, ground water and harsh
environment.

Overall Benefits from the internship

When we first started on the company everything was new for us. we had only the theoretical
knowledge. It was really fascinating and inspiring to see and experience the lessons we have been
learning for the past four years. Through the internship I developed a better understanding in our
perspective engineering field from theoretical concept to practical application. So we tried to experience
and learn every work as much as we can. Training in such an experienced company and working with
youth staffs have offered us the following Benefits.

Improving communication skill

This internship program helped us a great deal to improve my communication skill because we got to
meet a lot of people throughout the 4 month period starting from the daily labor to the project
manager. So in order to gain knowledge and be an experienced one we started to get along with all of
them and ask more so our communication skill was getting better and better each day.

Acquiring Entrepreneurship skill

A strong communicative skill, risk taking, creative thinking, confidence, determination etc these are the
basic quality of a good entrepreneur. And we wouldn’t dare to say that we acquired all this skills but we
got some that will lead me to these. This skill is a must to be successful in this sector because
construction project mainly requires more human power, finance, material and many skills and
resources. So we have to upgrade our entrepreneurship skill so as to think a new modified method of
executing certain tasks in a way that is

 Less time consuming

 Uses less cost
 Uses effective materials than more man power
 And which increase the efficiency of the work done.

Improving leadership skill

The best character of a good leader is not just ordering around his teams but by coordinating and
leading the way and show his/her team how to do it and we have seen this quality from the site
engineer and learn from it a lot on how a great leader should be.
Upgrading theoretical knowledge and improving my practical skill

The main purpose of this internship program is to help the interns develop or improve our practical
knowledge by applying the theoretical knowledge that we have learned in class the last 4 years. The
courses we took for the last four years, focused on theory but this program changes the whole thing and
helped me develop our practical skills.

So we have tried to see this vast industry in this short period of time as much as we can like we tried to
explain in the main body of this report. we experienced many things on site that I wouldn’t even think of
while learning the theoretical part in class. So it was such a great opportunity.

3.5. Understanding about work ethics

Ethics has a top ranking role in creating a smooth and comfortable working environment.

No matter how good we are on what we do if we don’t apply the work ethics it is all useless so we have
to obey the rules for the sake of our selves.

Some of the Work ethics are;

 Punctuality
 Honesty
 Loyalty
 Open mindedness etc...

CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERE

Every construction activity has its own problems encounter during construction. Among those
encountered challenges some of them are:-

 Lack of experience: Since it was almost our first time to go out and look site activities and office
work it is difficult to easily handle.
 Communication with labor: Communication with formal and daily labor and other staff in the
site was difficult for us at the beginning because to ask them something
 Climatic condition: usual environmental conditions (hot and Sunny) and Availability of harmful
materials like nail, steel and iron sheet which cuts body
 The site is located far from my home and other problems, such as traffic loading it was difficult
to reach on time. The site is located on ayat 49 and my home is around gelan.

4.3 MEASURES TAKEN

 Asking the professionals on the site or the office engineer to be familiar to the un- familiar
engineering elements.
 Asking our supervisor, Forman and other staff members to share their experience with us and
to become more experienced and asking questions how things are done and to be done.
