Company Objectives

The primary objectives of the Al Mulla Building Contracting LLC are undertaking the activities of contracting all the customers irrespective of the provision, supply, wheeling, export, import, sale and trading of the raw materials needed for construction an introducing open access to building contracting (Weebly, 2018). The company names of planning, developing, acquiring, establishing, constructing, erecting, laying, hiring, leasing buying, selling operating, running, managing, maintaining, enlarging, altering, renovating modernizing, working and using a contract network in all aspects of building contracting. It undertakes building contracting schemes in the licensed areas. At times, the company also tenders, finalizes and executes contract agreements with other building contracting companies.

Any structure that is made up of different materials and is used for human habitation or other purposes is known as a building. The company is primarily engaged in the business of construction building and contracting. The company is vested with interest in property, contracting assets, and rights and abilities of the same which is crucial for the business of contracting and building. The company promises to its customers of providing them with the best. It uses the best quality of material along with modern equipment and a well-qualified staff. It claims that the work done by them is very good and the customers would not be having any complaints regarding their work. It makes villas, complexes and similar building projects and finishes its work in the earliest of time. According to the company, the work done by them is appreciable. The services provided by them are fast and they are able to complete their given tasks within the timeframe allotted to them.

The following report aims at analysing the practical training, I reported at G+1 Ajman villa, at the construction site of Al Mulla Building Contracting LLC. I have reported to Mr. Sukhdev Singh, the company owner at the Al Mulla who further ordered me to join the project construction site.

Foundations with regard to structures, bridges, water storage containers, along with other constructions get lots from the by means of columns or walls as well as transfer these lots to the soil beneath. A suitable foundation must financially fulfill the practical specifications of the structure as well as reduce differential motion within the some part of the framework which causes problems. It must be built to move a maximum of the utmost bearable disfigurement into the high-rise buildings. The level of buckling which a design may endure depends upon its objective. Three most popular foundation kinds are usually: (1) spread and wall footings; (2)  pile and drilled shafts ; and (3) mat foundations. Spread and wall footings are utilized below specific walls, columns, and bridge piers. They may be suitable with regard to any soil circumstances in which the impact capacity regarding the utilized loads is sufficient. Mat foundations are usually utilized for extremely weighty column loads, wherever differential compaction might be an issue. Piles and drilled shafts are used whenever poor surface area and close to surface soils can be found.

Background

According to Khemis, Chaouche, Athmani, and Tee, (2016), the effect of a spread footing towards the carried out loads is determined by the features of the foot-hold, superstructure, contacts land, and forces. Moments, shear factors, and deformations within a foot-hold can simply be acquired once the helping soil responses are properly identified. The original structural layout strategy with regard to spread footing would be to choose the width and length in a way that the permitted soil enduring the capacity is simply not surpassed. The density in the footing can now be measured for one- and two-approach actions shear at a specific range from the top from the column without needing shear support. The flexural metal is finally acquired by identifying the articulation moment in the front of the column because of the soil stress supply underneath the footing. The previous load results are calculated by using suitable free-body drawings as well as simple methods which derive from statics. Shortening assumptions should be developed for the design regarding a foot-hold, due to the fact no interpretive techniques happen to be produced that may precisely assess all of the aspects included within the issue of soil-framework connection.

The quality regarding such streamlining presumptions and also the precision in the connected outcomes should be examined on such basis as the soil kind under the footing with greater extent, shape and size regarding the footing as well as column, tendency of burdening, rigidity in the foot-hold and high-rise buildings  , as well as subgrade modulus result of the land.

Other than for unconventional circumstances, structural as well as geotechnical layout requirements and features permit a slender land pressure supply being presumed with regard to footings which may be regarded as rigorous towards the level that just small relatives deformations derive from the used load. This presumption can result through the tightness in the footing alone as well as rigidity in the superstructure

A much more precise means for processing the stress in land below a footing compared to straight-line propagation process is only one where the soil stress supply is ruled through the modulus of sub grade response. As stated by Wen, Sun, and Zhang (2018) ,this technique is very beneficial for semi flexible and versatile footings. Within this technique, the footing is subdivided in individual elements on elastic helps.

Based on layout, the shallow foundation tends to be categorized as:

1. Isolated column or Column Footing
2. Wall Footing
3. Cantilever (Strap) Footing
4. Combined Footing

Column footing are best suited and affordable with regard to the deep more than 1.5m. Within this kind of foundation the beds base in the column is bigger. Column footing with the type of flat piece and could be built by means of simple or reinforced cement.

As stated by Lee, Jeong  and Ko, (2015), this sort of basic foundation operates ongoing across the path of the wall assisting to transfer stress in the walls in to the soil. Wall footing are best suited just where loads to become carried are minor, and are affordable in thick sands as well as gravels. Within this kind of basic foundation the thickness is 2 – 3 times the thickness of the walls in surface level. Wall footing might be built by means of stone, plain or reinforced cement concrete brick.

Project Goals and Objectives

Whenever a side footing cannot be expanded past the line of property the sides of footing are connected together with the other internal footing using a beam of strap. This kind of footings these are known as strap footing. Additionally it is referred to as cantilever footing.

Combined footings tend to be all those footings that are done generally with regard to several columns within a row. It really is utilized once the footing regarding a column might expand over and above the home line. Additionally it is appropriate once both columns are intently spread and also the soil which the construction withstand is having low impact capability. It might be rectangle-shaped or trapezoidal.

Initially, this will not take into account the dimensions and solidity in the column that the footing receives the load. Secondly, stress is presumed to become put on the footing as being a point weight. In fact, the implemented masse is generally dispersed on the column’s cross-sectional region.  Takes into account just one dimension in the footing as well as neglects another dimensions, that is perpendicular to it. In line with the previous, there exists a need to build a fresh way of measuring the spread footing versatility according to land. This type of measure may be used to check if the spread footing can usually be treated as inflexible or versatile within the structural evaluation and type of the shallow foundation.

According to Harris and Friel, 2016, spread footing foundations is a category of foundation which redirects loads through the superstructure, such as seismic factors, horizontally throughout adequate surface that this having strength in the soil is not really surpassed. Spread footing foundations might be created as you even block, just like slab-on-surface footings. They are able to also generally be created as a number of small ongoing or non-regular footings which helps columns, walls and various parts of the construction. This is actually the case with edge footings.

Based on Imanzadeh, Denis and Marache, (2014), a perimeter foundation is really a kind of spread footing base which is made up of cement edge footing which stretches round the entire edge of a property. The thickness in the footing redirects gravitational pressure through the wall structure as well as roof in the construction around adequate area that this enduring the durability in the soil is not surpassed. Seismic forces will also be moved effectively with the edge foundation into the soil underneath.

Perimeter foundations might use unpredictable-shaped footings and become coupled with various other foundations. Non-continuous edge foundations (for instance, perimeter foundation components at merely the edges in the construction) are usually not ideal for lands which will probably experience differential arrangement or lateral motion.

Figure 1: Perimeter Foundation

A ongoing perimeter foundation propagates the gravitational pressure involving the framework over the thickness in the base.

According to Conner et al. (2016), slab-on-ground foundations, occasionally known as conventional slab footings, really are a kind of spread footing foundation in which the slab connects the spread footings with each other along with supplying a good flat floor surface area. They may be usually created by digging up the earth to a shallow level, constructing edge formwork as well as putting cement to the hole.

Literature Review

Figure 2: Slab-on-ground Foundations

Various kinds of steel-reinforced slab-on-ground footings are traditionally used in household building simply because they give a higher level of sturdiness and seismic strength. Also, they are not too expensive to set up.

Mat foundations, sometimes known as raft footings, really are a kind of slab-on-ground basic foundation utilized in both household as well as industrial building (Grin?  et al. 2015). The household range is made up of thicker cement slab, many times heavier compared to a conventional slab, strengthened having a bigger quantity of supporting ductile .

According to Bhaskar, Shukla and Dinesh (2015) ,a mat basic foundation is usually ideal for sites along with marginal land that will not need deep footings however might go through considerable differential contract. They are able to also generally be utilized for structures which are prone to encounter huge lateral factors throughout a main seismic function. Within this scenario, the rigid raft may link over delicate places as well as slide on the floor in case lateral distribution takes place underneath it.

Shallow foundations additionally known as spread footings or open foundation because the land is going to be totally taken out to set up the footing sometime later it was stuffed by backfilling. It really is known as Spread a foot-hold since the footing foundation thickness is larger compared to typical masse enduring the wall.

It is  the most typical kind of foundation traditionally used for structures. Within this foundation, each and every column possesses its own footing. These foundations associated with plinth beam slightly below the earth level. It is made in different shapes like rectangle-shaped, spherical and ongoing based on the supply of load.

At times several footing might be put together since the surrounding footing could possibly be closer to where shuttering is not really achievable in any way with regard to the provided process such as beneath proided.

As stated by Ambauen et al. (2016), Strip foundations tend to be constant footing which is built in the load impact brickwork design wherever walls is going to be served as load bearing framework. The footing is going to be built continuously underneath the wall surfaces to back up the stress created within the wall surfaces. These kinds of footings built within older brickwork structure still they are available in local building.

Generally observed these kind of foundation with regard to High Domestic Constructing structure where there is a underground room. This kind of foundation is going to be built below two circumstances,

Incompatible Earth Soil Layer

The situation in the land exceptionally varies in a variety of areas underneath the construction layout in which the designer cannot be capable of estimating the mass as well as layout the base as carried out within spread footings.

Price Efficient

When the designer does the layouts of the base they evaluate the price of the base building. In case the base features an amount of columns very next to others columns , it is going to vulnerable to raise the stuttering price and price of cement , Evaluating these circumstances the designer will layout mat or Raft foundation in which the building is going to be simple and economical.

Category of Shallow Foundation

The construction of the G+1 building would be undertaken by a sequence of structure work. The sequence would include clearance of sight, site demarcation, positioning the central coordinate in accordance with the grid plan, layout and surveying, excavation, PCC laying, placement of foundation steel and bar binding, scaffolding and shuttering, concreting, plumbing and electrical, de-shuttering, brick working, lintels and door and window framing, electrical purpose wiring, plastering, tiling and flooring work, painting and final completion of the project.

In my case, I would be working over spread footing which is used throughout the construction building. The behavior of spread footing is usually like an inverted cantilever where the loads are applied towards the upward direction. A common rule is that spread footing is a rigid element, hence the application of the soil stresses is linear and in the case where symmetric footing is used, the same is orthogonal. Such pressure on the soil is nothing but loads which is carried by the footing. The behavior of this footing is just like a slab. The deformation size of the footing is in millimeters and is not really visible to the human eye. The placement of the reinforcement is at the footing’s lower surface. The reinforcement of the footing is done on the basis of an orthogonal rebar grid that contains bars of various diameters and has spacing in different directions (Paul and Weiner, 2013). For flexible as well as rigid spread footing, the reinforcement is the same, which is either eccentrically or centrically constructed (El Sawwaf, 2009).

A strip of reinforced concrete which is wider than the wall distributing its pressure is known as a wall footing (Butler, Butler and Michael, 2000). The footings of a single column are usually a rectangular, sometimes square and represent the most economical and simplest type. In case of difficulties where the usage of footing project beyond the exterior walls is prevented by the property rights, the usage of the footings under exterior columns meets such difficulties. In such a case, strap footing or combined footing are used which helps in enabling a person for designing a footing that should not be projected ahead of the wall column. Combined footings are also used in case of interior columns which are closely spaced and heavily loaded and where the single footing is completely are almost merged (Spartz, 2001). The most commonly used spread foundations on soils having significant bearing capacity are such combined for individual column footing areas. If the column loads are great are the soil is weak, the required footing areas becomes large enough to be uneconomical (Baumann and Bauer, 1974). Unless the soil condition calls for deep foundation, a raft or mat foundation is resorted to. This contains a solid reinforced concrete slab which is extended under the entire building and subsequently, the load of structure is distributed over the maximum area available (McCormac and Brown, 2015). In the view of inflexibility, such a foundation also decreases differential settlement. In its simplest form, it contains a concrete slab which is reinforced in both directions.

Importance

The first step of construction is excavation. It refers to the process of removal of a rock or soil from its original location (Allen and Iano, 2013). Excavation is usually done in the preparation for constructing basements, underground utility lines and foundations as well as for ground surface grading. The material of excavation which is required for grading feel for backfilling is stockpiled at the site of construction for subsequent usage. The excavation which I saw in my case, included bulk excavation, trench excavation and pit excavation. The primary objective of the excavation work is the removal of organic soils or unwanted soil which in turn ensures the safety of the constructed building from any kind of chemical attack (Tomlinson and Boorman, 2001). The excavation should be carried out to the levels, lines, depth width and grades as shown on the drawings or the blue prints of the construction project directed by the senior engineer in the work of excavation.

The first step in excavation is site clearance. The topsoil excavation is started using the available machineries after getting the approval of the surveying data. The organic top soil which is found on the upper layer and is measured to thickness of 20cm would be removed separately. This would not be included in the bulk excavation work. After this, immediate cart away would be performed that would subsequently follow clearance. In accordance with the suitability of the work, a motor grader or loader would carry out this job. A loader would help in forthwith cart away since dump trucks would be readily available at the construction site during the performance of the clearance work. The clearance of the top soil by the loader would derive a better output than the motor grader. The next task would be the bulk excavation which would be carried out immediately after the removal of the top soil. The work would be performed for the intended excavation depth. When the soil is removed with the appropriate type of machinery, it has a positive effect over the enhanced output than the excavator. If the engineer plans to stockpile the excavated soil partly, excavator machine would also be used as a combination. The extra excavated soil would be immediately taken off from the construction site. The level reading in a significant manner would ensure whether the work of excavation is executed to the appropriate level. The data of this work would be organized properly and supplied to the respective engineer in-charge would also provide approval for the same. Finally, pit and trench excavation would be executed right after the bulk excavation.

A structural element which transfers the weight of a building to the soil by the usage of walls, columns and lateral loads from structures of earth retaining is known as footing (Coduto, Yeung and Kitch, 2011). In foundation design, a very important role is played by the nature of the soil structure as well as the weight and size of a building. In order to ensure a sound structure of a building, it is very important to address the soil pressure distribution. Spread footing is an important structural component which provides strength empower to the foundation of a building (Stuedlein, Kramer, Arduino and Holtz, 2012). In comparison with the load-bearing foundation, a foundation of spread footing has a much wider bottom portion. This spreads the structure’s weight over a large area which in turn ensures a greater level of stability. Spread footings are used for supporting a set of piers or foundation which is below a building. These are constructed and reinforced with concrete and steel for adding additional support to a building. Traditional spot footings come with only a single point of contact with the foundation, where as the support is extended consistently across the entire layout of the building by spread footings. The overall lifespan of a building is extended by spread footing which minimizes the structural damage. For carrying out the loads of column and transmitting the same to the soil safely, footings must be designed. The spread footings are very common in residential construction. These can be square, circular or rectangular.

The following report could be used to analyse the the consequences of spread footing as an important technique for building constructions. This report would help in analyssing the importance of the usage of spread footing in the construvtion induistry, thereby improving the technical scope of advancemnet in this business.

Conclusion 

The primary aim of studying within this project was to investigate and determine the ways in which a building structure is constructed along with its desired properties and how spread footing is used in the same. A civil engineer also faces several challenges during and throughout the process of construction such as cost management, labor problems, environmental challenges, etc. Spread footing plays a significant role in building and construction. They provide support to the base of a building an insured greater stability and safety. It can be concluded that quality control and construction methods used in construction building projects demand huge quantities of manpower, funds and equipment as well as good coordination and integration between the labors and engineers.

References

Allen, E. and Iano, J., 2013. Fundamentals of building construction: materials and methods. 7^th ed. New Jersey, USA: John Wiley & Sons.

Ambauen, S., Leshchinsky, B., Xie, Y. and Rayamajhi, D., 2016. Service-state behavior of reinforced soil walls supporting spread footings: a parametric study using finite-element analysis. Geosynthetics International, 23(3), pp.156-170.

Baumann, V. and Bauer, G.E.A., 1974. The performance of foundations on various soils stabilized by the vibro-compaction method. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 11(4), pp.509-530.

Butler, M.G., Butler and Michael G., 2000. Foundation footing construction method, particularly as serve to efficiently precisely emplace wall anchors. U.S. Patent 6,120,723.

Coduto, D.P., Yeung, M.C.R. and Kitch, W.A., 2011. Geotechnical engineering: principles and practices. 6^th ed. London: Sage.

Conner, J.C., Copeland, C.S., Hakim, O.B., Jackson, P.E., Krawl, D.E., Shumate, S.W., Wesson, D.S. and Weston, T.R., AQUADATION LLC, 2016. Structural Foundation Monitoring Sensor Sytem. U.S. Patent Application 15/161,041.

El Sawwaf, M., 2009. Experimental and numerical study of eccentrically loaded strip footings resting on reinforced sand. Journal of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering, 135(10), pp.1509-1518.

Grin?, M., Vondrá?ková, T., Vl?ek, J., Myslive?ková, M., Nývlt, V. and Koval?ík, ?., 2015. Non–Invasive GPR Investigation of Spread Footings. Procedia Earth and Planetary Science, 15, pp.31-36.

Harris, J. and Friel, J., 2016. 35 Years of Compaction and Low Mobility Grouting in the Mountain West. In Rocky Mountain Geo-Conference 2016 (pp. 190-211).

Imanzadeh, S., Denis, A. and Marache, A., 2014. Foundation and overall structure designs of continuous spread footings along with soil spatial variability and geological anomaly. Engineering Structures, 71, pp.212-221.

Imanzadeh, S., Denis, A. and Marache, A., 2015. Settlement uncertainty analysis for continuous spread footing on elastic soil. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 33(1), pp.105-122.

Khemis, A., Chaouche, A.H., Athmani, A. and Tee, K.F., 2016. Uncertainty effects of soil and structural properties on the buckling of flexible pipes shallowly buried in Winkler foundation. Structural Engineering and Mechanics, 59(4), pp.739-759.

Lee, J.K., Jeong, S. and Ko, J., 2015. Effect of load inclination on the undrained bearing capacity of surface spread footings above voids. Computers and Geotechnics, 66, pp.245-252.

McCormac, J.C. and Brown, R.H., 2015. Design of reinforced concrete. 8^th ed. New Jersey, USA: John Wiley & Sons.

Niknam, M. and Karshenas, S., 2015. Integrating distributed sources of information for construction cost estimating using Semantic Web and Semantic Web Service technologies. Automation in Construction, 57, pp.222-238.

Stuedlein, A.W., Kramer, S.L., Arduino, P. and Holtz, R.D., 2012. Reliability of spread footing performance in desiccated clay. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 138(11), pp.1314-1325.

Tomlinson, M.J. and Boorman, R., 2001. Foundation design and construction. 7^th ed. New York, USA: Pearson education.

Weebly, 2018. Al Mulla Building Contracting L.L.C. [online] Available at: <https://almullabuilding.weebly.com/> Accessed on: 19 Dec, 2018.

Wen, Z., Sun, Z. and Zhang, S., 2018. Study on the Stability of Spread-Footing Foundations on Permafrost Regions. In Proceedings of China-Europe Conference on Geotechnical Engineering (pp. 1429-1432). 7^th ed. London: Springer, Cham.