A House in A Box

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Posted by pucca | Posted on 5:50 PM

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Modular houses have been around the market for years. Prefabricated houses have been around for almost decades now. Everything is just dropped from the job of a crane and set in place like icing on a cake. It takes less than half the time of building a regular house. Construction cost is less, labor cost is less, but the mobilization and the modular house itself sometimes comes costly.
Modular houses have been around since 1920's. This modular houses does not only provide instant houses for people but also instant gratification. Why spend 18 months waiting for your dream house to be built when 30 days is all it takes to set-up your dream mansion using this innovative development in engineering?Modular houses nowadays can also be customized. Costs has also decreased by 15%. Architects all over the world who have been affected by the recession has ventured on designing modular houses instead of staying jobless. Some of them find it exciting and fun to do. It's like a real life Lego game.
According to Washington Post, sixty to 90 percent of the most sophisticated modular homes are built on the assembly line, depending on whether buyers choose a stock design or commission something special. Walls can be moved around, but the options are finite. With so much of the construction in a factory, buyers must make almost every decision up front, which saves money. Finish work, from facades to painting to building staircases, is done on-site. "Green" features are a big selling point: Modular walls are precisely cut and are not exposed during construction to the weather, which can cause mold and mildew, industry experts say.

* images below courtesy of www.statewideconstructions.com.au

3 bedroom - 2 bathroom modular house

 perspective view
front view

parking area

* visit www.statewideconstructions.com.au for more modular houses models
 

Careers in Civil Engineering

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Posted by pucca | Posted on 7:38 PM

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What do Civil Engineers do? Civil Engineers design and supervise the construction of buildings, bridges, dam, canals, roads, water supply structures and other infrastractures. The government and the people rely on Civil Engineers when it comes to creating and maintaining safe and sound structures important in our daily living and our survival. Civil Engineering and Engineering Works is a very broad area. Thus, a Civil Engineer often specializes in a specific line of work.

Civil Engineers nowadays are expected, sometimes required to be technically equipped and  knowledgable when it comes to latest drafting softwares, schematics,  maps and other drafting tools. Engineering softwares has been constantly developed through the years to enhance and simplify the engineering processes. Civil Engineers are also expected to be well informed about up-to-date developments in engineering such as new forming systems.

Civil engineers are continously needed as the population grows. The bigger the population, the greater the need there is for new residential buildings, service roads , water supply systems and other infrastractures. They are also needed to continously maintain the safety of these structures. As the environment deteriorates, Civil Engineers are also expected to develop systems and structures that are eco-friendly and develop pollution control systems.

Though design and construction are the main functions of a Civil Engineer, some Civil Engineers chooses to share their knowledge and practice teaching. Teaching to some may not be as challenging compared to being "on site", but they are wrong. Teaching Civil Engineering students is as challenging as any building construction there is. Teachers are the one who instills knowledge to the students. The future engineers are in the hands of these Civil Engineers who chose a career in teaching.

But still we ahould remember that whatever field you choose, whether in Civil Engineering or not, your fate and success still depends on you. Being a Civil Engineering, or even a licensed one does not guarantee you a good life.

Conversions

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Posted by pucca | Posted on 4:46 AM

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Conversions is a very common practice in Civil Engineering. Being able to express a unit of measurement from one system to another is a basic knowledge a Civil Engineer must possess. As Engineers, we know a lot of conversion factors by heart. But sometimes we do forget some.
Nowadays, with the power of the internet, converting measurements is a breeze. One of the online conversion sites I use is www.onlineconversion.com What I like most about the site is the wide range of  measurements available in the site. The site proveides a comprehensive and systematic conversion pages that are divided into different categories.Conversion categories available in the site are as follows.

* acceleration        * angles         * area
* astronomical       * clothing       * computers and electronics
* cooking              * date/time    * density
* energy               * finance        * flow rate
* force                 * frequency    * fun stuff
* length distance   * light            * mapping
* miscellaneous     * numbers       * object and shapes
* power               * pressure       * speed
* temperature      * torque         * viscosity
* volume             * weight/mass

I am guessing that the "fun stuff" and "miscellaneous" category caught your attention. The fun stuff category page has the following sub-categories under each category.

Fun Stuff

International Friends If you chat or post with friends from different countries, you might find this useful. Basic conversions all in one place, converts things such as height, weight, temperature, and baby size.

Chinese Zodiac Determine which Chinese Zodiac symbol you were born under.



Weight on Other Planets Ever wondered how much you would weigh on Mars? Now is your chance to find out.


Advanced Roman Numerals Converts to and from Roman Numerals and whole numbers.


Retire Date Determine how many day until you can retire.


Pig Latin Translate a name or phrase into Pig Latin.


Häxor Translate to and from English and Häxor.


World Population Estimates the current world population.


Morse Code Convert your name or message into morse code.


Your Age How old you are down to the second, how many seconds old you are, and how long until your next birthday.

BAC Check Calculate your Blood-Alcohol Content.


BMI Calculator Calculate your Body Mass Index.


Day Born Find out what day of the week you were born.


Calories Burned Calculate the number of calories you burn running.



Running Calculate your time, distance covered, or pace.


Driving Distance Find the driving distance between major US cities.


Dog Years How old are you in Dog Years?


Lottery Numbers Want help picking your lottery numbers?


Male Body Calculates a man's ideal body measurements.


Pregnancy Estimates the conception date, birth due date, and current fetal age.



Typing Test Find out how fast you can type with this simple test.


Roman Numerals Converts a numeric year into Roman Numerals.


Download Speed Enter a file size and estimate the download speed with various modems.

Miscellaneous

Mesh Calculate the mesh, or wire diameter/opening, of a sieve or filter.

Fractions This handy calculator can convert fractions to decimal numbers, and decimal numbers to fractions.

Mixing Water Find out the final temperature of a water, steam, or ice solution after mixing together two or more samples.

Radiation A few calculators and converters on radiation and radioactivity.

Surface Speed of a Wheel Calculate the surface speed of a wheel given the radius and RPM.

Objects and Shapes Calculators for working with objects and shapes. Including volume for 3D objects, and area for 2D shapes.

Frequency to Wavelength Calculate the wavelength of any frequency.

Computers and Electronics Various conversions and calculators related to computers and electronics.

Reel Calculator Several calculators for determining the amount of paper or board, the dimensions, or weight of the reel based on the known factors

Tip Calculator Calculate how much to leave as a tip. Even split the bill between multiple people.

Gauge Various gauge conversions. Wire Gauge, Sheet metal Gauge, and possibly more in the future.

Cholesterol Converter. Convert various cholesterol and glucose units between different standards.

Blood Sugar Converter. Useful for diabetes patients visiting a different country.

Automotive Several automotive conversions and calculators.

Horse Height Convert Hands to inches, feet, centimeters, and meters.

Grade Point Average Calculate your Grade Point Average.

Room Area Area Calculator. Enter the length and width to calculate the area. Useful for rooms, yards, gardens, anything rectangular in shape.

Nails Many different types of American nails. With technical data and qty/pound calculator. Including common, roofing, finishing, and box.

Brix to Baumé Convert to and from Brix degrees and Baume degrees. Used in syrup, wine, juice, malt, and others.

Typography Convert pica and points to inches or centimeters.

Water Weight Convert a volume of water to weight, and vice versa.

Wind Chill Calculate the wind chill factor

Phone Number Converts a alphanumeric phone number to its numeric equivalent

Airport Calculator Find the degrees, Miles, and Kilometers between two airports

Atmosphere A calculator to help with Atmospheric calculations

Armor A Armor Penetration calculator

Circle Solver Calculate circle area, diameter, and circumference

Cosine Calculator Enter the adjacent and hypotenuse angles to find the cosine angle

Expression Solver You can solve mathematical expressions using this calculator

Group Work Calculate how long for two people to complete a task

Lap Time Calculates the average lap time required to finish a race in the time you enter

Leap Year Determine if a year is a leap year.

Percent Take the guess work out of percentages

Prime Easily determine if a number is prime or not.

Meeting Room Size Find the approximate room size you'll need depending on your meeting room setup and the number of attendees.

Roman Numerals Converts a numeric year into Roman Numerals.

Advanced Roman Numerals Converts to and from Roman Numerals and whole numbers.

Field Depth Determine the field depth and amount that will be in focus in a photograph

Quaternions A Euler angle and Quaternion conversion calculator

So there you go guys. Hopefully, you would find this site as usefully as I did.

Beijing China's "BIRD NEST"

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Posted by pucca | Posted on 1:54 AM

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The Herzog and DeMeuron's Olympic Stadium, fondly referred by many as "Bird's Nest" is one of the most aesthetically fascinating structure created by man.

Location :  Olympic Green Beijing China
Cost : $ 423Million

Design and Construction :

Beijing National Stadium was a joint venture among architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron of Herzog & de Meuron, project architect Stefan Marbach, artist Ai Weiwei, and CADG which was lead by chief architect Li Xinggang. During their first meeting in 2003, at Basel, the group decided to do something unlike Herzog and de Meuron had traditionally designed. "China wanted to have something new for this very important stadium," Li stated. In an effort to design a stadium that was "porous" while also being "a collective building, a public vessel", the team studied Chinese ceramics. This line of thought brought the team to the "nest scheme". The stadium consists of two independent structures, standing 50 feet apart:  red concrete seating bowl and the outer steel frame around it.


In an attempt to hide steel supports for the retractable roof, required in the bidding process, the team developed the "seemingly random additional steel" to blend the supports into the rest of the stadium.Twenty-four trussed columns encase the inner bowl, each one weighing 1,000 tons.Despite random appearance, each half of the stadium is nearly identical. After a collapse of a roof at the Charles de Gaulle International Airport, Beijing reviewed all major projects. It was decided to eliminate the retractable roof, the original inspiration for the "nest" design, as well as 9,000 seats from the design. The removal of the elements helped to bring the project under the reduced construction budget of $290 million, from an original $500 million. With the removal of the retractable roof, the building was lightened, which helped it stand up to seismic activity; however, the upper section of the roof was altered to protect fans from weather.Due to the stadium's outward appearance, it was nicknamed "The Bird's Nest". The phrase was first used by Herzog & de Meuron, though the pair still believes "there should be many ways of perceiving a building."The use is a compliment Li explained, "In China, a bird's nest is very expensive, something you eat on special occasions."

Ground was broken, at the Olympic Green, for Beijing National Stadium on 24 December 2003. At its height, 17,000 construction workers worked on the stadium. In January 2008, The Times reported that 10 workers had died throughout construction; despite denial from the Chinese government.However, in a story the following week, Reuters, with the support of the Chinese government, reported that only two workers had died.All 110,000 tons of steel were made in China, making the stadium the largest steel structure in the world. On 14 May 2008, the grass field of 7,811 square meters was laid in 24 hours. The field is a modular turf system by GreenTech ITM. Beijing National Stadium officially opened at a ceremony on 28 June 2008. (courtesy of wikipedia)

Civil Engineering

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Posted by pucca | Posted on 11:20 PM

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Civil Engineering is one of the oldest engineering disciplines. It is a professional discipline that deals with design, construction and maintenance of roads, buildings, dams, canals and other infrastractures. Civil Engineering's early beginnings can be considered when man started to abandon their nomadic existence. Man started creating shelter. The construction of the Pyramids can be considered as one of the first large construction in history. Through time, Civil Engineering developed and were classified into several sub-disciplines.

Environmental Engineering deals with the treatment of chemical, biological, and/or thermal waste, the purification of water and air, and the remediation of contaminated sites, due to prior waste disposal or accidental contamination.Among the topics covered by environmental engineering are pollutant transport, water purification, waste water treatment, air pollution, solid waste treatment and hazardous waste management. Environmental engineers can be involved with pollution reduction, green engineering, and industrial ecology.

Geotechnical engineering is an area of civil engineering concerned with the rock and soil that civil engineering systems are supported by. Knowledge from the fields of geology, material science and testing, mechanics, and hydraulics are applied by geotechnical engineers to safely and economically design foundations, retaining walls, and similar structures. Environmental concerns in relation to groundwater and waste disposal have spawned a new area of study called geoenvironmental engineering where biology and chemistry are important

Water resources engineering is concerned with the collection and management of water (as a natural resource). As a discipline it therefore combines hydrology, environmental science, meteorology, geology, conservation, and resource management. This area of civil engineering relates to the prediction and management of both the quality and the quantity of water in both underground (aquifers) and above ground (lakes, rivers, and streams) resources.

Material engineering deals with ceramics such as concrete, mix asphalt concrete, metals Focus around increased strength, metals such as aluminum and steel, and polymers such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and carbon fibers.

Materials engineering also consists of protection and prevention like paints and finishes. Alloying is another aspect of material engineering, combining two different types of metals to produce a stronger metal.


Structural engineering is concerned with the structural design and structural analysis of buildings, bridges, towers, flyovers, tunnels, off shore structures like oil and gas fields in the sea, and other structures.

Surveying is the process by which a surveyor measures certain dimensions that generally occur on the surface of the Earth. Surveying equipment, such as levels and theodolites, are used for accurate measurement of angular deviation, horizontal, vertical and slope distances.

Transportation engineering is concerned with moving people and goods efficiently, safely, and in a manner conducive to a vibrant community. This involves specifying, designing, constructing, and maintaining transportation infrastructure which includes streets, canals, highways, rail systems, airports, ports, and mass transit. It includes areas such as transportation design, transportation planning, traffic engineering, some aspects of urban engineering, queueing theory, pavement engineering, Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), and infrastructure management.


Municipal engineering is concerned with municipal infrastructure. This involves specifying, designing, constructing, and maintaining streets, sidewalks, water supply networks, sewers, street lighting, municipal solid waste management and disposal, storage depots for various bulk materials used for maintenance and public works (salt, sand, etc), public parks and bicycle paths. In the case of underground utility networks, it may also include the civil portion (conduits and access chambers) of the local distribution networks of electrical and telecommunications services. It can also include the optimizing of garbage collection and bus service networks.








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