An articles briefly examines the causes and prevention of fire damages Fire can cause damages to buildings in four ways: Actual burning during fire, Heat generated during fire, Smoke from fire, Problems during extinguishing of fire. A brief account of damages possible is discussed below: Actual burning during fire: Effects of actual burning during fire are confined to combustible … Read more
The problem of expansive soils was not recognized until the late 1930s. Then, cracks on brick wall structures of light buildings were attributed to bad workmanship or foundation settlements. The first recorded observation about soil heaving was made by USBR in 1938 associated with foundation for a steel siphon on Owyhee Project in Oregon. For … Read more
This article presents technology and materials of rehabilitation, as practiced for a G+4 building in Chennai. This is not intended to be of diagnostic or design significance. Minor Damages Jacketing with micro-concrete was adopted for columns in the initial stage of corrosion with minor damages such as narrow cracks and discolouration, without appreciable damage to … Read more
Review of recently popular bio-digester systems used instead of conventional septic tanks Introduction This article presents an executive appraisal of bio-digester systems used in place of conventional septic tanks, for domestic sewage processing. A system that is gaining popularity is developed and promoted jointly by the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) and Indian Railways. … Read more
Explaining a popular viral video with a bottle magically hanging from the edge of a table. While we write this post in June 2020, during COVID times, there is a video that is widely circulated on social media, showing a bottle of water magically defying gravity by hanging from a cantilever without counterweight. This is … Read more