Answer to Question #156433 in Civil and Environmental Engineering for Usman

Question

Explain briefly, if you are to design a shopping plaza somewhere in Murree. What will be your approach for the investigation of soil before designing the structure? All the investigation steps should be supported with technical reasoning.  

Answer 1

Before designing the engineering elements of a megastructure full information of the soil for the foundation is a priority. Geotechnical investigations, laboratory testing, and ecological factors form part of the preliminaries that a civil engineer needs to consider. Engineering properties are identified and calculated through laboratory tests to determine strength and deformation parameters. Moreover, soil conditions and parameters like soil moisture form part of the critical elements used to come up with a desirable design for the plaza. Climatic conditions such as the amount of precipitation, prevailing wind patterns, and the groundwater analysis dictate the types of materials used in constructing major structural elements like foundation. Geological conditions also form part of the predesign stages by employing geological maps and analysis of geological conditions such as volcanic processes, faults, earthquakes, and the formation of soils. Knowledge of the ground condition forms a significant basis for the design and, finally, the structure's intended purpose.