Browsing by Author "Shibru, Mekonnen"

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    Developing Supporting Software for Analysis. Design and Cost Estimation of Commonly Used Reinforced Condrete Foundations
    (Addis Ababa University, 2003-07) Shibru, Mekonnen; Haile, Mesele (PhD)
    Key words: Supporting Analysis And Design Software;Supporting Cost Estimation Software; Foundation Selection. The choice of the most appropriate type of foundation for structures is one of the challenges a civil design engineer faces. Different structural systems and loads from the super structure, hetrogenous soil conditions and variations of soil strength parameters with change in soil moisture makes determining the most appropriate foundation type a tedious process. Besides engineering consideration ,the variation in cost of construction materials and labour for the different foundation types and for different locations of projects makes the choice of the most appropriate foundation (function and cost) an extremely time consuming process. This practical difficulty has led most design engineers to opt for one type of foundation based on engineering judgment and experience. This not so rational process is not expected to lead to optimal design , it may even end up with erroneous design. In this thesis an attempt is made to develop a computer program that requires super structural input as foundation reaction and soil data and does analysis. Once design is completed the quantity of material and labour is calculated and cost comparison is made. Ultimately the functional best and economical foundation type is chosen in a matter of minutes. This enables design engineers to get an optimal solution in the foundation system at the same time saving design time.