3. Answer the following questions and give examples.

1.Why are the aesthetic characteristics of materials so important?

2.What should civil engineer teaming up with the architect make sure about the aesthetic characteristics of the facility?

3.Where does a certain percentage of the capital budget typically go toward?

4.What things are more difficult to deal with than technical design project?

TEXT 10

1. Answer the following question and read the text below to check your answer.

What does sustainable design deal with as part of civil engineering?

Sustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment and services to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability. Specifically, civil and construction engineers should be concerned with design and construction decisions which are sensitive to both the current and future needs of society. The materials used for a civil engineering project are a fundamental consideration for determining the sustainability of a project.

While sustainable design is a philosophy, implementation of the concept requires direct and measureable actions. To this end the Green Building Council developed the Leadership in Environment and Energy Design, LEED, building rating system.

The LEED rating system is used to evaluate the sustainability of a project. Elements of the project are rated in several areas. Based on the cumulative rating the project is awarded a status of Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum. For new construction and major renovations the rating areas include:

–sustainable sites;

–water efficiency;

–energy and atmosphere;

–materials and resources;

–indoor environmental quality;

–innovation in design;

–regional priority.

The items considered in the Materials and Resource area include:

–storage and collection of recyclables;

–building reuse–maintain existing walls, floors and roof, interior walls and nonstructural elements;

–construction waste management;

–materials reuse;

–recycled content;

–regional materials;

–rapidly renewable materials;

–certified wood.

If an owner wishes to pursue a specific level of LEED certification, the engineer is charged with the responsibility of selecting materials which meet the functional requirements of the building and provide the desired LEED rating. For example, by selecting regional materials the LEED rating is increased and there may be little or no impact on the cost of the facility.

In addition to the direct tie to the materials and resources, there are other areas of the LEED certification that are affected by material selection. Selection of engineered wood products which are fabricated with glues rated for low off gassing of volatile organic compounds, VOC, improves the LEED score with respect to Indoor Environmental Quality. Selection of a porous pavement surface for parking lots improves the LEED score for site development.

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Vocabulary:

Implementation of the concept — реализация концепции.

Sustainable design — устойчивый дизайн.

Cumulative — совокупный.

To pursue — продолжать.

Porous pavement — пористое дорожное покрытие.

2. Decide whether the following statements are true or false according to the text.

1. Sustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical objects.

2. Civil and construction engineers shouldn’t be concerned with design and construction decisions because they will be found on their own.

3. The sustainability of a project is determined by the materials used for building. 4. The WEED rating system is used to evaluate the sustainability of a project.

5. Selection of engineered wood products which are fabricated with glues supposes making sure low off gassing of volatile organic compounds.

3. Answer the following questions and give examples.

1.What decisions should civil and construction engineers be concerned with ?

2.How can sustainable design be regarded?

3.What does the implementation of the concept require?

4.What purposes is the LEED rating system used for?

5.What new construction and major renovations do the rating areas include?

TEXT 11

Laboratory Measuring Devices

1. Answer the following question and read the text below to check your answer.

What tests are building materials subjected to prior to starting using them?

Laboratory tests measure material properties. Frequently, specimens are made of the material in question and tested in the laboratory to measure their response to the applied forces or to certain environmental conditions. These tests require the measurement of certain parameters such as time, deformation, or force. Some of these parameters are measured directly, while others are measured indirectly by relating parameters to each other. Length and deformation can be measured directly using simple devices such as rulers, dial gauges, and calipers. In other cases, indirect measurements are made by measuring electric voltage and relating it to deformation, force, stress, or strain. Examples of such devices include linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs), strain gauges, and load cells. Noncontact deformation measuring devices using lasers and various optical devices are also available. Electronic measuring devices can easily be connected to chart recorders, digital readout devices, or computers, where the results can be easily displayed and processed.

Each device has a certain sensitivity, which is the smallest value that can be read on the device’s scale. Sensitivity should not be mistaken for accuracy or precision.

Magnification can be designed into a gauge to increase its sensitivity, but wear, friction, noise, drift, and other factors may introduce errors that limit the accuracy and precision.

Measurement accuracy cannot exceed the sensitivity of the measuring device. For example, if a stopwatch with a sensitivity of 0,01 second is used to measure time, the smallest time interval that can be recorded is also 0,01 second. The selection of the measuring device and its sensitivity depends on the required accuracy of measurement.

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The required accuracy, on the other hand, depends on the significance and use of the measurement. For example, when expressing distance of travel from one city to another, an accuracy of 1 kilometer or even 10 kilometers may be meaningful.

In contrast, manufacturing a computer microchip may require an accuracy of one millionth of a meter or better. In engineering tests, the accuracy of measurement must be determined in advance to ensure proper use of such measurements and, at the same time, to avoid unnecessary effort and expense during testing. Many standardized test methods, such as those of ASTM and AASHTO, state the sensitivity of the measuring devices used in a given experiment. In any case, care must be taken to ensure proper calibration, connections, use, and interpretation of the test results of various measuring devices.

Next we will briefly describe measuring devices commonly used in material testing, such as dial gauges, linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs), strain gauges, proving rings, and load cells.

Vocabulary:

dial gauges — циферблатные индикаторы; calipers — штангенциркуль;

digital readout devices — цифровые считывающие устройства.

2. Decide whether the following statements are true or false according to the text.

1.Laboratory tests measure material properties.

2.The tests aimed to check the properties of materials require the measurement of certain parameters such as time, strain, or strength.

3.Length and deformation can be measured directly using simple devices such as rulers, dial gauges, and calipers.

4.It’s hard to connect electronic measuring devices to chart recorders, digital readout devices, or computers.

5.Computers are used to process data obtained from taking readings of the meters.

3.Answer the following questions and give examples.

1.What do laboratory tests measure?

2.What parameters are measured directly and what are measured indirectly?

3.How can sensitivity be found?

4.Why can magnification be designed for?

5.How accuracy is achieved?

TEXT 12

1. Answer the following question and read the text below to check your answer.

What role do the aggregates play in the construction area and how are they classified?

There are two main uses of aggregates in civil engineering: as an underlying material for foundations and pavements and as ingredients in Portland cement and asphalt concretes. By dictionary definition, aggregates are a combination of distinct parts gathered into a mass or a whole. Generally, in civil engineering the term aggregate means a mass of crushed stone, gravel, sand, etc., predominantly composed of individual particles, but in some cases including clays and silts. The largest particle size in aggregates may have a diameter as large as 150 mm (6 in.), and the smallest particle can be as fine as 5 to 10 microns.

Due to the differences in the size of the aggregate particles, four terms are defined to facilitate the discussion of the general size characteristics of aggregates:

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Course aggregates: aggregate particles that are retained on a 4.75 mm sieve (No. 4). A 4.75

mmsieve has openings equal to 4.75 mm between the sieve wires.

A No. 4 sieve has four openings per linear inch. The 4.75 mm sieve is the metric equivalent to a

No. 4 sieve.

Fine aggregates: aggregate particles that pass a 4.75 mm sieve (No. 4).

Maximum aggregate size: The smallest sieve through which 100 percent of the aggregates pass. Nominal maximum aggregate size: The largest sieve that retains any of the aggregate, but generally

not more than 10 percent.

These are the traditional definitions for the maximum and nominal maximum aggregate sizes. However, they are not entirely satisfactory. To be definitive, terms such as “generally” should not be used. The other problem with these definitions is the possibility that the maximum aggregate size may be two or more standard sieve sizes larger than the nominal maximum aggregate size. To overcome these problems, these terms were redefined when the Superpave mix design method was introduced in the 1990s. The Superpave definitions are:

Maximum aggregate size: One sieve size larger than the nominal maximum aggregate size. Nominal maximum aggregate size: One sieve larger than the first sieve to retain more than 10

percent of the aggregates.

The traditional and Superpave definitions usually yield the same results, but on occasion the differences in the definitions will result in different size classifications of an aggregate stockpile. In these cases, the engineer must take care that the proper specifications and definitions are used per the job requirements.

Vocabulary:

Aggregate — совокупный.

Crushed stone — щебень.

To facilitate — для облегчения. A sieve — сито.

A stockpile — запас.

2. Decide whether the following statements are true or false according to the text.

1.There are three main uses of aggregates in civil engineering: as an underlying material for foundations and pavements, as ingredients in Portland cement and asphalt concretes and as basic material for plastering.

2.An aggregate may refer to such materials as crushed stone, gravel, sand, etc. on one hand and binder on the other.

3.The largest particle size in aggregates may have a diameter as large as 50 mm (6 in.), and the smallest particle can be as fine as 50 to 100 microns.

4.Despite the traditional definitions existing for the maximum and nominal maximum aggregate sizes, they are not entirely satisfactory.

5.The engineer must take care that the proper specifications and definitions are used per the job requirements.

3.Answer the following questions and give examples.

1.What uses of aggregates in civil engineering are there?

2.What can you tell about course aggregates?

3.What about fine aggregates?

4.What about maximum aggregate size and nominal maximum aggregate size?

5.How different aggregates influence the quality of materials?

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