CE Summer Practice - Izet Mehmetaj 2014

REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
EPOKA UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

SUMMER PRACTICE
JOURNAL

Name Surname: Izet Mehmetaj

TIRANA 2014

Certified
Photograph
of Student

Name and Surname of Student :……………………………………………….....

Year and Number :…………………………………………………….

Name and Address of Firm or Organization :…………………………………………………….

Period for Compulsory Practice :…………………………………………………….

Submission Date of Report :…………………………………………………….

Signature of Student :…………………………………………………….

Report Graded by :……………………………………………………

Grade: S/U(Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory) :…………………………………………………….

Date :…………………………………………………....

Signature :…………………………………………………….

EPOKA UNIVERSITY Certified
Faculty of Architecture and Engineering Photograph
Civil Engineering Department Of Student
ENGINEERING PRACTICE PERFORMANCE REPORT

CONFIDENTIAL
Name and Surname of Student :………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Class – Year :………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Name of Organization :………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Beginning and End of Training :………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Minimum Period of Training :………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Name of Compulsory Training : CE 300 CE 400

Evaluation of Engineering Practice
Period of
Department Practice Interest in job Attendance Performance Remarks
(Weeks)

Grades : (A) Excellent Date :………………....................
(B) Good Name of Supervisor :……………………………………
(C) Fair Title of Supervisor :……………………………………
(D) Poor Official Stamp and
(F) Unsatisfactory Signature :……………………………………

Note: It is requested that one copy of this form be filled out and sent directly to the address below
and second copy retained in your file.
Engineering Practice Committee
Epoka University
Faculty of Architecture and Engineering
Civil Engineering Department
Tirana/Albania
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
This part will be filled by the Engineering Practice Committee

Advisor who Examined the Report
Introduction :…………………………. Name and Surname :.................. ……..
Main Text Report :…………………………. Date :……………………….
Conclusion :………………………….. Signature :……………………….
Overall Evaluation
Of Report :…………………………..

EPOKA UNIVERSITY
Certified
Civil Engineering Department Photograph
ENGINEERING PRACTICE PERFORMANCE REPORT Of Student

CONFIDENTIAL
Name and Surname of Student :………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Class – Year :………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Name of Organization :………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Beginning and End of Training :………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Minimum Period of Training :………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Name of Compulsory Training : CE 300 CE 400

Evaluation of Engineering Practice
Period of
Department Practice Interest in job Attendance Performance Remarks
(Weeks)

Grades : (A) Excellent Date :………………....................
(B) Good Name of Supervisor :……………………………………
(C) Fair Title of Supervisor :……………………………………
(D) Poor Official Stamp and
(F) Unsatisfactory Signature :……………………………………

Note: It is requested that one copy of this form be filled out and sent directly to the address below
and second copy retained in your file.
Epoka University
Tirana/Albania
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
This part will be filled by the Engineering Practice Committee

Advisor who Examined the Report
Introduction :…………………………. Name and Surname :.................. ……..
Main Text Report :…………………………. Date :……………………….
Conclusion :………………………….. Signature :……………………….
Overall Evaluation
Of Report :…………………………..

EPOKA UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING
PRINCIPLES FOR ENGINEERING PRACTICE

1. Students of Engineering Departments, Epoka University, in order to quality for B.S
(Engineering) degree, are required to complete a minimum of 30 workdays industrial
Engineering practice in addition to their regular courses and laboratory work

2. The year for practice, its duration, subject to be covered, time to be spent on each topic
selected for the summer practice are specified by the department concerned

3. Each department has an “Engineering Practice Advisory Committee” including at least one
member of teaching staff. Members of the committee are selected by the department
chairman. This committee administers the department’s summer practice affairs reporting
to the department chairman.

4. The Faculty of Engineering has a “Faculty Engineering Practice Board” that meets when
necessary. This board is composed of and advisor from all departments that have such a
committee. They meet under chairmanship of the Dean or one of his assistants and ensure
that the engineering practice producers are performed according to methods common to
the departments.

5. Each student is responsible for finding a working place for himself that is acceptable to his
department, and for completing his engineering work in a satisfactory manner. The
engineering practice vacancies of department, on the other hand, are distributed to the
prospective students by the departments engineering practice advisors giving priorities in
order of graduation status academic achievement, and the use of the previous engineering
practice assignments, or by drawing lots.

6. Students who find their own working places must submit to the departmental committee,
before starting, satisfactory information about their work place, and should obtain their
approval. For places for which approval has not been obtained, responsibility rests with the
students.

7. All the students can do their practice inside or outside Albania everywhere they want.

8. Each student to start work should obtain an “Engineering Practice Journal”. In this journal
there is general information about engineering work and necessary forms are given. The
student records daily all the work he has performed during the work duration according to
the department engineering practice program, and later passes all these records into the
notebook in accordance with “Essentials of Engineering Practice Report”. The student
submits the report to the committee during, registration period of semester, following
engineering practice. This date may be delayed for sometime by the advisory committee.
Those students who do not submit reports at the end of this period are considered not to
have done their practice. In addition to this report departments may ask for documents
covering, other information about their work. Reports of students who satisfactory
complete their practice. Are returned to them.

9. If a student has not written his reports to acceptable standards and if his practice was
satisfactory, he is asked to improve the report within two weeks. Those students who do
not hand in the required report within this period, or those whole reports are rejected, are
required to repeat this Engineering practice.

10. Each student, at the start of the engineering practice is required to deliver to the employer
the engineering training performance forms, marked “confidential” in the journal. At the
end of the practice, one of these forms is sent directly to the department advisory
committee by registered post. The student is responsible for ensuring this. The other copy
is retained in the employer’s files.

11. The student who gets an (F) average on his performance report, or who has (F) for the
attendance status, is required to report the engineering practice.

12. The record of each student who satisfactorily completes his work is sent by the
Department to the Registrar’s Office where it is entered into his University record

13. The first summer practice is required to be a field practice and the second one to be a
design office practice.

14. Students should apply to the department summer practice coordinators for questions and
problems regarding the summer practice.

15. Students are recommended to consult the department summer practice coordinators
before formally applying a company for summer practice. The department summer
practice coordinators may contact the company if needed.

16. The students are obliged to identify the company in which they will perform the summer
practice. An acceptance letter from the company should be submitted to the department
within the specified deadline. The acceptance letter should clearly state the company’s
name, field of activity, and contact address and it has to be submitted before the beginning
of the final exams.

ESSENTIALS OF ENGINEEERING REPORT
1. The report should be in accordance with the requirements of the engineering practice
program and engineering practice principles

2. The report must be in English and printed in ink, or typed. If typed, the typed pages must be
attached to the blank pages of the journal and the total number of page should not be less
than 25‐30 pages.

3. The main headings are to be centered and written in block letters. The subtitles must be in
small capitals and underscored. Drawings should conform to acceptable engineering
standards

4. Each report should contain the following sections:
a. Table of contents with corresponding page numbers.

b. Descriptions of the organizations where the engineering training took place:

‐
Name of Organization
‐
Structure of the Organization
‐
Location of the Organization
‐
Number of technical persons employed
‐
Number of engineers employed
‐
Main sphere of activity
‐
Brief history of the organization
‐
First‐ cost analysis (labor, energy, depreciates, unit – cost, sale price, etc.)

c. Introductions: In this section the following, should be presented.
Briefly: Purpose and scope of the engineering practice

d. Main Text of Report: In this section everything that has been done and observed
in the organization should be explained in full detail, taking into consideration
the program outlined by each department for the second and third year student.
The data, tables and diagrams should be numbered and placed in the appendix.

e. Conclusion: In this section the student should assess the experience gained as a
result of the engineering practice. Discussion of the technical operation of the
organization and suggestions should also be included.

f. References (If any)

g. Appendix X: All the data, tables and drawing should be placed in this section.

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
ENGINEERING PRACTICE PROGRAM

Second Year: CE 300 Engineering Practice (Non‐Credit)

Topics that are acceptable for engineering practice in CE 300:
1. All kinds of surveying and topographical work.
2. Quality control of construction material.
3. Surveying, time‐keeping, assisting resident engineering staff.
4. Preparing quantity and cost estimates.
5. Preparing civil engineering drawings and graphs.
6. Use of computational tools and machines, e.g. computers, calculators, planimeters,
slide rules charts.
7. Taking part in construction work.
(Minimum 6 weeks; 30 working days)

Third Year: CE 400 Engineering Practice (Non‐Credit)

Topics that are acceptable for engineering practice in CE 400:
1. Advanced surveying.
2. Concrete mix design, production and placement.
3. Project application at site; size of work‐site, layout‐reporting and assignment system
at work. Degree of mechanization (standard and special equipments). Productivity
and efficiency of labor and equipment at site.
4. Highway design: highway route studies, preparation of mass diagrams, highway
profiles, grade lines, earth‐work calculations, economic analysis.
5. Fluid mechanics; calculation of fluid forces on bodies, dimensional analysis, boundary
layer and surface tension calculation, experiments in fluid mechanics.
6. Open channel hydraulics: design of channels for uniform flow, computation of
gradually carried flow, hydraulic pump and spillway calculations.
7. Structural design: structural analysis, calculation of internal forces, axial and shearing
force, torsion and bending moment diagrams for beams, columns and frames, design
of cross sections of structural elements.
8. Taking part in reinforced concrete work.
9. All types of environmental concrete work.
10. Common laboratory soil tests; determination of characteristics of soils, elementary
soil mechanics problems and simple ground investigation.
(Minimum 6 weeks; 30 working days)

PRESENTATION OF THE SUMMER PRACTICE
1. Presentation dates will be announced after the reports are submitted.
2. Presentations should be prepared in power point.
3. Presentation should take 7‐10 min
4. Students are expected to answer questions about their presentations or reports at the end of
their presentation.
5. The presentations and reports will be evaluated by at least two of department lectures and
then the students will be graded as successful or unsuccessful.
6. In order to make the presentation the students have to submit their reports before the
beginning of fall midterm exams.

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Title &Name of Supervisor Signature of Supervisor

Table of content

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 11
Part 1: Design, engineering drawings, quantity and cost estimates, assisting
engineering staff ........................................................................................................................................... 12
Description of the organization .................................................................................................... 13
Office design work ............................................................................................................................. 14
Engineering drawing standards, drawing types, technical and implementation

drawings, drawing organization format, drawing set organization ................................. 17
AutoCAD ................................................................................................................................................ 21
Preparing quantity and cost estimates ....................................................................................... 24
Part 2: Quality control of construction materials, testing and engineering ...................... 26
Introduction to laboratory facilities and work practices, test methods, testing
guidelines and specifications ......................................................................................................... 29
Proctor compaction test (density/moisture relationship) .................................................... 30
Asphalt binder course cutting core samples: bulk density determination
................................................................................................................................................................. 33
Determination of crushed and broken surfaces of aggregates course ............................. 35
Compressive strength on solid concrete ..................................................................................... 37
CBR (California Bearing Ratio) on laboratory compacted soils ......................................... 39
Bitumen content determination (Extraction) ........................................................................... 42
Part 3: Project application on‐site ........................................................................................................ 44
Introduction to construction work site ....................................................................................... 46
Beam reinforcement .......................................................................................................................... 48
Flat waffle slab reinforcement ..................................................................................................... 49
Placement of waffle polystyrene pods. Mesh reinforcement ............................................... 51
Investigation on the reinforcement work. Fabrication of column reinforcement cages

................................................................................................................................................................. 52
Pouring of concrete ........................................................................................................................... 53
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Curing of concrete ............................................................................................................................ 55
Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................................... 56
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INTRODUCTION
This journal provides a general description about my engineering practice involving 34 workdays. The
engineering practice was accomplished between 14.07.2014 and 23.08.2014 period of time. The
engineering practice was held in three different workplaces comprising field practice, design office
and lab training. All the work recorded in full detail in this journal is been separated in three main
parts:
 Part1: Design, engineering drawings, quantity and cost estimates, assisting engineering staff.
The engineering training involving these topics took place at “Illyrian Consulting Engineers”
sh.p.k (Tirana, Albania) for 12 working days.
 Part 2: Quality control of construction materials, testing and engineering.
The engineering training involving these topics took place at “Nord‐Comat Construction
Materials Laboratory” sh.p.k (Tirana, Albania) for 10 working days.
 Part 3: Project application on‐site.
The engineering training involving this topic took place at “K.R‐AAL‐KONSTRUKSION” sh.p.k
(Vlore, Albania) for 12 working days.
At the first part, a general description of the working experience (14.07.2014‐26.07.2014) at
consulting design office is provided. For the second part, a daily work recording of 9 workdays is
made for the lab testing and engineering. At the third part, a step by step description of work
activities for constructing a waffle pod concrete slab is given covering 11 working days out of 12. The
journal is been prepared in accordance with “Essentials of Engineering Practice Report”.
Attending the summer practice was a productive way of learning about civil engineering field. It
provided me with a set of skills and gave me a hand‐on while improving my professional abilities.

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PART I
Design, Egineering Drawings, Quantity and Cost Estimates,
Assisting Engineering Staff

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DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANIZATION

Name of the organization: “Illyrian Consulting Engineers” sh.p.k

Structure of the organization:

ASSEMBLY
CEO
Administrative department Technical department

Location of the organization: Tirana, Albania.

Number of technical persons employed: more than 20 professionals

Number of engineers employed: 12

Main sphere of activity: development of technical solutions and extended top‐level consultancy
and advising services to state entities and other financial bodies regarding infrastructure and civil
works.

Brief history of the organization: “Illyrian Consulting Engineers” sh.p.k is a private consulting
company in the field of engineering founded in Albania in 2006 that is composed of a wide
number of professionals that have been working together even before the birth of this company.
ICE is organized into 3 highlighted departments: Transportation, Hydropower, and
Environmental, the first two being the most active. We can proudly state that ICE has been a
distinguished companion of all the recent changes in Albania, and developed new ideas to the
respective Albanian market. Since its establishment ICE has designed highways, motorways, rural
roads, HPP‐s, outstanding penstocks with water pressure up to 1000m, supervised more than
1500km of road construction, supervised the largest motorway project in Albania, and the story
goes on. ICE has developed several software for internal use to increase the efficiency and
quality of the design. Since 2012 ICE follows the quality management system of ISO 9001 2008
and certified accordingly. In September 2013 ICE has received International Star Quality Award in
Genève for applying QC100 Total Quality Management Model.

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*The information above is taken from the website of the company.
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OFFICE DESIGN WORK
My training at Illyrian Consulting Engineers Company was developed at Highway and Energy
department which is mainly concentrated on providing supervision, consultancy and design solutions
for infrastructure, energetic and environmental projects. At the first day, I was introduced with the
organization, staff, services, technical division and some of the projects they had worked with like
HPP‐s (particularly 8.3MW Ternova H.P.P) and road construction (reconstruction of Hotolisht‐Frar
road) for which they also provided me with the corresponding set of plans to get familiar with the
drawings and their design details. During this day I was able to realize that being a consultant
department in field of engineering stands for making recommendations and providing advising
services in form of engineering drawings to meet construction market needs (this briefly explains
what a consulting engineering company is, a question asked by my supervisor at the end of this day).
During the second day, I was taught that every project is unique and has a development cycle under
technical specifications and standards that should be optimized and take into consideration by the
designer (consultant engineer) with the main purpose of meeting the clients and market
requirements. The design office at this department managed to have such a project development
cycle organization:
 the interested individuals/entities at stake for constructing;
 technical project development;
 approval/withdrawal of the provided technical solution;
 implementation set of drawings for project execution.
A brief explanation for each of cycle’s phases is given as follows:
 The interested individuals/entities at stake for constructing or the client include
individuals, partnerships or government which define what the project they want to
construct include.
 Technical project developments make recommendations for the technical solutions, are
developed by the design professionals and include plans, section drawings, design and
drawing details and technical considerations.
 Approval/withdrawal of the provided technical solution: the client checks the
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recommended solution and may approve or disapprove them.
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 Implementation set of drawings for project execution includes the technical project plus
all the necessary details, technical notes and other constructing details necessary for the
physically construction of the project.
From the company engineering experience, in some of the cases the developed technical solution is
predeceased by feasibility studies. Feasibility studies assess the viability of a project in very early
stage of its development. In Albania the concept of conducting a feasibility study isn’t practicable or
in some cases they are not professionally conducted. However, the Highway and Energy department
made it possible to work on and provide such service. A good example of that was the feasibility
study for the Lepenci Hydropower Plant which they were assessing at the time I had my training. The
study was conducted for the Kosovo state authorities and analyzed the potential of the proposed
task under a set of assumptions like environmental, legal, economic and social aspects, availability of
services, site, and legal restrictions and so on. This study was focused in providing information
regarding the total amount of the energy being produced, the total cost of construction work, the
time required for the construction, technology used, financial analysis for the investment and its
future worth, benefits etc. For the credibility of the study itself, the study also involved drawings for
construction works and their engineering aspect to help the investors decide. This feasibility study
was structured like that: Introduction part; Hydrology, Hydraulic and Energy considerations; Civil
work involving hydroelectric structures; the proposed alternatives and their evaluation; Cost
estimations and bill of quantities; financial assessment; Conclusion and recommendations; Appendix
(bill of quantities, drawing for construction works).
In most of the cases, the provided feasibility study by Highway and Energy department is
composed considering this guideline:
1. Introduction (background, project objectives, project description)
2. Project site and physical environment (project area description: biophysical conditions,
vegetation characteristics, social and economic considerations)
3. Alternative analysis (alternatives are aligned and some conclusions and

recommendations on the best alternative is made)
4. Civil works ( facilities to be constructed)
5. Schedule and construction planning (project management)
6. Project cost estimate (cost estimation for the implementation of a project)
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7. Financial analysis (engineering economy, future worth of the investment)
8. Conclusions and recommendations
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9. References
10. Appendix (images, project schedule, bill of quantities, drawings)
Assisting in the conducting process of a feasibility study made me familiar with this process and its
importance in construction industry as well.

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ENGINEERING DRAWING STANDARDS, DRAWING TYPES, TECHNICAL AND IMPLEMENTATION
DRAWINGS, DRAWING ORGANIZATION FORMAT, DRAWING SET ORGANIZATION
At my fourth day of internship at Highway and Energy department I was introduced with some
essentials of the company drawing standards for the preparation, revision, and completion of
engineering drawings. In order to produce interpretable drawings the current department had
developed their internal office standards as an approach to Albanian and international drawing
standards manuals to work and organize their electronic CAD data. In Albania there are a few
graphing standards in the construction industry relating to drawing, so the department managed to
make available in the most of their design practices some international drawing standards like U.S
National CAD standards for Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (A/E/C) or in some other
cases working in accordance with specifications and optimization standards for the designer provided
by the interested party for the design activity and project development (a good example of that for
which I had the chance to have a look on was the Tirana Business Park optimization
standards).Concerning all these I realized that the standardization of design practices makes easy the
communication between designers (consultant engineers in this case) and those who will use the
drawings.
Like so, a description of the office standards about drawing sheet layout (Fig.1) is given below:
DRAWING AREA
Fig.1‐ Sheet layout
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TITLE BLOCK AREA

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This standardized sheet layout organization provides a good example of sheet format, easier
graphical information management and clear title block information. As illustrated in the figure
above, the sheet format is divided in two main areas: drawing area and title block area. The drawing
area is that part of the sheet where the graphic data is developed and is composed of drawing blocks
and note blocks. The title block area is that part of the sheet organized in some data blocks
containing project, client, designer, sheet identification, and sheet management information
necessary for the user of the sheet. The Fig.2 demonstrates the current sheet organization used for
the drawing area. As it is noticed, generally the drawing area itself is made up of drawing blocks
(which contains graphical information) and note blocks (which contains keynotes and general notes).

DRAWING BLOCKS

Fig.2‐ Drawing area
organization

NOTE BLOCK

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Moreover, to create uniform design documentation and to ensure consistency as well the
department had developed a standardized method for title block area to organize all the necessary
information concerning what is presented graphically in a drawing sheet. The Fig.3 illustrates the title
block format most commonly used by the department.

Fig.3‐ Title block format

Referring to Fig.3, the current title block area consists of some data blocks. Generally, these data
blocks contain:

‐ Designer identification block (identifies the designer/preparer of the sheet but may also
include the owner/client name or logo)
Fig. 3.1, Fig.3.2.

Fig.3.1 Fig.3.2

‐ Project identification block (identifies the project name) Fig.3.3.

Fig.3.3

‐ Sheet title block (specifies the type of graphical information presented on the sheet)
Fig.3.4.

Fig.3.4

‐ Sheet identification block (indicates the project discipline designator, and the sheet
sequence number)
Fig.3.5.

Fig.3.5

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Another approach to standardized methods for which I have a look on was also the file naming
format according to Tirana Business (TBP) optimization standards. As it was mentioned before, the
presentation of the plans had to be prepared in the way that they show all necessary elements for
execution of the work being defined in the contracts with the planners, or in the consultation with
the project participants. This gives explanation of what optimization standards for designer stands
for.
To create a uniform documentation and to organize the files in a systematic fashion the file naming
format is usually structured in a hierarchy manner. This standardized arrangement recommended a
file naming format composed of some data fields separated from one another by a dash. In
accordance with the TBP optimization standards for designer a typical file naming must show these
required data fields illustrated below:

Kind/trade Planning Construction Object System Content Specification Drawing Index
phase phase no. no.
Sheet
Discipline Sheet type
phase phase No. ‐ type No. No.
designator identification
designator
Table 1

The data fields are represented as English abbreviations of construction terms that are easy to
memorize. The standard optimization for TBP also made available a list of abbreviations to define
the content of a file naming format.
To get familiar with this approach an example of file naming format was shown to me (a guideline
that I should take into consideration anytime I have to organize data in a systematic manner). This
file has such a name format: A_DD_II_03_x_F_2_302_02.pdf.

Considering the suggested arrangement for file naming above the content of this file name is
interpreted:

Kind/trade Planning Construction Object System Content Specification Drawing Index
phase phase no. no.
A DD1 (design F (floor

II 03 x2 Second floor 302 02
(architecture) drawings) plan)
Table 2
At the end, I became conscious that there are a number of format options for creating file names
under internal or external influences (office standards or optimization standards for designer) for
different types of project files (model, details, sheet template, text and tables etc.) and the file
naming is the same in labeling and organizing the electronic project files in a given project.

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1
According to TPB optimization standards DD is one of the four planning phases, consisting of required drawings to be released for trade prior elaboration of
execution drawings.
2
If the data field cannot be assigned as an entry, the optimization standards recommended adding an “x” instead.
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AUTOCAD

In my training at Highway and Energy department special importance was placed also in assisting and
working in the creation, adjustment and optimization of a civil design using AutoCAD software. Even
though, I was familiar with this CAD software before, improving my skills while working on it was an
objective for which I have to cope with and accomplished it at the same time throughout all my
workdays at this department. For some of the topics concerned in this part of my training, a detailed
description is made as follow:

Tools to speed the drawing process

While working in a design office the time consumed on preparing the drawings is essential for the
project development. In order to do so, the usage of AutoCAD saves a lot of time but despite this, an
important role on drawing speed increasing has also the working habit of the software’s user. To
facilitate and speed up the drawing process in terms of time, AutoCAD provides a whole range of
modify tools to quickly and accurately work on drawing features. The most significant one are
CHAMFER, MIRROR and OFFSET. The idea behind is to “never draw anything for a second time” and
this helps a lot. Below a clear explanation about these tools’ concept is given.

‐ CHAMFER (shortcut CHA): using this tool, we can connect two objects (lines, polylines etc.)
with one command regarding the way the chamfer command will behave (by specifying
distances, length and angle option etc.)
‐ MIRROR (shortcut MI) using this tool, we can create mirrored copies of a 2D object about a
mirror line. It is useful because helps to create perfectly objects quickly.
‐ OFFSET (shortcut O): this tool is an effective drawing technique for construction drawings
that usually contain many parallel lines or parallel curves. That’s because using this tool we
are able to create with one command a new object parallel to or concentric with a selected
object (line, curve, and circle).

AutoCAD gives you a number of ways to work with, but my supervisor strongly recommended me to
use these tools while working on it in order to be a more productive and time‐efficient user.

Modeling and layout

It was familiar to me that in an AutoCAD drawing there are two drawing areas, model space and
paper space (default tabs named Layout 1 and Layout 2). In order to create a printable drawing
drawn in model space, I was recommended to use paper space layouts (some drawing blank sheets).
So, working on a layout was a topic I have to handle in order to learn the process of creating and
modifying them. Setting up a layout (LAYOUT, LAYOUTWIZARD command) doesn’t get confused if the
layout sheet is thought as a piece of paper in which we wish to have some scaled prints on it. I had
this conclusion because during my training I learnt that in a layout sheet you can fit the model space
drawing on standard sheet sizes, you can use templates or you can generate the layout sheet from an
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existing document. Another thing I faced in understanding the modeling and layout process was the
concept of viewports. That’s because the drawing area of a drawing sheet required an organization of
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the drawing area into drawing blocks that showed different graphical information of the model

drawing. In order to do so, viewports are added into layout (MVIEW command). Once a viewport is
added, you can modify it; you can modify its view, change its content or set it into a required scale.
Setting a viewport into a required scale was also another challenging task. The scale is set relative to
paper space layout and it was explained to me to use the XP value (a zoom factor of drawing) to set a
viewport into a required scale even though there are other options changing the viewport scale. The
example below illustrates the process of plotting to scale within the viewport.

In the considered example Fig.4, (a drawing I have to prepare) the model (intake structure details for
the dam of “Fusha e Zogut” lake, Ternova HPP) is drawn in cm, so 10mm corresponds to 1 drawing
unit. The paper space units are in mm and a template frame for the drawing is provided (Fig.5); the
outer rectangle frame is an A3 sized, 420x297 mm.

Fig.4 Drawing area (model space)

Fig.5 The created paper space layout

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Once a viewport is created the viewport scale is set using the ZOOMFACTOR command (Fig.6). The
required scale for the view (Section 1‐1) is 1:50; the zoom factor is found applying the formula:
XP VALUE= (1000/50)/1000=0.02 (XP VALUE =0.02 for 1 mm)
, so 0.02x10=0.2 for 1 drawing unit; this represent the zoom factor to create the appropriate scaled
viewport 1:50.
The same procedure is followed for the other views of the drawing in the model space.

Fig.6 Setting the viewports Fig.7 Plotted drawing

After doing so, the drawing is ready to be printed (Fig 7).

Plotting and printing of drawings

Plotting and prepare drawings for printing can be sometimes complicated, because it often happened
to me that the output of a drawing when plotted was not correctly scaled. However, during my
training at Highway and Energy department my plotting experience got improved once I learnt that
printing became simple using layouts. For an easy plotting process and without confusion I learnt that
the model must be organized into layouts after we are ensured that some plot settings are correctly
defined. Plot settings (plot dialog box) control the final output of a drawing when printed. In case of
using layouts, paper size of the print out is selected (the size of the outer frame drawn in paper space
same as the example explained before) and I realized that I must use 1:1 full scale for print to plot to
scale in order to have the same configuration as the paper space for the printed drawing.

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PREPARING QUANTITY AND COST ESTIMATES

Another task I was given to work with was to prepare cost estimation for quantity of work for the
construction of a new bridge of Hotolisht‐Frar road with a total length of 12m. Before that, my
supervisor provided me with a work quantity estimation format template to summarize all the
estimations done. The summary sheet was organized based on the following format table worked in
an Excel sheet (Fig.8):
Fig.8 The Excel sheet template table

After that, I got introduced with the necessary drawings of a new bridge that will help me in the
estimation process. The first step was to break the construction of the new bridge into
subcomponents, let’s say work activities. For each work activity the work quantity is calculated in
their respective units and all the data was gathered in an Excel sheet (Fig.9).

Fig.9 The calculated work quantity data

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Pag.

In addition, each calculated quantity was price out using pricing information from “Manuali teknik i
çmimeve”. The cost for each work activity is generated by using the expression:
cost of work activity= quantity x unit price.
At the end, all the costs are added and the total cost for construction of the new bridge is estimated.
The Fig.10 below shows the cost estimate.

Fig.10 Cost estimation table

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part ii
Quality Control Of Construction Materials,

Testing And Engineering

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Name of the organization: “Nord‐Comat Construction Materials Laboratory” sh.p.k

Administrator

Director

Laboratory Supervisor
Technical Division

Mechanical Testing Services
Chemical Analysis Department
Department

Location of the organization: Tirana, Albania.

Number of technical persons employed: 7


Main sphere of activity: Nord‐Comat Construction Materials Laboratory” sh.p.k is an independent
engineering and testing laboratory accredited on 2012 in accordance with SSH ISO/TEC 17025: 2006
and specialized in material testing, quality control and services to applicable construction industry
standards (SSH, EN, ASTM). It provides testing services to clients all around Albania in a wide projects
range from residential and commercial structures, city streets, highways, motorways, multi‐story
buildings etc.

Brief history of the organization: “Nord‐Comat Construction Materials Laboratory” sh.p.k is founded
in 2011 and since its establishment has increased its performance in its adoption process to national
and international standards (SSH, EN, ASTM). The laboratory has been accredited on 2012 by the
Directory of Standardization (DA) in accordance with SSH ISO/TEC 17025: 2006. Every 6 months is
inspected under an accreditation process to ensure accurate construction testing services.
Specializing in material testing, quality control and quality assurance the laboratory is focused on
meeting the quality requirements of today’s construction industry. It provides testing services to
clients all around Albania in a wide project range like residential and commercial structures, city
streets, highways and motorways, multi‐story buildings, load testing of existing structures. The
laboratory offers highly qualified and experienced personnel and laboratory facilities to carry out
construction materials testing and services in the following areas:
‐ Soil, concrete, asphalt aggregate QA/QC testing
‐ Aggregate testing
28
‐ Masonry units
‐ Cement
Pag.
‐ Concrete mixing proportions

‐ Sampling and analysis of existing in place construction materials and building elements
‐ Density and moisture testing
‐ Bitumen content, extraction, bulk specific gravity
‐ Asphalt content determination
‐ Strength
‐ Proctors etc.

Valid test results are the laboratory top priority. The laboratory is dedicated to provide independent,
consistent and reliable assessment for construction materials to applicable industry standards.

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Day 13

Date: 30/07/2014

INTRODUCTION TO LABORATORY FACILITIES AND WORK PRACTICES, TEST METHODS, TESTING
GUIDELINES AND SPECIFICATIONS

At my first day of practice at “Nord‐Comat Construction Materials Laboratory” sh.p.k I had a general
introduction to laboratory facilities and equipments, technical departments, personnel and the main
areas of activity referring the laboratory’s testing work and services in construction industry. The
technical personnel of laboratory was organized in two main departments, chemical analysis
department and mechanical testing services department. Mechanical testing services department
was one for which I was interested more and throughout my training session at this organization I
had to work at this department. Mechanical testing services department provided testing services
and quality control being carried out mostly in the area of transportation infrastructure and building
construction as well.
During this day, I also got introduced with some of working practices of the department referring to
standardization. In order to assure consistent and reliable testing services in the market, the
department had employed a method of working being ratified by Albanian, European and other
international standards like SSH, EN, ASTM etc. I learnt that the testing work update and
accreditation was a continuous process under DA inspection every 6 months. The department made
possible to provide any guideline for testing machine, testing requirements and methods with
reference to the associated standard. These standardized guidelines described in detail methods or
procedures to perform testing services. In this way, familiarizing with how to use standards became a
priority to me. During the day, I realized that most of the standards were adopted by DA to allow
especially more uniform approaches to European standards. For example, SSH EN 933‐1: 1997
referred to a European standard adopted as an Albanian standard (this is what the abbreviations SSH
EN represent).

The main concern of the department was the validity of tests results for meeting the client’s project
goals. In order to do so, the testing equipment and machines were subjected to a calibration
operation under DA inspection and for every result of tests conducted they provided a proper test
report/certificate.
I took interest on everything that was explained to me and my trainer was ready to help me in any
question that could come up.

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Day 14

Date: 31/07/2014

PROCTOR COMPACTION TEST (MOISTURE/DENSITY RELATIONSHIP)

At this day of practice at Mechanical testing services
department I assisted and helped my supervisor to conduct a
Proctor compaction test that would be performed on a granular
soil (<19mm) that would be used for base fills in road
construction. It was said to me that in practice such fills in road
construction are compacted in order to attain appropriate
stability and strength.
To meet these compaction specifications of base fills in field,
the granular soil compaction properties must be determined
first. Considering the new fact for me that the soil compaction is
totally dependent on the amount of water the soil contains, this laboratory method would give an
experimental conclusion which would determine the optimal moisture content at which the granular
soil would become most dense and reach its maximum dry density (the higher is the dry density, the
greater is the stability).
Like so, the granular soil was compacted with reference to SSH EN 13286‐2 at a standardized amount
of compaction energy (compatible to that used into field for compaction) at known moisture to
identify the optimal moisture content for max dry density.

Procedure:

Firstly, the granular soil was separated into 5 molds, each weighting 5500g. The average natural
moisture content of the granular soil was 2.26%. For each sample, the water was added to 2.33%,
4.49%, 6.24%, 8.34% and 10.65% increments.

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Each mold was set into the Proctor compaction machine to be compacted in 5 different layers each
compacted at 56 blows of the standard hammer. The hammer’s contact surface was continuously
clean to ensure a uniform distribution of the compaction.

Then, the process was repeated for each of the moisture contents. At the end, after removing and
drying in the oven some representative amounts of all the samples, dry densities were calculated for
each compacted sample.

Based on these results, a curve (called compaction curve) was plotted in an Excel sheet as a graphical
relationship of the dry density to moisture content. The peak point of this curve corresponded to the
optimal moisture content for which the dry density of the granular soil was reached. The optimal
moisture content for the tested granular soil was resulted to be 5.82%.

At the end, it was interesting to note that while performing the test I noticed that too much water
increments added into the samples made the granular soil squishy resulting in a not uniform
compaction (this supported the new fact for soil compaction that I came up previously).

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Proctor compaction test report

TEST No 1 2 3 4 5
WT. OF MOULD + gr 10856 10856 10856 10856 10856
WT.SOIL
WT. OF MOULD gr 5356 5356 5356 5356 5356
WT. OF WET SOIL gr 5500 5500 5500 5500 5500
WET DENSITY Mg/m3 2.09 2.27 2.36 2.35 2.23

MOISTURE CONTENT 1 2 3 4 5
WT. OF WET SOIL + gr 978.5 957.6 1056.4 1063.5 936.5
TIN
WT. OFDRY SOIL + gr 963.6 927.4 1006.1 1014.3 877.2
TIN
WT. OF TIN gr 325 254.5 200.0 424.5 320.5
WT. OF DRY SOIL gr 638.6 672.9 806.1 589.8 556.7
WT. OF MOISTURE gr 14.9 30.2 50.3 49.2 59.3
MOISTURE CONTENT % 2.33 4.49 6.23 8.32 10.65
DRY DENSITY Mg/m3 2.05 2.18 2.19 2.15 2.02

2.25
Compaction curve
2.21
2.2
DRY DENSITY (Mg/m3)
2.15
2.1
2.05 5.82
2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
MOISTURE CONTENT (%)

MAX DRY DENSITY: 2.21 Mg/m3 OPTIMUM MOISTURE CONTENT: 5.82 %

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Day 15, 16

Date: 01/08/2014‐02/08/2014

ASPHALT BINDER COURSE CUTTING CORE SAMPLES: BULK DENSITY DETERMINATION

This test involved two workdays.
At the first day I was invited to go
together with the technical
personnel at the construction site
(road “Urakё‐Ura e Shoshajve”,
Burrel) to provide in‐situ asphalt
binder cutting core samples. The
road was at the construction stage
where asphalt binder course layer
was placed. Using a core drilling
machine, we managed to core in
total 39 samples every 250 m at
left, axis and right of the road. Each sample was labeled using a number. At the end, we transported
all the samples in lab to test them next day.
The provided samples would be tested in order to give the supervisor that monitored the
construction process enough information to check whether the work done at that stage of the
construction was in compliance with project specifications or not.
At the second day all the provided samples were grubbed by impurities and for each sample the
depth was measured using a calibrated tool. All data was gathered into a table representing the
labeled number of each sample, the length of road when they had been drilled, their position relative
to axis of the road (left, at axis, right) and their depth. The average depth was calculated to be
5.87cm.

The samples would be subjected to a number of tests like porosity determination, Marshall stability
and flow determination, void characteristics and bulk density determination. During this day, I was
34
able to witness the bulk density determination with reference to EN 12697‐5 standard.

Pag.

Procedure:

Firstly, the dry weight of each cutting core sample was measured and denoted as m1.Then, each
sample was dived into water and the weight on water (m2) for each of the samples was recorded.
After that, each sample was wiped out using a wiper and again the weight was recorded and denoted
as m3.

The bulk density was calculated using the formula:

Example 1:

Label m1(gr) m2(gr) m3(gr)
25 557,49 305,45 567, 89

557, 49
980 2083, 3
567, 89 305, 45

The density was calculated for each sample and the average one was determined. The average bulk
density was calculated to be 2520 g/cm3.

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Day 17

Date: 04/08/2014

DETERMINATION OF CRUSHED AND BROKEN SURFACES OF AGGREGATES COURSE

In this day of training at Mechanical testing services department I was able to assist a test method for
aggregates courses used at road construction, especially aggregates used for base course fillers. This
test determines the percentage of crushed particles in aggregates with purpose of checking the
acceptability of aggregate course with respect to road construction project requirements and
specifications for percentage of crushed particles.
In construction practices crushed aggregates are used to fill the base course so determining the
percentage of crushed aggregates is significant because it indicates the degree of bounding of
aggregates mixture. A satisfactory percentage of crushed aggregates with project
requirements/specifications provide a good bond and as a result a good strength to loading. The test
was performed with reference to SSH EN 933‐8: 1998.

Procedure:

The representative sample was obtained by a gradation coarse (the
max dimension of the current aggregate was D=16 mm and min d=4
mm). The sample should be sufficient to yield a minimum of 500 g of
aggregates. According to the standard we were dealing with the case
where D>2d. The represantive sample was washed and dried. The
sample was sieved into five standard sieves conforming to the
standard requirements (25.0 mm, 19.0 mm, 12.5 mm, 9.5 mm and
4.75 mm sieves). After the material was sieved the material retained
on 4.75 mm sieve was weighted. Next, the material was spread in a
flat surface to be examined by visual inspection conforming the
standardized characteristics of crushed aggregates.
The particles were separated into four categories, Mtc ‐total crushed
particles (>90% of surface is crushed), Mc ‐crushed particles (<50% of
surface is crushed), Mr ‐uncrushed particles (<50% of surface is
uncrushed) and Mtr ‐totally uncrushed particles (>90% of surface is
uncrushed). Later for each category the weight of particles was
determined and the values obtained were Mtc=74.2 g, Mc=1558.3 g,
Mr= 132.9 g and Mtr= 1148.6 g.

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The mass of sample at sieve no. 4.75 mm was 658.3 g and the sample mass 2920 g.
. .
The percentage of crushed particles was determined as 100 56%.

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Day 18

Date: 05/08/2014

COMPRESSION STRENGTH TEST ON SOLID CONCRETE

At this day of training I had the
chance to observe one of the most
important tests for concrete usage in
field like compression strength test.
Testing concrete for strength is
mandatory for project application in
order to check whether the concrete
used in field meets the project
strength requirements/specifications.
The test was performed using cube
test specimens (15x15x15 cm). The specimens were poured from the same concrete used in site for
pouring the node where beams should be connected. According to project specifications the
concrete must had a strength grade of C35/40.
Nine cubes specimens were carried out into lab and soaked in water for curing. Each specimen has an
identification mark and its date of manufacture. The specimens would be tested for 3 curing ages
after soaked in water: 3 days, 7 days and 28‐30 days of curing. I assisted in testing the cube
specimens for 3 days curing and learnt that at this phase the solid concrete must had achieved 40%
of its strength requirements.
Generally, for each of the curing ages three cube specimens were tested and the average strength of
them gave the strength of concrete. The test was performed with reference to the standard SSH EN
12390‐1‐2000. All the data corresponding to the specimen’s behavior under this test were recorded
using computer software related with the testing machine.

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Procedure:

Three of specimens were removed from water and wiped out. After
that the specimen was centrally placed in the testing machine in such
a way that the load would be applied to the opposite sides‐position
of the specimen mold. Then a load was applied until the specimen
went failure. The maximum load corresponding to specimen failure
and strength was recorded by the computer software. All the data
gathered are described as below:

Cube specimen no. 1 2 3
Max load (kN) 850,80 904,13 876,34
Compressive 37.81 40.18 38.95
strength(N/mm2)
Area subjected to 22500 22500 22500
load (mm2)
Average compressive strength (3 days of curing) =38.98 N/mm2

As it may be noticed, the concrete has achieved more than 40% of strength after 3 days of curing
meaning that it has a good quality.

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Day 19

Date: 06/08/2014

CBR (CALIFORNIA BEARING RATIO) OF LABORATORY‐COMPACTED SOILS

This test method involved four days of conducting. As follows a description of the specimen’s
preparation and penetration to obtain CBR (California Bearing Ratio) for each specimen is given. The
CBR would be performed for a desired dry max density of 2.21 and optimum moisture content of
6.32% obtained before by a modified proctor test. During this day I assisted and help my supervisor
in the penetration phase of specimens to take load readings that would be necessary for obtaining
the CBR.
The test was done to evaluate the mechanical strength of a base course material sample (with a
particle size no more than 19 mm) carried out in lab which would be used to fill base course in road
construction. In other words, as I realized this test method would determine how strong would be
the base upon which the road would be constructed. My supervisor told me that the purpose of
conducting this test is very crucial for the road design methods. For example, the higher would be
the CBR reading the less thick would be necessary to construct the road base, so cost savings would
resulted. The test was performed with reference to the ASTM D 1883‐99.

Procedure:

The first step was the preparation of the specimens that was done four days before (through this
period of four days the specimens were treated in water). The test would be performed on the
material compacted to one water content (6.32%), so according to the standard guidelines three
specimens were prepared in total. Each mold specimen was filled in 5 layers and was compacted in
three different numbers of effort/blows per layer: 56, 25 and 10 blows per layer. On each mold filter
papers were put to the contacting sides of the specimen with the mold, a spacer disc at the bottom
of the mold and a standardized surcharge weight on the top to enclose the mold. To control the
moisture of each specimen a moisture control device was also put at each specimen. At the end, the
specimens were soaked in water for a period of 4 days.

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During this day, the specimens were removed from water and let to drain for 15 minutes. After being
drained, each of the specimens was subjected to penetration by a cylindrical road. To control the
penetration load readings were taken for each specimen at penetrations of 0.64mm, 1.27 mm, 1.91
mm, 2.54 mm, 3.18 mm, 3.81 mm, 4.45 mm, 5.08 mm, 7.62 mm, 10.16 mm and 12.70 mm. After
penetration, the soil was removed from the mold and the moisture content of the top 25.4 mm was
calculated. All the data gathered (load, penetration depth) were put in an Excel sheet which
automatically calculated the value of CBR for each specimen. The CBR at specified density of 2.21 was
determined from a graph of CBR versus dry density.
The measurable CBR was resulted to be 85 (a higher CBR) indicating that the base course material
was strong.

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CBR test report

Maximum dry density sample (ρd) Mg/m3 2.21
Optimum moisture sample (W) % 6.32
Before immersion
No. of specimen n°1 n°2 n°3
No. of layers 5 5 5
Blow per layers 10 25 56
Weight of rammer Kg 4.5 4.5 4.5
Moisture content % 6.32 6.32 6.32
Dry density Mg/m3 2.17 2.20 2.21
After water immersion
Weight of annular surcharge discs Kg 4.54 4.54 4.54
Maximum swelling % 0.00 0.00 0.00
Moisture content % 7.7 7.2 6.6
Dry density Mg/m3 2.17 2.20 2.23
CALIFORNIA BEARING RATIO ( CBR corrected)
Linearity correction Mm 0.2 0.3 0.4
CBR % 82 117 239

3
Dry density 2.21
3
(Mg/m )
2.5

Dry density (Mg/m3)
CBR (%) 85
2

1.5
Dry Density versus

CBR
1

0.5

0
0 100 200 300
CBR (%)

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Day 21

Date: 08/08/2014

BITUMEN CONTENT DETERMINATION (EXTRACTION)

On the last day of training at Mechanical testing services
department I assisted on a test made for quality control and
acceptance of asphalt binder mixes. The test would
determine the bitumen content of asphalt binder samples taken from construction site of a local road
at Dajti municipality. The bitumen content on asphalt mixes is significant because it is closely related
with the asphalt durability. The test was performed with reference to EN 12697‐1: 2003 standard.

Procedure:

The represantive samples of asphalt binder were heated in oven at 135°C until an asphalt mix was
obtained. The mix was than quartering. The quartering amount was heated again to 140‐145°C and
was handily mixed continuously. After the mix was done uniform throughout (this was visually
inspected) about 1200 gr of the mix was sieved into standardized sieves (25.4 mm, 16 mm, 11.2 mm,
8 mm, 5 mm, 2 mm, 0.71 mm, 0.25 mm, 0.09 mm, < 0.09 mm). At the same time the mass of sieves
without and with sample was recorded. The sieves were placed into the extraction apparatus and the
cover of on top of them was tighten. Then the cylindrical bowl of extraction apparatus was weighted
and its mass was recorded too. A filter paper was put around the cylindrical circumference and the
bowl was placed in the apparatus. In order to divide the bitumen from aggregates some solvent of
perchloroethylene (250 ml) was added.

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The sample was then centrifuged and the extractor was collected. The centrifuge continued until the
solvent was forced to pass out. When the solvent was clear in color, the extraction was completed.
After the extraction, the aggregates were weighted and graded. From granulation the percentage of
filler was determined to be 4.10%. The mineral content of bitumen was determined using the
formula:

wt. of asphalt mix wt.of dry agg.
100 % ∓ % .
wt.of dry aggregate

The bitumen content was calculated to be 5.22%.

From granulation data was noticed that the asphalt binder has a considerable percentage of filler and
good graded aggregates.

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part iii
Project Application On−Site

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Name of the organization: “K.R‐AAL KONSTRUKSION” sh.p.k


Administrator
Material &
Technical
Labor crew Equipment
personnel
supplier

Location of the organization: Vlore, Albania.

Number of technical persons employed: 11


Main sphere of activity: construction of commercial buildings, villas, car parking, offices, renovation
of buildings and demolition works.

Brief history of the organization: Founded in 2009, “K.R‐AAL KONSTRUKSION” sh.p.k builds
commercial residential buildings projects in Vlora region. Since its foundation it has completed a
various number of residential building projects as a stable subcontractor with a good reputation for
providing quality workmanship and responsibility for completing jobs on time and within budget.

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Day 22, 23

Date:12/08/2014‐13/08/2014

INTRODUCTION TO CONSTRUCTION WORK SITE

My first and second day of training at site was a general
introduction to construction work site. On the first day I
was introduced with some general information regarding
the organization of a construction site especially that of
a commercial building, while in the second day I was
presented in detail with the labor, equipment, technical
staff, site instructions and the building being
constructed.
At the first day my supervisor which was the site engineer told me that the organization of the work
site is governed by some specifications for which the construction team (owner & subcontractor)
must be responsible for their application. I learnt that based on these legal and technical
specifications the work site must be bounded and enclosed by the surrounding environment. The
construction team must provide a temporary office where all project drawings, specifications and
documentation are kept .These specifications also give
instructions where the equipment and other supplies must
be located at work site or provide safety instructions for
the labor and their responsibilities. Another thing that I
came up, was the recording of the progress of work during
construction sequences. The specifications stated that the
work must be recorded daily at site dairy and for each
construction phase technical reports must be done by site
engineer. Next, I was invited to visit the construction site
and look at things more closely.
At the second day I had a look on the project drawings like
structural and detailing plans and some technical
specifications. The building being constructed was a 7‐
storey reinforced concrete building located at Sazani
street, Vlore with undergrounding parking and 2 first floors
for commercial uses and the remaining ones for housing.
At that moment the building was at the construction phase
of constructing the reinforced concrete skeleton of the first
two floors. The substructure was made of shallow
foundations. The slabs (30 cm) have a concrete waffle‐like
pattern with rectangular shaped polystyrene pods. They
were supported by columns (40 x 60 cm) 500 cm spaced
and rectangular cross section R/C beams. The shear walls
were diaphragm type.

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Then, I was presented also with the labor and technical staff which were ready to help me and ask
any question. For the forthcoming workdays I was appointed to take part in the construction work
and to observe and help my supervisor as well to check whether the work was in accordance with the
drawings and project requirements.

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Day 24
Date: 14/08/2014
BEAM REINFORCEMENT
During this working day I was allowed to see the working process of beam casting and reinforcement
at 7.51 m quote. All the labor was dealing with this process. There were two types of beams as I
noticed: the circumferential ones which were deep (40 x 80cm) and the second beams (80 cm x 30
cm) which had at the same depth of the slab. Both the beams were continuous, fixed supported and
had a span of 5 m. The two types of beams were double reinforced (Φ18 mm, S500) and the beams
cage were fabricated at place. Reinforcing bars (6 m length) were tied with wire with steel stirrups
(Φ10mm, S500) and casted according to structural details and requirements. The steel bars and
stirrups were fabricated at site according to structural requirements of the project. The beams were
laid out and centering on temporary wood formworks and supporting. The beam casting continued
until a reinforced rectangular grid beam (where the floor slab would span) was fabricated.

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Day 25, 26

Date: 15/08/2014‐16/08/2014
FLAT WAFFLE SLAB REINFORCEMENT
Through these two working days I took part, observed and helped my supervisor to locate at working
site the axes of the intermediate cross beams that would support the floor slab. The slab was a waffle
grid slab type and the first step of constructing this two‐way slab system was the determination of
the axe according to the structural plans and details. The axe consisted of a beam itself equally
spaced from the second beams and running at right angles. The position of the axes was measured
with a tape and marked and after that the labors fabricated at place the axe beam.
This process was done in all grid area. The axes beam cage was made up of longitudinal bars
(Φ10mm, S500) of 6 m length and stirrups (Φ8mm, S500) every 25 cm. At the end a crossed grid slab
layout was obtained. The beam axes were not continuous and were fabricated to run at right angles
and in a non‐uniform grid pattern (they were lied vertically or horizontally to add strength also in
perpendicular direction as my supervisor told me).

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At the second day the waffle slab system took its complete skeleton pattern of waffle, hence the
name (the grid holes resembled a waffle). The technical notes of structural requirements specified
that all the slab area must started and ended with these intermediate cross beams. They have the
same characteristics of the axe beam but casted at right angle with the axe beam on a regular
rectangular grid that gives the underside of the floor the appearance of a waffle. The waffle “holes”
would be filled by polystyrene pods (ρ=30 kg/m3) on a subsequent phase of waffle slab construction.

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Day 27, 28

Date: 18/08/2014‐19/08/2014

PLACEMENT OF WAFFLE POLYSTYRENE PODS. MESH REINFORCEMENT

During these two working days the last manufacturing of reinforced waffle skeleton at 7.51 m quote
was finalized and the placement of the polystyrene pods was done.

The waffle construction took place at the area where the crane was fixed. The crane was used by
labor crew as a temporary structure for lifting the necessary working materials at work site. At the
same time the polystyrene pods were transported into work site.

The polystyrene pods (ρ=30 kg/m3) were available in 50 x 235cm and have a height of 30 cm. In
construction practices these waffle pods are very common used in residential concrete slabs
construction. It provides heat isolation through the floor, low floor deflections, an environmentally
friendly material to use and lightweight slabs than monolithic ones. It also provides a more
economical method of construction than that of traditional concrete slabs because there are
significant cost savings as far as less amount of concrete is used.

These waffle pods were used in conjunction with reinforcing mesh on top. For additional strength
steel bars of Φ8mm and S500 were wired together by workmen at their intersection points (every 25
cm) and a regular square mesh was formed. The mesh reinforcement was the last step on waffle slab
construction and the slab was already arranged to be poured with concrete on‐site.
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Day 29

Date: 20/08/2014

INVESTIGATION ON THE REINFORCEMENT WORK. FABRICATION OF COLUMN REINFORCEMENT
CAGES

Throughout this working day at site the site engineer monitored the working progress and investigate
the reinforcement quality of the waffle slab skeleton. He took a technical report on it and concluded
that no need for any refinement was necessary. The formwork of stairs and their reinforcement was
already placed.

The crew labor had started to cast the reinforcement cages for the columns to the starter bars of
1.60 m length of the columns below. The reinforcement cage was fixed in a central position to
facilitate column reinforcement after slab concrete pouring. The columns were dimensionally
stabled (40x60 cm), with 12 longitudinal steel bars of Φ18mm diameter and wired with doubled
shear links of Φ12mm diameter for a better buckling and earthquake loadings resistance. There were
40 columns in total.
The slab system was ready to be poured with concrete that would create a concrete slab with a flat
top surface and an under‐surface made of a rectangular grid of concrete beams and polystyrene
pods.

53

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Day 30, 31

Date: 21/08/2014‐ 22/08/2014

POURING OF CONCRETE

The supplier did not manage to pour the concrete at 30th working day due to some concrete batch
plant related‐problems. On the next working day, the waffle slab was poured on‐site with concrete.
The concrete was ordered by a concrete ready‐mix company (BETON VLORA sh.p.k) and transported
at working site using ready mix concrete truck. The requirements of the slab indicated that concrete
should be mixed by the truck at a S3 slump and should have a grade of C25/30. To pull up the wet
concrete right into the work site, the ready mix truck poured it on a concrete boom pump truck. The
boom pump had a size of 38 m and a maximum concrete output of 155 m3 per hour. The pump
concrete flow was controlled continuously.

The wet concrete was poured into the slab uniformly throughout all the slab area until the
reinforcement was totally covered. While the concrete was being poured the labor crew used some
special concrete shovels to pull and push the concrete around until the waffle skeleton forms were
filled. The process of filling these forms was controlled by checking if the fill has the required depth
using a special rod nail calibrated at the desired depth (30 cm). The concrete was poured like that
that enough wet concrete was provided to work with and take into the consideration the time
between ready mix trucks to load with concrete. At the same time the concrete was vibrated to
decrease the air voids on concrete. Next, the concrete was put in level (finishing) at each section
poured using a mechanical metal board. The board further compacted the concrete and created a
flat, regular concrete surface at the same time. The stairs were also poured simultaneously. 54
Pag.

There were hired 3 ready‐mix concrete trucks that used to transport concrete at a number of 21
tours for the complete pouring of 980 m2 area. I learnt that the maximum amount of concrete
needed for the pouring of this area was calculated by multiplying the current area with a coefficient
between 0.18‐0.20. Based on these, a preliminary estimation calculated a 176‐196 m3 of concrete
needed. The amount of concrete used on‐site resulted to be 172 m3 of concrete. After all the
placement and finishing was done the concrete would cure.

55

Pag.

Day 32

Date: 23/08/2014

CURING OF CONCRETE

At this working day the concrete poured had been harder and some curing was applied on it. I
learned that curing is very important especially at first two days after the concrete is poured. The
curing was done to maximize the strength of concrete, to make it less permeable and to prevent
cracking. Water curing was used as a practical curing method. The process of water ponding on slab
area (water curing) would be done for a period of four days to makes the concrete surface to remain
moist. The wooden formworks that provided temporary support for the slab system would be
removed after 15 days because the slab would had enough strength to be self‐supporting. At the
same time the labour crew had started to fabricate the columns reinforcement cages of the following
storey.

56

Pag.

CONCLUSIONS

Having my summer practice on three different workplaces helped me to expand and as well improve
my knowledge on engineering. Such experience made me develop new skills and refined concepts
learned in course classes.

I had the chance to assist the engineering staff of an engineering consulting company and get
involved in the office working process; afterward, I gained some practical experience on lab tests
conducting and engineering which provided me with new basics knowledge on road construction and
geotechnical field, to be finalized at project application on‐site. The different situations I had to face
with helped me to be a better user of AutoCAD or Excel software tools, made me familiar with on‐site
working environment and significantly improved my technical vocabulary on Albanian language.
Moreover, I got used to a number of standards and their working practices. Meeting and working
with professionals was another benefit for me because it allowed me to create a network in field and
make new friends.

Ultimately, this experience helped me a lot to strengthen my CV and motivated me further on my
future career goals.

57
Pag.

CE Summer Practice - Izet Mehmetaj 2014

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CE Summer Practice - Izet Mehmetaj 2014

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Engineering drawing standards, drawing types, technical and implementation

Introduction to construction work site ....................................................................................... 46

Flat waffle slab reinforcement ..................................................................................................... 49

Placement of waffle polystyrene pods. Mesh reinforcement ............................................... 51

Investigation on the reinforcement work. Fabrication of column reinforcement cages

3. Alternative analysis (alternatives are aligned and some conclusions and

TITLE BLOCK AREA

A DD1 (design F (floor

Quality Control Of Construction Materials,

Project Application On−Site

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