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Difference Between Lump Sum and Re-Measurement Contracts

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The selection of right contract type is one of the most important decisions taken in a construction project. The contract type determines the method of paying the contractor, how risk shared and how to treat variations in works or quantities.  The lump sum and Re-Measurement Contracts are the most common types of contracts in construction projects.  What is lump sum contract?  In lump sum contract, the Contractor consent to complete the works for a fixed total price. The price is agreed prior to commencement of the works, the price depends on drawings, specifications and the work scope.  An example of a lump sum contract, is when the contract agrees to build a building of a value of 5M $, this amount will be considered as the contract price and the Contractor is expected to complete the works for the agreed contract price, there is expection that can affect the contract price such as variations or change instructions from the employer.  What is the Re-Measuremen...
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Difference Between Claim and Variation in FIDIC

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 In construction projects, claims and variations are usually misunderstood. Both of them can impact the contract price and the project management. However, claim and variation are not the same. In FIDIC, the difference between them is significantly important for the contractors. Under FIDIC contracts, understanding the difference is very important for contractors, consultants, engineers, and employers because using the wrong procedure may lead to loss of entitlement or disputes. 1-Variation: Variation is an official change of the original scope of work under the contract. This means that the employer or the Engineer requests the contractor to execute works that are not as per the original agreement.  This can include: 1-Adding new works 2-ommiting part of the original works 3-changing of quantities 4-changing the specification and quality 5-changing levels, dimensions, and positions  6-changing the work sequences or timing 7-changing the design details, depending on the F...
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Critical Aspects of Quality Management in Flexible Pavement Construction

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The presence of a reliable road network plays a significant role in the economic growth of any country. Roads are a key factor in the economic development of a nation, facilitating the movement of people and goods. A reliable road network ensures smooth and safe transportation, promoting efficiency in trade and commerce. In contrast, the absence of such infrastructure can delay and hinder the movement of goods, severely impacting economic progress. Global spending on infrastructure projects is projected to increase from approximately 4trillionperyearin2012tonearly9 trillion per year by 2025. This significant rise in investment highlights the critical importance of infrastructure, including road networks, in supporting economic growth. The construction of roads involves various stages before, during, and after the construction process. Poor quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) measures during any stage can result in low-quality roads incapable of sustaining expected traffic l...
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The impact of using Polymer Modified Bitumen in Asphalt mixes

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The economic growth of any country relies on many factors, such as natural resources, technology, manpower, regulations, and infrastructure. Infrastructure is essential for country development. Road networks are part of the infrastructure of any country. The presence of a reliable road network will facilitate the shipping of goods, which will save time and money and contribute to economic growth. A road network is considered reliable when it reduces the journey time, provides the best routes, properly covers a country or area, reduces the delay of public transportation, contributes to economic growth, and ensures a smooth ride. Building a high-quality road pavement that meets the needs of road users and ensures smooth riding requires good planning, design, and construction of the pavement. The construction of durable pavement can be attained through the collaboration of reliable design, selecting high-quality and suitable raw materials, appropriate asphalt mix design, and the implement...
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An Assessment of Artificial Intelligence Capabilities in Structural Analysis: A Comparative Study of Determinate and Indeterminate Beams (Research paper)

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This paper critically evaluates the performance of several AI models in structural analysis. The capability of different AI systems, including ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Gemini, and Perplexity, was assessed using a series of beam problems with varying degrees of static indeterminacy and structural complexity. The outputs were benchmarked against classical analytical methods, namely the force method and slope-deflection method, as well as numerical results obtained from structural analysis software (SAP2000). The results indicate that AI models can produce reasonably accurate results for statically determinate beams and systems with low levels of indeterminacy. However, their accuracy decreases significantly as structural complexity increases, with notable discrepancies observed in highly indeterminate systems. The study concludes that current AI models lack the effectiveness required for reliable structural analysis of complex systems and should not be used by engineers as the obtained result...
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Repairing of concrete bulging

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Improper designing and installation of formwork for a concrete member can result in concrete Bulging. During the placing and compacting of concrete, forms may deflect largely in the weak areas. The deflection of forms will cause concrete to expand at this location, and this known as concrete Bulging. Concrete Bulging will spoil the appearance of a concrete member. Therefore we should always ensure that the forms are appropriately installed, and it is sufficiently supported to resist the concrete during placing and compacting. Bulging should be repaired in case we couldn't avoid it. The solution of concrete Bulging, offset, or surface irregularities are surface grinding. However, excessive surface grinding can weaken the concrete.  Figure 1 If the bulging or surface irregularities are small, grinding of concrete surface will be sufficient to remove surface irregularities. If the Bulging of concrete is significant, then the concrete should be chipped, and the surface...
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stress-strain diagram for aluminium alloy and rubber

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figure no:1 showing the stress-strain diagram for aluminum alloy. we can notice from the stress-stress diagram that aluminum has a considerable ductility. despite the absence of explicit yield point as in structural steel . the initial portion of the stress-strain curve is linear with a recognizable proportional limit. the proportional limit for aluminum alloy ranges from 70 to 410 Mpa (10 to 60 Ksi). aluminum alloy undergoes large strain before failure. ultimate stress ranges from 140 to 550 Mpa (20 to 80 Ksi). construction management: concrete construction bridge construction:How to become a bridge engineer Figure-1 Yield stress for aluminum alloy can be determined by drawing offset line parrel to the linear portion of the stress-strain curve. the straight line offset by a standard strain such as 0.002. the intersection point with the stress-strain curve is the point of yield stress. figure no:2 illustrates the concept of offset method. yield stress acquire...
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Binding wire for steel reinforcement

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  Binding wires are used to tie steel bars together. These wires are playing a significant role in maintaining the reinforcement stability and rigidity. Wires are used to tie the steel bars at intersections points. By tying the steel bars together, we ensure that the steel bars will not move from their locations during construction or during the time of concreting. In slabs, binding wires are used to tie longitudinal and transverse bars together. In columns, it is used to tie vertical bars with stirrups.   Figure 1 There are various types of binding wires such as  Black annealed baling wire, Stainless Steel Binding Wire, and PVC coated binding wires.  Black annealed baling wire used to tie black steel. The popular size for black wire ranges from 16 to 22 gauges. Stainless steel binding wires are used to bind stainless steel reinforcement. Stainless steel reinforcement is used in a harsh environment where the black steel gets rusted quickly. Therefore, stainless ...
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Non-Working Pile Testing and Static Compression Load Test

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Purpose of Non-Working Piles Non-working piles are constructed at the beginning of the project to evaluate soil bearing capacity and determine the maximum settlement. These piles are loaded up to twice the working load. Based on the test results, the pile length may be adjusted. If the measured settlement exceeds the allowable limit, the pile length will be increased accordingly. construction management: concrete construction bridge construction:How to become a bridge engineer Static Compression Load Test The static compression load test provides insight into how the pile responds to loading. Settlement is measured at different load increments to determine the appropriate pile design length. The maximum applied load is typically twice the working load (2 × working load) or as specified by local standards. The following steps outline the testing procedure: A. Steel Cage Preparation The steel reinforcement cage is prepared in accordance with the approved shop drawings. ...
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Prestressing stands debonding

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  Prestressing bridge concrete beams contributes to resisting the tensile stresses caused by the traffic loads and the beam's weight. Stressing concrete has various benefits, such as increasing concrete members' capacity, reducing the concrete member section, and increasing the span lengths for structures such as bridges and buildings. However,  The stressing of bridge beam ends can result in unwanted cracks. Therefore AASHTO calling for debonding a specific portion of strands at the beam end to minimize the stresses and reduce cracks. Figure 1 Debonding is achieved by wrapping the strands at the end of the beam with plastic. Wrapping the strand with plastic wrapping will prevent the strands from bonding with concrete, thus avoid transferring unwanted stress to the beam end. As a result, the unwanted cracks will be prevented by reducing the stress levels at the end of the beam.  
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Concrete repair-selecting the repair method

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Repairing concrete structure passes through various stages. Selecting the correct repair method will depend on completing the previous steps, such as determining the cause of concrete damage, evaluate the extent of the damage, and assess the need for repair. The completion of these steps will define the type of conditions the repair must resist, the available repair construction time period, and when repairs must be accomplished. The data collected from performing these steps will help in selecting which of the 15 standard methods is suitable and durable for repairing the damaged concrete structure. Figure 1 In general, the old concrete surface should be prepared before beginning with the repairing process. It is essential to remove all unsound concrete before applying the repairing. Improper preparing of damaged concrete structure will result in unsatisfactory repair with low durability. The first step in preparing the old concrete surface is the saw cutting of repairin...
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Pile cap

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Pile cap used to transfer the loads from superstructure to the piling. The pile cap is thick concrete mat rests on piles. It is part of the foundation and used to distribute the loads over the piles. Piles used when the soil bearing is not enough to carry loads of the structure. Figure 1  construction management: concrete construction bridge construction:How to become a bridge engineer Pile cap construction procedure Excavation around piles: After 7 days of the casting of the pile the concrete will gain approximately, 70% of it is compressive strength. The soil around piles will be removed to the required levels and dimension that allows construction of the pile cap. A step shall be made if the excavation is more than 1.5 m to prevent soil collapse. Figure 2 Pile head cutting: Concrete will be removed up to cut off level. If concrete under the cut off level is unsound. It shall be removed, and the pile will be repaired...
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Rebar Splicing and Overlapping — ACI 318-19 Requirements Explained

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Reinforcement splicing or overlapping is a fundamental requirement in reinforced concrete structures. Because reinforcement bars (rebars) are manufactured in limited standard lengths—typically 12 m —it becomes necessary to splice or overlap them to achieve the required continuity in structural members. The main purpose of a splice is to ensure smooth stress transfer between adjacent bars through the surrounding concrete. The overlap length, commonly known as the splice length , must be long enough to safely transfer the tensile stresses from steel to concrete without causing bond failure. It is recommended to avoid splicing in high-stress zones such as areas of maximum moment, and to stagger the splices to prevent congestion and reduce stress concentration. The ACI 318-19 providing the following recommendatin and requirement for the lap splicing: 1. Splice Limitation by Bar Size Lap splicing is not permitted for reinforcement bars larger than 36 mm in diameter. 2. Non-Contact L...
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The reasons behind the trimming of pile head

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In general, the bored piles are casted to a level higher than the required pile cut-off level. Pile cut-off level is usually similar or a little bit higher than the blinding level of a pile cap. the process of constructing a cast-in-situ pile involves the following steps: installation of the temporary casing to prevent the soil collapse during the drilling process and to guide the drilling rig. Drilling the pile to the required level and diameter. Installation of a reinforcement cage. Reinforcement cage vertical bars will be extended above the pile cut-off level to improve the bonding with the pile cap. The casting of concrete usually done with a tremie pipe. Tremie pipe will be lowered to the bottom of the pile, and then the concrete will be poured. Once the casting is completed, the temporary casing will be removed. It is a common practice to cast the concrete above the cut-off level. the concrete casted then removed for the following reasons: during the casting pro...
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Prestressing strand manufacturing

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  Prestressing strands is high tensile strength steel. The tensile strength of prestressing strands can reach up to 1860 Mpa. the process of manufacturing prestressing steel differs significantly from the conventional reinforcement.  Figure 1 The process of manufacturing strands will begin by de-scaling the raw material (wire rod). The purpose of de-scaling is to remove the iron oxides (mill scale) from the surface of the wire rod. after removing the mill scale, the wire rod's surface is coated with a textured coating to enhance the adherence of lubricants to the raw material surface. The most commonly used coating is zinc phosphate.  Figure 2 The wire rod then passed through a series of dies. The process of reducing the wire rod diameter is known as cold-drawing. In this process, the wire rod is drawn through a die with the required diameter. To prevent the wearing of dies, the wire rod will be drawn through a lubricant box. the lubricant will coat the wire with a thin l...
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