Plants load-bearing structure

Welded structures often have to be tested nondestructively, particularly for critical application where weld failure can he catastrophic, such as in pressure vessels, load-bearing structural members, and power plants. 

The purpose of foundations is to distribute the loading from structures and equipment so that perpetual settlement of the load-bearing soil will not cause excessive maintenance or impair the usefulness of the plant. The selection of a suitable type of foundation or soil loading support structure depends on the loads to be transferred to the foundation, on the material on which the foundation rests, and on the method of placing the foundation as dictated by the subsoil conditions. 

Natural fibres possess sufficient strength and stiffiiess but are difficult to use in load bearing applications by themselves because of their fibrous structure. Most plastics themselves are not suitable for load bearing applications due to their lack of sufficient strength, stiffness and dimensional stability [51]. In natural fibre reinforced composites, the fibres serve as reinforcement by giving strength and stiffness to the structure while the plastic matrix serve as the adhesive to hold the fibres in place so that suitable structural components can be made. The matrix for the natural fibres includes thermosets, thermoplastics and mbber. Different plant fibres and wood fibres are fotmd to be interesting reinforcements for rubber, thermoplastics and thermosets [52-58]. 

Once the plant location area and plot plans have been chosen, as explained in Chaps. 5 and 7, the specific site must be selected and developed for installation of structures. Preliminary exploration of the subsurface conditions should be done prior to purchase of a piece of land, since foundation construction may be abnormally high if the bearing load of the underground strata is poor, even though the surface conditions appear satisfactory. Topographical maps of the site to establish plant grades and excavation, together with transportation facility locations, frost-line, and water-table information, are other important site data required. Some detailed aspects of these factors will be presented next. 

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