What is Civil Engineering?
What does a Civil Engineer do?
What is Civil Engineering?
Civil engineering is field of engineering sciences, related to design, construction and maintenance of buildings, dams, bridges, tunnels, highways and other structures by the use of physical laws, mathematical equations and theories of mechanics. Civil Engineers utilize the available resources (expertise, materials, manpower) to complete the project in the given time span keeping in view the time, expenditure, environmental issues and physical hazards of the project.
What does a Civil Engineer do?
A Civil Engineer is responsible for planning, design, construction and/or maintenance of structures. Civil Engineer can work in private constructions companies, governmental public works organizations or in universities as a research fellow or a teacher. A civil Engineer can be a surveyor, a technical report writer or even a project manager.
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Planning and development
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Strength of Materials
Corrosion
Buildings
Bridge Works
Concrete Structures
Drainage Works
Earthworks
Piers and Marine Structures
Roadworks
Pumping Station
Reclamation
Water Retaining Structures and Waterworks
Piles and Foundation
Civil engineering, and related services
214 Questions and Answers on Practical Civil Engineering Works
Q) What do engineers do?
Q) What does a Civil Engineer do?
Q) Civil Engineering and Military Engineering: What's the difference?
Q) Is Ocean Engineering similar to Civil Engineering?
Q) Is Land Surveying part of Civil Engineering?
Q) What are Civil and Environmental Engineering all about?
Q) What is the future for civil engineering?
Q) What is Civil and Architectural Engineering?
Q) What are the prospects?
Q) What are the major programs in Civil Engineering?
Q) Can I do a dual degree in Architecture and Civil Engineering?
Q) Why choose civil engineering?
Q) What is civil engineering? What are the prospects?
Q) Can I do a dual degree in Architecture and Civil Engineering?
Q) What is �preset� during installation of bridge bearings?
Q) Sometimes the side of concrete bridges is observed to turn black in colour. What is
the reason for this phenomenon?
Q) In prestressing work, if more than one wire or strand is included in the same duct,
why should all wires/strands be stressed at the same time?
Q) In the design of elastomeric bearings, why are steel plates inserted inside the
bearings?
Q) How to determine the size of elastomeric bearings?
Q) In a curved prestressed bridge, how should the guided bearings in piers of the
curved region be oriented with respect to the fixed bearing in abutment?
Q) What are the advantages of piers constructed monolithically with the bridge deck
over usage of bearings?
Q) What are the limitations of Rational Method in calculating runoff?
Why are some manhole covers made of cast iron while some are made of ductile
iron?
Q) Why is it preferable to design stormwater drains to match soffit?
Q) What is the application of inverted siphons? What are the disadvantages of using
inverted siphons?
Q) What is the mechanism of cavitation in pipes and drains?
Q) When a drainage system (i.e. u-channels with catchpits) is connected to a main
drainage channel, a segment of short pipe is used. What is the reason of such
arrangement?
Q) What are the functions of bedding under stormwater drains?
Q) In designing sewer pipes, why are vitrified clay pipes commonly used for pipe size
less than 600mm while precast concrete pipes with PVC lining is used for pipe size
exceeding 600mm?
Q) The spacing of manholes in straight sections for different pipe sizes is stated in
Stormwater Drainage Manual. How are these figures arrived at?
Q) Should air test or water tests be selected to test the leakage of constructed gravity
pipelines?
Q) In designing of access ramps for drainage channels, why should the direction of
access ramps be sloping down towards downstream?
Q) When branch pipelines are connected to main pipelines, sometimes Y-junctions or
fitting branched pipelines to main pipelines by formation of holes in main pipelines
are used. Which one is a better choice?
Q) Rational Method should not be used for large catchments in estimating peak
runoff. Is it true?
Q) What is the purpose of carrying out water absorption test for precast concrete
pipes?
Q) In soil compaction test, if a test result exceeds 100%, should engineers accept the
result?
Q) What are the different applications of draglines, backhoes and shovels?
Q) Is it worthwhile to carry out tests on particle density of soil particles for
geotechnical design?
Q) In determining the effective stress parameters of a soil sample, which test is
preferable, consolidated undrained test or consolidated drained test?
Q) Soil nails are mainly designed for stabilization of major slips. How should designer
cater for the stability of minor slips?
Q) Are there any differences in the methods of compaction between clayey soil
material and sandy material?
Q) Why is sulphate-resisting cement not used in marine concrete?
Q) Shall a layer of wearing course or additional thickness be designed on the surface of
piers?
Q) In connecting fenders to pier structures, should single lock nuts or double lock nuts
be used?
Q) What is the design level of landings in piers?
Q) What are the pros and cons of using timber fenders, plastic fenders and rubber
fenders?
Q) For marine pile type of steel tubular piles with reinforced concrete infill, minimum
toe level is often specified in contract drawings. What is its purpose?
Q) Why is shallow bedrock condition unfavorable for open berth piers?
Q) Why are high and narrow beams not desirable in concrete piers?
Q) What is the mechanism of formation of soil plugs in marine driven steel piles with
reinforced concrete infill?
Q) Should stiff or soft fenders be designed for berthing in piers?
Q) How can unreinforced concrete pavement function without mesh reinforcement?
Q) Why are concrete profile barriers designed with curved surface profiles?
Q) Should joints of concrete kerbs be in line with the joints in concrete carriageway?
Q) Can all utility detectors detect the depth of utilities?
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Civil Engineering
Learning Outcomes/Goals:
1. apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering;
2. design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data; furthermore, they are able to conduct laboratory experiments and to critically analyze and interpret data in more than one of the recognized major civil engineering areas;
3. design a system, component, or process to meet needs; furthermore, they are able to perform civil engineering design by means of design experiences integrated throughout the professional component of the curriculum;
4. function on multi-disciplinary teams;
5. identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems;
6. understand professional and ethical responsibility; furthermore, they understand professional practice issues such as procurement of work, bidding versus quality based selection processes, how the design professionals and the construction professions interact to construct a project, the importance of professional licensure and continuing education, and/or other professional practice issues;
7. communicate effectively;
8. understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context and have the requisite broad education;
9. engage in life-long learning and recognize the need for it;
10. apply knowledge of contemporary issues; and
11. use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.
Activities in Support of Goal:
1. The educational objectives can be mapped to the educational outcomes expected of each student at the time they graduate;
2. The instructor of a course reviews the examinations, homework, reports and projects produced by students in the course, and, by the end of the semester, has an accurate estimate of the degree to which learning objectives were achieved. Similarly, students form estimates of their levels of achievement based on introspection and graded work returned by the instructor
Assessment Methods:
1. Grades: A student’s achievement of expected program outcomes is assessed by grading his or her performance on course assignments and examinations
2. ALOAS: students complete the forms after each civil engineering course. Students are asked to assess their confidence relative to the course’s learning objectives.
3. Surveys of Civil Engineering Students: Junior and senior students majoring in civil engineering were surveyed in 1999 and 2002 for the purpose of assessing and improving the undergraduate program. The 1999 survey addressed curriculum requirements, specific courses and aspects of the overall program such as group projects and technical communication. It also explored students’ academic and employment loads. The 2002 survey addressed selected courses and topics, curriculum requirements, aspects of the overall program and attitudes regarding graduate study.
4. Exit Surveys of Seniors by Placement Office: The MSU Office of Career Services and Placement surveys graduating seniors to assess their satisfaction with placement experiences and academic preparation. The survey instrument also accommodates questions composed by the individual colleges. In 2003, the department started to include questions that directly referred to the program outcome
5. Survey of Graduates by Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering:
One part of the 2002 survey addressed proficiencies in specific civil engineering topic areas at the time of graduation.
6. Survey of Co-operative Education Students: Civil engineering students in the Co-operative Engineering Education program are surveyed at the end of each semester of employment to gage their satisfaction with their experience, its contribution to their professional development, and their academic preparation. Most of the questions in the latter category address expected program outcomes.
7. Survey of Co-operative Education Employers: Supervisors of civil engineering students in the Co-operative Engineering Education program are surveyed at the end of each semester of participation to gage their satisfaction with the program and with individual student employees. Most of the questions address the student’s academic preparation relative to achievement of expected program outcomes.
8. Civil Engineering Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI): An instructors evaluation of a course is based on students achievement, which is measured by performance on examinations, homework, reports and projects
9. Fundamentals of Engineering Examination (FE): Students are encouraged to take the test
10. Civil Engineering Course Portfolio: Portfolios have been assembled for civil engineering courses given during summer and fall 2003 and spring 2004 semesters. Portfolios contain items such as
• course syllabus,
• course outline given to students, including grading standards,
• other material handed out in class,
• course pack,
• samples of graded work (homework, quizzes, examinations, projects, reports),
• video tapes of student presentations,
• representative print-outs of the course web site,
• representative print-outs of the course electronic bulletin board,
• representative print-outs of student-instructor e-mail exchanges, and
• summaries of course and instructor evaluations.
Assessment Results:
1. All of the outcomes were met.
2. MSU civil engineering students scored well below the national average for the hydraulics topics in every examination (FE)
3. on the Fe, the average performance of MSU students is consistently within a few points of the national average
4. Instructors and students recognize an opportunity for improvement in understanding of professional and ethical responsibility, as indicated by ALOAS results. Graduating seniors and supervisors of co-operative education students responded more positively. FE examination results indicate a level of understanding that is consistent with the national norm.
5. From 1998 through 2003 MSU civil engineering undergraduate students won 5 “outstanding student” awards from regional branches of professional societies, 12 scholarships and fellowships in regional competitions, and 5 national competitions
6. While students recognize the need for life-long learning and believe they are ready to pursue it, they do not believe that this outcome goal was achieved during their education.
7. Recognizing that effectiveness of written communication improves with guided practice, the faculty has incorporated technical writing into an unusually large number of civil engineering courses. This reinforces skills developed in the required Tier I and Tier II writing courses. ALOAS results indicate satisfactory achievement of the ability to communicate effectively. The beneficial results of the program’s increased emphasis on technical writing are reflected in results of successive surveys of students. However, survey results also indicate opportunity and desire for further improvement.
Action Taken:
1. Technical writing: the department initiated a program to improve students’ writing skills
2. In 2002, the department initiated a construction engineering and management track consisting of selected courses from the construction management program and existing civil engineering courses
3. CE271 (surveying course) was revised to include a broader introduction to the practice of civil engineering while retaining selected surveying topics. The title was changed and it became a required course
4. Students entering the program as juniors in fall 200 and after are required to complete at least two sequential courses in each of at least four areas of civil engineering
5. Students entering the program as juniors in fall 20033 and after are required to complete a comprehensive design course, CE 495 Senior Design in Civil Engineering
6. Selected design topics were integrates into the first structure course, CE 305 and the surveying course, CE 271
7. An elective CAD course was added, CE 492 Computer Aided Design. However, after being offered for four semesters (fall 1999, fall 2000, spring 2000 and spring 2001) it was discontinued due to consistently low enrollment
8. Over a three-year period starting spring semester 1999 CE 280, Introduction to Environmental Engineering was extensively revised with the objective of improving the quality of instruction by developing and using innovative pedagogic techniques tailored to course learning objectives.
9. The credits for CE 312 Soil Mechanics were increased from three to four and the number of lectures per week was increased
10. The department initiated a new course, CE 432 Pavement Rehabilitation, in spring 2001. This is in response to the popularity of the pre-existing course, CE 431 Pavement Design and Analysis
Future Plans:
1. The department plans to incorporate CAD units into CE 271 Introduction to Civil Engineering and CE 495 Senior Design in Civil Engineering
2. Instructors will be helped and encouraged to reflect the need for life-long education in course objectives
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