Civil engineering

A multi-level stack interchange, buildings, houses, and

park in Shanghai, China

Civil engineering is a professional

engineering discipline that deals with the
design, construction, and maintenance of
the physical and naturally built
environment, including public works such
as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports,
sewerage systems, pipelines, structural
components of buildings, and railways.[1][2]

Civil engineering is traditionally broken into

a number of sub-disciplines. It is
considered the second-oldest engineering
discipline after military engineering,[3] and
it is defined to distinguish non-military
engineering from military engineering.[4]
Civil engineering takes place in the public
sector from municipal through to national
governments, and in the private sector
from individual homeowners through to
international companies.

History
Civil engineering as a
discipline

Civil engineering is the application of

physical and scientific principles for
solving the problems of society, and its
history is intricately linked to advances in
the understanding of physics and
mathematics throughout history. Because
civil engineering is a wide-ranging
profession, including several specialized
sub-disciplines, its history is linked to
knowledge of structures, materials
science, geography, geology, soils,
hydrology, environment, mechanics and
other fields.

Throughout ancient and medieval history

most architectural design and
construction was carried out by artisans,
such as stonemasons and carpenters,
rising to the role of master builder.
Knowledge was retained in guilds and
seldom supplanted by advances.
Structures, roads, and infrastructure that
existed were repetitive, and increases in
scale were incremental.[5]
One of the earliest examples of a scientific
approach to physical and mathematical
problems applicable to civil engineering is
the work of Archimedes in the 3rd century
BC, including Archimedes Principle, which
underpins our understanding of buoyancy,
and practical solutions such as
Archimedes' screw. Brahmagupta, an
Indian mathematician, used arithmetic in
the 7th century AD, based on Hindu-Arabic
numerals, for excavation (volume)
computations.[6]

Civil engineering profession

Engineering has been an aspect of life
since the beginnings of human existence.
The earliest practice of civil engineering
may have commenced between 4000 and
2000 BC in ancient Egypt, the Indus Valley
Civilization, and Mesopotamia (ancient
Iraq) when humans started to abandon a
nomadic existence, creating a need for the
construction of shelter. During this time,
transportation became increasingly
important leading to the development of
the wheel and sailing.
 

Leonhard Euler developed the theory explaining the

buckling of columns.

Until modern times there was no clear

distinction between civil engineering and
architecture, and the term engineer and
architect were mainly geographical
variations referring to the same
occupation, and often used
interchangeably.[7] The construction of
pyramids in Egypt (circa 2700–2500 BC)
were some of the first instances of large
structure constructions. Other ancient
historic civil engineering constructions
include the Qanat water management
system (the oldest is older than 3000
years and longer than 71 km,[8]) the
Parthenon by Iktinos in Ancient Greece
(447–438 BC), the Appian Way by Roman
engineers (c. 312 BC), the Great Wall of
China by General Meng T'ien under orders
from Ch'in Emperor Shih Huang Ti (c. 220
BC)[9] and the stupas constructed in
ancient Sri Lanka like the Jetavanaramaya
and the extensive irrigation works in
Anuradhapura. The Romans developed
civil structures throughout their empire,
including especially aqueducts, insulae,
harbors, bridges, dams and roads.

A Roman aqueduct [built circa 19 BC] near Pont du

Gard, France

Chichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city in Mexico

built by the Maya people of the Post Classic. The
northeast column temple also covers a channel that

funnels all the rainwater from the complex some 40

metres (130 ft) away to a rejollada, a former cenote.
In the 18th century, the term civil
engineering was coined to incorporate all
things civilian as opposed to military
engineering.[4] The first self-proclaimed
civil engineer was John Smeaton, who
constructed the Eddystone Lighthouse.[3][9]
In 1771 Smeaton and some of his
colleagues formed the Smeatonian
Society of Civil Engineers, a group of
leaders of the profession who met
informally over dinner. Though there was
evidence of some technical meetings, it
was little more than a social society.
 

John Smeaton, the "father of civil engineering"

In 1818 the Institution of Civil Engineers

was founded in London,[10] and in 1820 the
eminent engineer Thomas Telford became
its first president. The institution received
a Royal Charter in 1828, formally
recognising civil engineering as a
profession. Its charter defined civil
engineering as:
the art of directing the great
sources of power in nature for
the use and convenience of man,
as the means of production and
of traffic in states, both for
external and internal trade, as
applied in the construction of
roads, bridges, aqueducts,
canals, river navigation and
docks for internal intercourse
and exchange, and in the
construction of ports, harbours,
moles, breakwaters and
lighthouses, and in the art of
 navigation by artificial power
for the purposes of commerce,
and in the construction and
application of machinery, and in
the drainage of cities and
towns.[11]

Civil engineering education

The first private college to teach civil

engineering in the United States was
Norwich University, founded in 1819 by
Captain Alden Partridge.[12] The first
degree in civil engineering in the United
States was awarded by Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute in 1835.[13][14] The
first such degree to be awarded to a
woman was granted by Cornell University
to Nora Stanton Blatch in 1905.[15]

In the UK during the early 19th century, the

division between civil engineering and
military engineering (served by the Royal
Military Academy, Woolwich), coupled with
the demands of the Industrial Revolution,
spawned new engineering education
initiatives: the Class of Civil Engineering
and Mining was founded at King's College
London in 1838, mainly as a response to
the growth of the railway system and the
need for more qualified engineers, the
private College for Civil Engineers in
Putney was established in 1839, and the
UK's first Chair of Engineering was
established at the University of Glasgow in
1840.

Education
Civil engineers typically possess an
academic degree in civil engineering. The
length of study is three to five years, and
the completed degree is designated as a
bachelor of technology, or a bachelor of
engineering. The curriculum generally
includes classes in physics, mathematics,
project management, design and specific
topics in civil engineering. After taking
basic courses in most sub-disciplines of
civil engineering, they move on to
specialize in one or more sub-disciplines
at advanced levels. While an
undergraduate degree (BEng/BSc)
normally provides successful students
with industry-accredited qualification,
some academic institutions offer post-
graduate degrees (MEng/MSc), which
allow students to further specialize in their
particular area of interest.[16]
 

Surveying students with professor at the Helsinki

University of Technology in the late 19th century.

Practicing engineers
In most countries, a bachelor's degree in
engineering represents the first step
towards professional certification, and a
professional body certifies the degree
program. After completing a certified
degree program, the engineer must satisfy
a range of requirements including work
experience and exam requirements before
being certified. Once certified, the engineer
is designated as a professional engineer
(in the United States, Canada and South
Africa), a chartered engineer (in most
Commonwealth countries), a chartered
professional engineer (in Australia and
New Zealand), or a European engineer (in
most countries of the European Union).
There are international agreements
between relevant professional bodies to
allow engineers to practice across national
borders.

The benefits of certification vary

depending upon location. For example, in
the United States and Canada, "only a
licensed professional engineer may
prepare, sign and seal, and submit
engineering plans and drawings to a public
authority for approval, or seal engineering
work for public and private clients."[17] This
requirement is enforced under provincial
law such as the Engineers Act in
Quebec.[18]No such legislation has been
enacted in other countries including the
United Kingdom. In Australia, state
licensing of engineers is limited to the
state of Queensland. Almost all certifying
bodies maintain a code of ethics which all
members must abide by.[19]
Engineers must obey contract law in their
contractual relationships with other
parties. In cases where an engineer's work
fails, they may be subject to the law of tort
of negligence, and in extreme cases,
criminal charges.[20] An engineer's work
must also comply with numerous other
rules and regulations such as building
codes and environmental law.

Sub-disciplines

h k h k d l h
The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge in Japan, currently the
world's longest suspension span.

There are a number of sub-disciplines

within the broad field of civil engineering.
General civil engineers work closely with
surveyors and specialized civil engineers
to design grading, drainage, pavement,
water supply, sewer service, dams, electric
and communications supply. General civil
engineering is also referred to as site
engineering, a branch of civil engineering
that primarily focuses on converting a
tract of land from one usage to another.
Site engineers spend time visiting project
sites, meeting with stakeholders, and
preparing construction plans. Civil
engineers apply the principles of
geotechnical engineering, structural
engineering, environmental engineering,
transportation engineering and
construction engineering to residential,
commercial, industrial and public works
projects of all sizes and levels of
construction.

Coastal engineering

 
Oosterscheldekering, a storm surge barrier in the
Netherlands.

Coastal engineering is concerned with

managing coastal areas. In some
jurisdictions, the terms sea defense and
coastal protection mean defense against
flooding and erosion, respectively. The
term coastal defense is the more
traditional term, but coastal management
has become more popular as the field has
expanded to techniques that allow erosion
to claim land.

Construction engineering
Construction engineering involves planning
and execution, transportation of materials,
site development based on hydraulic,
environmental, structural and geotechnical
engineering. As construction firms tend to
have higher business risk than other types
of civil engineering firms do, construction
engineers often engage in more business-
like transactions, for example, drafting and
reviewing contracts, evaluating logistical
operations, and monitoring prices of
supplies.

Earthquake engineering
Earthquake engineering involves designing
structures to withstand hazardous
earthquake exposures. Earthquake
engineering is a sub-discipline of
structural engineering. The main
objectives of earthquake engineering
are[21] to understand interaction of
structures on the shaky ground; foresee
the consequences of possible
earthquakes; and design, construct and
maintain structures to perform at
earthquake in compliance with building
codes.

Environmental engineering
 

Water pollution

Environmental engineering is the

contemporary term for sanitary
engineering, though sanitary engineering
traditionally had not included much of the
hazardous waste management and
environmental remediation work covered
by environmental engineering. Public
health engineering and environmental
health engineering are other terms being
used.
Environmental engineering deals with
treatment of chemical, biological, or
thermal wastes, purification of water and
air, and remediation of contaminated sites
after waste disposal or accidental
contamination. Among the topics covered
by environmental engineering are pollutant
transport, water purification, waste water
treatment, air pollution, solid waste
treatment, and hazardous waste
management. Environmental engineers
administer pollution reduction, green
engineering, and industrial ecology.
Environmental engineers also compile
information on environmental
consequences of proposed actions.
Forensic engineering

Forensic engineering is the investigation of

materials, products, structures or
components that fail or do not operate or
function as intended, causing personal
injury or damage to property. The
consequences of failure are dealt with by
the law of product liability. The field also
deals with retracing processes and
procedures leading to accidents in
operation of vehicles or machinery. The
subject is applied most commonly in civil
law cases, although it may be of use in
criminal law cases. Generally the purpose
of a Forensic engineering investigation is
to locate cause or causes of failure with a
view to improve performance or life of a
component, or to assist a court in
determining the facts of an accident. It
can also involve investigation of
intellectual property claims, especially
patents.

Geotechnical engineering

A phase diagram of soil indicating the weights and

volumes of air, soil, water, and voids.
Geotechnical engineering studies rock and
soil supporting civil engineering systems.
Knowledge from the field of soil science,
materials science, mechanics, and
hydraulics is applied to safely and
economically design foundations,
retaining walls, and other structures.
Environmental efforts to protect
groundwater and safely maintain landfills
have spawned a new area of research
called geoenvironmental
engineering.[22][23]

Identification of soil properties presents

challenges to geotechnical engineers.
Boundary conditions are often well defined
in other branches of civil engineering, but
unlike steel or concrete, the material
properties and behavior of soil are difficult
to predict due to its variability and
limitation on investigation. Furthermore,
soil exhibits nonlinear (stress-dependent)
strength, stiffness, and dilatancy (volume
change associated with application of
shear stress), making studying soil
mechanics all the more difficult.[22]
Geotechnical engineers frequently work
with professional geologists and soil
scientists.[24]

Materials science and

engineering
Materials science is closely related to civil
engineering. It studies fundamental
characteristics of materials, and deals
with ceramics such as concrete and mix
asphalt concrete, strong metals such as
aluminum and steel, and thermosetting
polymers including
polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and
carbon fibers.

Materials engineering involves protection

and prevention (paints and finishes).
Alloying combines two types of metals to
produce another metal with desired
properties. It incorporates elements of
applied physics and chemistry. With recent
media attention on nanoscience and
nanotechnology, materials engineering
has been at the forefront of academic
research. It is also an important part of
forensic engineering and failure analysis.

Structural engineering

Play media
Burj Khalifa animation of construction process
 

Play media

Shallow foundation construction example

Structural engineering is concerned with

the structural design and structural
analysis of buildings, bridges, towers,
flyovers (overpasses), tunnels, off shore
structures like oil and gas fields in the sea,
aerostructure and other structures. This
involves identifying the loads which act
upon a structure and the forces and
stresses which arise within that structure
due to those loads, and then designing the
structure to successfully support and
resist those loads. The loads can be self
weight of the structures, other dead load,
live loads, moving (wheel) load, wind load,
earthquake load, load from temperature
change etc. The structural engineer must
design structures to be safe for their users
and to successfully fulfill the function they
are designed for (to be serviceable). Due to
the nature of some loading conditions,
sub-disciplines within structural
engineering have emerged, including wind
engineering and earthquake
engineering.[25]
Design considerations will include
strength, stiffness, and stability of the
structure when subjected to loads which
may be static, such as furniture or self-
weight, or dynamic, such as wind, seismic,
crowd or vehicle loads, or transitory, such
as temporary construction loads or
impact. Other considerations include cost,
constructability, safety, aesthetics and
sustainability.

Surveying
 

A student using a dumpy level

Surveying is the process by which a

surveyor measures certain dimensions
that occur on or near the surface of the
Earth. Surveying equipment such as levels
and theodolites are used for accurate
measurement of angular deviation,
horizontal, vertical and slope distances.
With computerisation, electronic distance
measurement (EDM), total stations, GPS
surveying and laser scanning have to a
large extent supplanted traditional
instruments. Data collected by survey
measurement is converted into a graphical
representation of the Earth's surface in the
form of a map. This information is then
used by civil engineers, contractors and
realtors to design from, build on, and trade,
respectively. Elements of a structure must
be sized and positioned in relation to each
other and to site boundaries and adjacent
structures.

Although surveying is a distinct profession

with separate qualifications and licensing
arrangements, civil engineers are trained
in the basics of surveying and mapping, as
well as geographic information systems.
Surveyors also lay out the routes of
railways, tramway tracks, highways, roads,
pipelines and streets as well as position
other infrastructure, such as harbors,
before construction.

Land surveying

In the United States, Canada, the United

Kingdom and most Commonwealth
countries land surveying is considered to
be a separate and distinct profession.
Land surveyors are not considered to be
engineers, and have their own professional
associations and licensing requirements.
The services of a licensed land surveyor
are generally required for boundary
surveys (to establish the boundaries of a
parcel using its legal description) and
subdivision plans (a plot or map based on
a survey of a parcel of land, with boundary
lines drawn inside the larger parcel to
indicate the creation of new boundary
lines and roads), both of which are
generally referred to as Cadastral
surveying.

 
BLM cadastral survey marker from 1992 in San Xavier,
Arizona.

Construction surveying

Construction surveying is generally

performed by specialised technicians.
Unlike land surveyors, the resulting plan
does not have legal status. Construction
surveyors perform the following tasks:

Surveying existing conditions of the

future work site, including topography,
existing buildings and infrastructure,
and underground infrastructure when
possible;
 "lay-out" or "setting-out": placing
reference points and markers that will
guide the construction of new structures
such as roads or buildings;
Verifying the location of structures
during construction;
As-Built surveying: a survey conducted
at the end of the construction project to
verify that the work authorized was
completed to the specifications set on
plans.

Transportation engineering

Transportation engineering is concerned

with moving people and goods efficiently,
safely, and in a manner conducive to a
vibrant community. This involves
specifying, designing, constructing, and
maintaining transportation infrastructure
which includes streets, canals, highways,
rail systems, airports, ports, and mass
transit. It includes areas such as
transportation design, transportation
planning, traffic engineering, some aspects
of urban engineering, queueing theory,
pavement engineering, Intelligent
Transportation System (ITS), and
infrastructure management.

Municipal or urban engineering

 

The engineering of this roundabout in Bristol, England,

attempts to make traffic flow free-moving

Lake Chapultepec

Municipal engineering is concerned with

municipal infrastructure. This involves
specifying, designing, constructing, and
maintaining streets, sidewalks, water
supply networks, sewers, street lighting,
municipal solid waste management and
disposal, storage depots for various bulk
materials used for maintenance and public
works (salt, sand, etc.), public parks and
cycling infrastructure. In the case of
underground utility networks, it may also
include the civil portion (conduits and
access chambers) of the local distribution
networks of electrical and
telecommunications services. It can also
include the optimizing of waste collection
and bus service networks. Some of these
disciplines overlap with other civil
engineering specialties, however municipal
engineering focuses on the coordination
of these infrastructure networks and
services, as they are often built
simultaneously, and managed by the same
municipal authority. Municipal engineers
may also design the site civil works for
large buildings, industrial plants or
campuses (i.e. access roads, parking lots,
potable water supply, treatment or
pretreatment of waste water, site drainage,
etc.)

Water resources engineering

 

Hoover Dam

Water resources engineering is concerned

with the collection and management of
water (as a natural resource). As a
discipline it therefore combines elements
of hydrology, environmental science,
meteorology, conservation, and resource
management. This area of civil
engineering relates to the prediction and
management of both the quality and the
quantity of water in both underground
(aquifers) and above ground (lakes, rivers,
and streams) resources. Water resource
engineers analyze and model very small to
very large areas of the earth to predict the
amount and content of water as it flows
into, through, or out of a facility. Although
the actual design of the facility may be left
to other engineers.

Hydraulic engineering is concerned with

the flow and conveyance of fluids,
principally water. This area of civil
engineering is intimately related to the
design of pipelines, water supply network,
drainage facilities (including bridges,
dams, channels, culverts, levees, storm
sewers), and canals. Hydraulic engineers
design these facilities using the concepts
of fluid pressure, fluid statics, fluid
dynamics, and hydraulics, among others.

The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland

Civil engineering systems

Civil engineering systems is a discipline

that promotes the use of systems thinking
to manage complexity and change in civil
engineering within its wider public context.
It posits that the proper development of
civil engineering infrastructure requires a
holistic, coherent understanding of the
relationships between all of the important
factors that contribute to successful
projects while at the same time
emphasising the importance of attention
to technical detail. Its purpose is to help
integrate the entire civil engineering
project life cycle from conception, through
planning, designing, making, operating to
decommissioning.[26][27]

See also
Architectural engineering
 Civil engineering software
Engineering drawing
Glossary of civil engineering
Index of civil engineering articles
List of civil engineers
List of engineering branches
List of Historic Civil Engineering
Landmarks
Macro-engineering
Railway engineering
Site survey

Associations

American Society of Civil Engineers

Canadian Society for Civil Engineering
Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering
Surveyors
Earthquake Engineering Research
Institute
Engineers Australia
European Federation of National
Engineering Associations
International Federation of Consulting
Engineers
Indian Geotechnical Society
Institution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Structural Engineers
Institute of Engineering (Nepal)
 International Society of Soil Mechanics
and Geotechnical Engineering
Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh
Institution of Engineers (India)
Institution of Engineers of Ireland
Institute of Transportation Engineers
Pakistan Engineering Council
Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers
Transportation Research Board

References
1. "History and Heritage of Civil
Engineering" . ASCE. Archived from
the original on 16 February 2007.
Retrieved 8 August 2007.
2. "What is Civil Engineering" . Institution
of Civil Engineers. Retrieved 15 May
2017.
3. "What is Civil Engineering?" . The
Canadian Society for Civil Engineering.
Archived from the original on 12
August 2007. Retrieved 8 August
2007.
4. "Civil engineering" . Encyclopædia
Britannica. Retrieved 9 August 2007.
5. Victor E. Saouma. "Lecture Notes in
Structural Engineering" (PDF).
University of Colorado. Archived from
the original (PDF) on 19 April 2011.
Retrieved 2 November 2007.
6. Henry Thomas Colebrook, Algebra:
with Arithmetic and mensuration
(London 1817)
7. The Architecture of the Italian
Renaissance Jacob Burckhardt
ISBN 0-8052-1082-2
8. p. 4 of Mays, L. (30 August 2010).
Ancient Water Technologies. Springer.
ISBN 978-90-481-8631-0.
9. Oakes, William C.; Leone, Les L.; Gunn,
Craig J. (2001). Engineering Your
Future. Great Lakes Press. ISBN 978-1-
881018-57-5.
10. "Our history" . Institution of Civil
Engineers. 2 December 2015.
Retrieved 12 April 2018.
11. "Institution of Civil Engineers'
website" . Retrieved 26 December
2007.
12. "Norwich University Legacy Website" .
Archived from the original on 6 July
2014. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
13. Griggs, Francis E Jr. "Amos Eaton was
Right!". Journal of Professional Issues
in Engineering Education and Practice,
Vol. 123, No. 1, January 1997, pp. 30–
34.
14. "RPI Timeline" . Archived from the
original on 2 July 2014. Retrieved
14 September 2007.
15. "Nora Stanton Blatch Barney" .
Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Retrieved 8 October 2010.
16. ,"Cite Postgrad" . Archived from the
original on 6 November 2008.
17. "Why Should You Get Licensed?" .
National Society of Professional
Engineers. Archived from the original
on 4 June 2005. Retrieved 11 August
2007.
18. "Engineers Act" . Quebec Statutes and
Regulations (CanLII). Archived from
the original on 5 October 2006.
Retrieved 11 August 2007.
19. "Ethics Codes and Guidelines" . Online
Ethics Center. Retrieved 11 August
2007.
20. "Singapore's Circle Line criminal trial
started" . New Civil Engineer.
Retrieved 16 November 2013.
21. Chen W-F, Scawthorn C. Earthquake
Engineering Handbook, CRC Press,
2003, ISBN 0-8493-0068-1, Chapter 2
22. Mitchell, James Kenneth (1993),
Fundamentals of Soil Behavior (2nd
ed.), John Wiley and Sons, pp 1–2
23. Shroff, Arvind V.; Shah, Dhananjay L.
(2003), Soil Mechanics and
Geotechnical Engineering, Taylor &
Francis, 2003, pp 1–2
24. "Geotechnical/Geological
Engineering" (PDF). Professional
Careers in the Mineral Industry. The
Australasian Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
25. Narayanan, R, A Beeby. Introduction to
Design for Civil Engineers. London:
Spon, 2003.
26. Samuel Labi Introduction to Civil
Engineering Systems: A Systems
Perspective to the Development of
Civil Engineering Facilities 2014, John
WileyISBN 978-0-470-53063-4
Retrieved May 2018
27. David Blockley and Patrick Godfrey
Doing it Differently: Systems for
Rethinking Infrastructure (2nd
Edition) ICE Publications, London
ISBN 978-0-7277-6082-1" Retrieved
May 2018

Further reading
W.F. Chen; J.Y. Richard Liew, eds. (2002).
The Civil Engineering Handbook. CRC
 Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-0958-8.
Jonathan T. Ricketts; M. Kent Loftin;
Frederick S. Merritt, eds. (2004).
Standard handbook for civil engineers (5
ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-
136473-7.
Muir Wood, David (2012). Civil
Engineering: a very short introduction.
New York: Oxford University Press.
ISBN 978-0-19-957863-4.
Blockley, David (2014). Structural
Engineering: a very short introduction.
New York: Oxford University Press.
ISBN 978-0-19-967193-9.

External links
 Wikiquote has quotations related to:
Civil engineering

The Institution of Civil Engineers

Civil Engineering Software Database
The Institution of Civil Engineering
Surveyors
Civil engineering classes, from MIT
OpenCourseWare

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Civil_engineering&oldid=911671476"

Last edited 3 days ago by Aranya

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless
otherwise noted.