CHAPTER 1. What Is Civil Engineering?

1.1 Overview

Civil engineering is the oldest engineering discipline. From the pyramids in Egypt, the Roman
aqueduct and roads, to the great walls and the grand canal of China, ancient civil engineers
left their imprint on human history on a grand scale. While the basic needs for civil engineering
have not changed throughout the ages, the content and level of expectation of civil
engineering work have certainly changed with the time because the tools available to civil
engineers are changing with the time.

Civil engineering is a branch of engineering that deals with providing people with a livable
built environment consistent with the standards and expectations of modern living through
the applications of mathematics, science, and human experience.

Some of the contributions of civil engineering are visible and obvious: buildings, bridges,
highways, railways, airports, and dams and levees. Some are less commonly known as the
product of civil engineering: offshore platforms, cell phone towers, power transmission lines
and substations, drinking water and wastewater treatment plants, traffic signals, air pollution
control, International Space Station, and many more.

In short, civil engineering deals with people’s everyday needs and more. The following table
illustrates the connection between five basic human needs and technical areas within civil
engineering. Civil engineering’s progress throughout time introduces new contributions to
people’s daily lives.

Eight civil engineering technical areas are described below. Each technical area has its own
sub-areas of specialty. They are described following the short overview of each technical area.
When you begin to take civil engineering courses, you may identify each course with some of
these technical areas. A student is not expected to be exposed to all the technical areas but
at least four are included in the curriculum of any civil engineering degree program.

Three contemporary issues confronting civil engineers are described following a description
of other areas closely related to civil engineering.

1. Electrification

2. Automobile

3. Airplane

4. Water Supply and Distribution

5. Electronics

6. Radio and Television

7. Agricultural Mechanization
8. Computers

9. Telephone

10. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration

11. Highways

12. Spacecraft

13. Internet

14. Imaging

15. Household Appliances

16. Health Technologies

17. Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies

18. Laser and Fiber Optics

19. Nuclear Technologies

20. High-performance Materials

1.2 Structural Engineering

Structural engineering is the technical specialty that deals with the analysis and design of
constructed structures. From spacecraft to deep sea submarines, from tiny micro-electro-
mechanical system (MEMS) devices to long bridges and tall buildings, these are all human-
made structures that serve specific functions.

A structure is always subjected to the many “loads” the environment forces upon it. These
loads include the omnipresent gravitational load of its own weight (called the dead load), the
weight of things moving about in or upon the structure (the live load), and event-driven loads
originated from the occurrence of earthquakes, strong wind, or heavy snow.

Structural design aims at providing a structure with sufficient level of resistance against these
loads with minimum cost. Within structural engineering, there are several technical sub-areas.
Some are named according to the type of structure. Some are named according to the type
of load.

Earthquake Engineering. The suddenness of earthquakes and the damage they could cause
in a matter of seconds inspired the study of the nature of earthquakes and the effects they
inflict on structures. The effects of earthquake ground motion create vertical and horizontal
forces that change violently within a short duration. The time-varying nature and the multi-
directional nature of the earthquake-induced load require special design and analysis
considerations. The fundamental approach in earthquake engineering is not to design a
structure to withstand any earthquake at all costs but to design a structure that will not inflict
injury to human lives at a reasonable cost.

Wind Engineering. Strong wind caused by a hurricane, a tornado, or a storm creates effects
on structures that are also time-varying and multi-directional. Strong wind around a structure
may push against a surface while creating a partial vacuum behind another structural surface.
Unlike earthquakes, which occur infrequently, especially the damaging ones, strong wind in
some areas occurs frequently and so is the damage it incurs. Design against such wind-related
effects is the realm of wind engineering. Here again, the design approach is to protect human
lives with a reasonable cost.

Structural Reliability. The many loads a structure must withstand during its life span are
mostly of a “random” nature, meaning it cannot be defined precisely with respect to its
magnitude and time of occurrence. So are the resistance provided by the size and material of
structural components. Design in the face of uncertainty requires the application of
probability and statistics. Structural reliability is the methodology applying these
mathematical tools to the load-resistance analysis in structural design. It is used in the
development of design codes and specifications that are followed by designers to provide
acceptable levels of safety against all loads.

Fire Engineering. In the event of a fire in a building, the high temperature created by the fire
may cause the building material to lose its strength and eventually fail under the weight of the
building. Fire engineering in the context of structural engineering deals with the effective
application of protective materials to the structural components such as steel beams and
columns such that sufficient time is provided for the occupants to escape and the firefighters
to arrive. The research in fire engineering provides data to be incorporated into design and
construction codes and specifications.

Bridge Engineering. Some structural engineers specialize in bridge design and construction.
Bridge design can be categorized according to material and bridge type. One unique feature
of bridge design is it is closely integrated with construction. From the bridge foundation to the
superstructure, the process of construction and erection often requires detailed analysis by
the design engineers and likely dictates the designers’ choice of bridge type.

Dam Engineering. The design of dams requires detailed study of the geological characteristics
of the site and the mechanical properties of the foundation before the dam type is selected.
For some types of dams, it is necessary to ensure the dam material is placed in such a manner
that seepage of water through and under the dam body is within acceptable limits. Dam
engineers also design all details on how to divert water during construction and specify
maintenance and operations procedures post construction.

Building Engineering. Structural engineers often become building design specialists because
building design is more frequently in demand than bridge or dam designs, especially in urban
centers. Building engineers also design special buildings such as stadiums and large dome
structures.

Forensic Engineering. Forensic engineering refers to the study of causes of an engineering

In case of major disasters, often a team of experts are assembled to study the cause of the
disaster and to make recommendations to prevent future disasters. Even when the cause of
disaster is terrorism, forensic engineering would reveal the weakness in design and provide
guidance for future designs.