GuruIntroduction
Civil Engineering stands as the oldest branch of engineering, evolving continuously since the era of stone-age civilizations. The American Society of Civil Engineers defines civil engineering as the profession that applies knowledge of the mathematical and physical sciences—gained through study, experience, and practice—with sound judgment to develop economical solutions for using nature’s materials and forces to improve human well-being. Civil engineering involves the application of physical and scientific principles to design, develop, and maintain both built and natural environments.
Basic Areas in Civil Engineering
- Surveying
- Construction engineering
- Structural engineering
- Earthquake engineering
- Geotechnical and foundation engineering
- Quantity surveying
- Fluid mechanics
- Irrigation engineering
- Transportation engineering
- Environmental engineering
- Town planning
- Infrastructural development
- Project management
- Remote sensing
Surveying
Surveying is the science of map-making. Engineers begin any development activity by determining the relative positions of various objects in an area with respect to horizontal and vertical axes from a reference point. They achieve this by surveying the area. Earlier, they used conventional instruments like chains, tapes, and leveling tools. In the modern electronic era, engineers now use advanced equipment such as electronic distance meters (EDMs) and total stations to obtain more accurate results with greater ease.
Surveyors prepare topographical maps of talukas, districts, states, and countries. They include key features like rivers, hills, forests, lakes, towns, and cities in both plan view and elevation using contour lines. When they map large areas, they apply corrections for the Earth's curvature to every measurement. Surveyors call this type of work geodetic surveying.
Construction engineering
Construction forms the core activity of civil engineering. Therefore, every civil engineer must understand the properties and applications of fundamental construction materials such as stone, bricks, tiles, cement, sand, jelly, steel, glass, glazed tiles, plaster of Paris, paints, and varnishes. Engineers should also thoroughly understand how reinforced cement concrete (R.C.C.) and prestressed concrete behave. The market constantly introduces improved versions of flooring materials and bathroom fittings. A construction engineer must evaluate their advantages, disadvantages, and cost-effectiveness.
Construction technology should keep pace with the need of modern trend. In cities building tall structures in shortest possible period is the requirement while in rural areas and poor need the low cost housing technology. Construction engineer should know quantity of materials and man power requirement. He has to plan and execute the work in proper sequence without wasting man power, material and time of construction equipments.
Structural engineering
Every load acting on a structure ultimately transfers to the ground. During this transfer, various structural components experience internal stresses. For example, in a building, the slab transfers the load to the ground through beams, columns, and footings. Engineers assess the internal stresses in each structural component through a process called structural analysis, and they determine the appropriate size of each component through structural design.
Engineers design structures using materials such as masonry, reinforced cement concrete (R.C.C.), prestressed concrete, or steel. Structural engineering involves analyzing structures like buildings, water tanks, chimneys, and bridges, and designing them with the most suitable materials. A structural engineer must ensure that the structure is not only safe but also economical. To achieve cost-effective designs, engineers apply mathematical optimization techniques to determine efficient section sizes.
Earthquake engineering
About 50 years ago, engineers in India believed that only the northeast region and some parts of northern India were prone to earthquakes. However, earthquakes in Koyna, Latur, and Gujarat significantly changed the understanding of seismic risks. These events led experts to redraw India’s earthquake zone map, updating it to show the intensity of earthquake forces to consider in different regions. Earthquake engineering now focuses on how structures respond to seismic forces. Researchers actively study earthquake magnitudes, analyze structural behavior, and design buildings to resist earthquake forces. This growing field has become a vital branch of civil engineering.
Geotechnical and foundation engineering
Soil properties vary from place to place. Even at the same location, they may differ at different depths. Seasonal changes, especially in moisture content, can also affect soil behavior. Engineers must ensure that the soil can safely support the loads from all structures. To do this, they carefully assess the soil's safe bearing capacity.
Geotechnical engineers determine the safe bearing capacity for building foundations and conduct various studies required for designing pavements, tunnels, earthen dams, canals, and earth-retaining structures. They also study ground improvement techniques. Since every structure relies on safely transferring its load to the ground, geotechnical engineering plays a critical role in ensuring structural stability.
Quality surveying
Quantity surveying is a branch of civil engineering that focuses on estimating the quantities of materials required for a construction project. For example, in a building project, engineers calculate the amount of earthwork needed for foundations and determine the required quantities of stone, bricks, cement, jelly, sand, and steel at various stages of construction. These material estimates directly influence the project’s estimated cost. Planners must assess material requirements early in the process to determine the overall cost. Since estimated cost is a key factor in selecting any project, quantity surveying plays a vital role in civil engineering.
How to make deduction for quantity of plastering for various types of openings in the wall, calculating area of painting for various types of doors and windows etc. also form important aspect of quantity surveying.Labour requirement for various activities of construction also forms part of quantity surveying.
Fluid mechanics
Water supports all living beings. Engineers analyze the behavior and flow of water to design and build hydraulic structures. They study fluid mechanics to understand how water and other fluids move. Civil engineers apply this knowledge to solve practical problems in projects involving canals, dams, pipelines, and drainage systems. The field uses the term fluid mechanics to cover all fluids, while hydraulics specifically refers to the movement of water.
Irrigation engineering
Farmers need a steady water supply for their agricultural fields. Engineers identify suitable water resources and build water-retaining structures like tanks and dams. They also plan and construct systems to carry stored water to the fields. This entire process falls under water resources and irrigation engineering. In this field, engineers design and build canals, distributaries, aqueducts, and regulators to manage and distribute water effectively.
Transportation engineering
Environmental engineering
Town Planning
Infrastructural development
Project management
Planning
- What: An individual or a group of enterprising people or a government/public sector agency plan to start a project. They form a group of high level managers. They identify goals, form the objective and identify the opportunities of the project. This type of planning is called as strategic planning.
- Where: The next step the strategic planners takes is where to start the project work.
- Who: The strategic planners identifying the middle level and operational level managers to carry out the task. The middle level management deals with financial management and coordinates with the operational planners and strategic planners.
- How: The operational planners have to work at minute details of the work assigned, find the requirement of machinery and work force and plan day to day activities. They should be ready with alternative plans, if uncertainties creep in at any stage.
The planning is key to success of a project. If the planning is good and work is executed as per the plan, a project can make a good profit and the organisation becomes competent for obtaining more work.
Scheduling
- Mobilizing
- Laying foundation
- Building superstructure
- Finishing
Laying the foundation may be divided into the following events:
- Digging
- Laying bed concrete
- Constructing stone masonry for foundation
- Providing coping concrete
- Pointing the joints and
- Filling the trenches
Like this all other stages involve a number of events. For each event, scheduled date of commencement and completion are to be fixed. Material, equipment and human resources requirement should be identified. For this bar chart or network representation of events is done. Critical activities are identified, the delay of which will delay the entire project. All efforts are concentrated to execute these events as per schedule.
Scheduling is necessary for the successful implementation of the project.
Construction Management
Management is the science and art of planning, organising, staffing, scheduling and executing the work. Achieving coordination among various people involved in the work is art of management. A manager not only directs his subordinates but motivates them to do the work. Communication skill and leadership qualities are to be developed for good construction management.
Planning, scheduling and construction management constitute project management branch of civil engineering.
Remote sensing
- Remote sensing is science and art of acquiring information about an object without physical contact with it. Though human sights and photographs are common examples of remote sensing, in civil engineering we restrict its meaning to sensing of the objects on the earth from satellites using electromagnetic energy.
- Most of the remote sensing methods make use of the reflected microwaves, infrared rays and visible light waves in the electromagnetic spectrum. When the electromagnetic waves sent from satellites strike the earth surface, its characters change due to transmission, absorption, emission, scattering and reflection.
- Since each feature on the earth has different characters, it is possible to identify the feature on the earth with satellite pictures. Remote sensing is mostly qualitative in nature. Data obtained from satellite is to be analysed by user and correctly identify the objects.
- This is called image processing. India has its own remote sensing satellites such as INSAT series, PSLV series etc.
Major area of application of remote sensing is for the following:
Conclusion
Civil engineering is a dynamic and essential field that touches every aspect of our ultramodern lives. It's responsible for the structure that supports communities and the inventions that ameliorate sustainability andresilience.However, you will find a wealth of openings to make a continuing impact on the world by designing, erecting, If you are considering a career in civil engineering.