In modern usage, civil engineering is a broad field of engineering that deals with
the planning, construction, and maintenance of fixed structures,
or public works, as they are
related to earth, water, or civilization and their
processes. Most civil engineering today deals with roads, railways, structures, water supply, sewer, flood control and traffic. In essence, civil
engineering may be regarded as the profession that makes the world a more
agreeable place in which to live.
Engineering has developed from observations of the ways natural and
constructed systems react and from the development of empirical equations that
provide bases for design. Civil engineering is the broadest of the engineering
fields. In fact, engineering was once divided into only two fields--military and
civil. Civil engineering is still an umbrella field comprised of many related
specialties.
Sub-disciplines of civil engineering
General engineering
General civil engineering is concerned with the overall interface of fixed
projects with the greater world. General civil engineers work closely with
surveyors and specialized civil engineers to fit and serve fixed projects within
their given site, community and terrain by designing grading, drainage (flood
control), paving, water supply, sewer service, electric and communications
supply and land (real property) divisions. General engineers spend much of their
time visiting project sites, developing community/neighborhood consensus, and
preparing construction plans.
Structural engineering
Main article: Structural
engineering
Structural engineering is concerned with the design of bridges, buildings, offshore oil
platforms, dams
etc. Structural design andstructural analysis
are components of structural engineering and a key component in the structural
design process. This involves computing the stresses and forces at work within a
structure. There are some structural engineers who work in non-typical areas,
such as designing aircraft, spacecraft and even biomedical devices. Major design
concerns are building seismic resistant structures and seismically
retrofitting existing structures.
Geotechnical engineering
Main article: Geotechnical
engineering
The main subject of the studies also known as soil mechanics is
concerned with soil properties, mechanics of soil particles, compression and
swelling of soils, seepage, slopes, retaining walls, foundations, footings,
ground and rock anchors, use of synthetic tensile materials in soil structures,
soil-structure interaction and soil dynamics. Geotechnical engineering covers
this field of studies for application in engineering.
The importance of geotechnical engineering can hardly be overstated:
buildings must be supported by reliable foundations. Dam design and construction
reducing flooding of lower drainage areas is an important subject of
geotechnical engineering.
Transportation engineering
Main article: Transportation
engineering
Transportation engineering is concerned with moving people and goods
efficiently and safely. This involves specifying, designing, constructing, and
maintaining transportation infrastructure which includes streets, highways, rail
systems, airports, ports, and mass transit. It includes
areas such as queueing theory, traffic engineering, pavement
engineering, and infrastructure management. For example, in traffic
engineering, driver behavior patterns are analyzed and simulated through the use
of trip generation and traffic assignment algorithms which can be highly complex
computational problems. Since the passage of the 1991 Intermodal
Surface Transportation Efficiency Act there has been a large focus on
intermodal transportation in an attempt to improve efficiency, safety, and
productivity with the existing infrastructure. Such a transportation system is
called an Intelligent
Transportation System (ITS).
Environmental engineering
Wastewater treatment is a critical activity in environmental
engineering, a sub-discipline of civil engineering.
Main article: Environmental
engineering
Environmental engineering deals with the treatment of chemical, biological,
and/or thermal waste, the purification of water and air, and the remediation of contaminated
sites, due to prior waste disposal or accidental contamination. Among the topics
covered by environmental engineering are water purification, sewage treatment, andhazardous waste
management. Environmental engineering is related to the fields of hydrology, geohydrology and meteorology insofar as
knowledge of water and groundwater flows is
required to understand pollutant transport. Environmental engineers are also
involved in pollution reduction, green
engineering, and industrial ecology.
Environmental engineering also deals with the gathering of information on the
environmental consequences of proposed actions and the assessment of effects of
proposed actions for the purpose of assisting society and policy makers in the
decision making process.
Environmental engineering is the contemporary term for sanitary
engineering. Some other terms in use are public health engineering and
environmental health engineering.
Hydraulic engineering
Main article: Hydraulic
engineering
Hydraulic engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids,
principally water. This area of engineering is intimately related to the design
of pipelines, water distribution
systems, drainage facilities (including bridges, dams, channels, culverts,
levees, and storm sewers), canals, and to environmental engineering. Hydraulic
engineers design these facilities using the concepts of fluid
pressure, fluid statics, fluid
dynamics, and hydraulics, among others.
Construction engineering
Main article: Construction
engineering
Construction engineering involves planning and execution of the designs from
transportation, site development, hydraulic, environmental, structural and
geotechnical engineers.
Materials science
Main article: Materials
science
Civil engineering also includes materials science.
Engineering materials with broad application in civil engineering include
concrete, aluminum and steel. The study of materials also includes polymers and
ceramics with potential engineering application.
Surveying
Main article: Surveying
Elements of a building or structure must be correctly sized and positioned in
relation to each other and to site boundaries and adjacent structures. This is
accomplished using various surveying techniques. Civil engineers are trained in
the methods of surveying and may seek Professional Land Surveyor status.
Urban engineering
Main article: Urban
engineering
Urban engineering is a subset of the general practice of urban
planning. It is limited to civil engineering in an urban setting and does
not include designing buildings or their functions.
Careers
A popular misconception is that civil engineering is far from the exciting
frontiers in mathematics and computer science. In
actuality, much of what is now computer science was
driven by work in civil engineering, where structural and network analysis
problems required parallel computations and development of advanced
algorithms.
There are also civil engineers who work in the area of safety engineering
and forensics engineering, applying probabilistic methods
to structural design, safety analysis and even estimates of insurance losses due
to natural and man-made hazards.
Education and Licensure
Prior to becoming a practicing engineer, civil engineers generally complete
tertiary (college or higher) educational requirements, followed by several years
of practical experience. Each country, state, or province individually regulates
civil engineering practice:
In the U.S., one must become a licensed Professional
Engineer to do any civil engineering work affecting the public or to legally
represent oneself as a civil engineer. Licensure requirements vary slightly by
state, but in all cases entail passing two licensure exams, the Fundamentals
of Engineering exam and the Principles and Practice exam (commonly called
the PE), and completing a state-mandated number of years of work under the
supervision of a licensed Professional Engineer. In addition, an educational
requirement must often be met. All states accept a four year Bachelor of Science
(BS) or Bachelor of
Engineering (BEng) degree in Civil Engineering, from an ABET-accredited program, for their educational
requirement. The acceptability of degrees in other fields varies by state; some
states allow a person to substitute additional years of supervised work
experience for the degree requirement. Although the American
Society of Civil Engineers encourages states to raise the educational
requirement to a graduate degree, advanced degrees are currently optional for
civil engineers in the United States. Graduate study may lead either to a Master of
Engineering, which is a Professional
Master's degree, or to a Master of Science
degree followed by a PhD in civil engineering or a
sub-discipline.
In the United Kingdom current
graduates require a MSc, MEng or BEng (Hons) in order to become chartered
through the Institution
of Civil Engineers. The Institution also allows entrants with substantial
experience to apply without this level of formal academic achievement. In
practice, most civil engineers in the United Kingdom work without chartered
status. Unlike in many other European countries, the term 'Engineer' is not
legally protected within the United Kingdom.
In Australia and New
Zealand, requirements are typically a four year Bachelor of
Engineering (BE) degree which includes 12 weeks of work experience.
International engineering agreements are designed to allow engineers
to practice across international borders. In general, these agreements require
both educational competencies and professional experiential competencies.