University Progammes: All You Need To Know About BSc. In Civil Engineering

All you need to know about Civil engineering. This is one of the best programs to read at the tertiary level. Most SHS graduates chose Civil Engineering as their program to read.

The application of physical and scientific principles to the design, development, and maintenance of both the constructed and naturally built environment is known as civil engineering.

Airports, bridges, buildings, canals, dams, pipelines, power plants, railways, roads, sewage systems, and other infrastructure are included.

Civil engineering projects can be large or small in scale and can come from the public sector, government agencies, or the private sector, with civil engineers working in fields such as planning, budgeting, project and asset management, research, analysis, and more.

Civil engineering is the second-oldest engineering discipline, after military engineering, and was developed to distinguish civilian engineering from military engineering.

As a result, civil engineering is a broad discipline with several sub-disciplines.

Because of the broad scope and long history of civil engineering, its development as a discipline is inextricably linked to the advancement of human knowledge in fields such as physics, mathematics, structures and construction, geography, geology, hydrology, environmental and materials sciences, mechanics, and others.

Scientific principles, such as those developed by the ancient Greek Archimedes of Syracuse, were applied as they became known, assisting in the advancement of engineering, which continues to this day with new innovations and research.

To gain a better understanding of civil engineering today, consider how it evolved into a profession over time.

Engineering has always played a role in human life in some form or another, but the earliest signs of civil engineering date back to between 4000 and 2000 BC.

Ancient civil engineering began in Ancient Egypt (along the Nile Valley in Northeast Africa), the Indus Valley Civilisation (spanning northeast Afghanistan, much of Pakistan, and into western and northwest India), and Mesopotamia (along the Tigris-Euphrates river system in modern Iraq).

With the development of sailing and the wheel, goods had to be moved to and from these new settlements, which increased the importance of trading transport.

Early engineering projects included the pyramids of Egypt, the Parthenon of Ancient Greece, the Great Wall of China, and the many civil structures built throughout the Roman Empire, among others in Mexico and Sri Lanka.

However, the terms ‘engineer’ and ‘architect’ were still used interchangeably to describe the profession.

Most construction and design in the ancient and medieval periods was done by artisans like carpenters and stonemasons, with knowledge held by guilds, and it wasn’t until the 18th century that the term “civil engineering” was first used to describe engineering for civilians, rather than military, purposes.

Types of Civil Engineering

Civil engineering is a broad field that includes several specialized sub-disciplines that span a variety of industries and include both practical and theoretical tasks.

These various types of civil engineering are distinguished by a combination of location and specialization, beginning with general civil engineering:

1. Coastal Engineering

This branch of civil engineering is concerned with the management of coastal areas, including protection against flooding and coastal erosion. It is also sometimes known as coastal protection, coastal defense, and coastal management.

2. Construction Engineering

Construction engineers are involved in the planning, transportation, and use of construction materials, using environmental, geotechnical, hydraulic, and structural engineering knowledge.

This role often involves a lot of contract drafting, logistics, and supply monitoring to create plans that can then be used by construction managers.

3. General Civil Engineering

Also known as site engineering, these civil engineers work with surveyors and more specialized civil engineers to design services such as drainage, dams, electrical supply infrastructure, pavements, sewer services, communications infrastructures, and more.

This type of engineering is generally concerned with converting an area of land from one use to another.

This includes site visits, meetings with stakeholders, construction planning and development, as well as assessing potential impacts, including for the environment.

4. Environmental Engineering

This branch of engineering is the modern version of what was once called sanitary engineering. It now includes hazardous waste management and environmental remediation in addition to the treatment of chemical, biological and thermal waste, recycling, and the purification of the air, land, and water.

Environmental engineers are also involved in assessing the environmental consequences of proposed actions.

5. Earthquake Engineering

This sub-discipline of structural engineering involves the design, build, and maintenance of structures capable of withstanding exposure to earthquakes while maintaining compliance with building codes and regulations.

6. Forensic Engineering

Frequently involved in legal affairs, these engineers are called upon to investigate the failure of materials, products, structures machinery, or components that has led to personal injury or property damage.

These engineers seek out causes of failure with the aim of improving processes or performance, as well as resolving intellectual property claims (particularly patent issues).

7. Geotechnical Engineering

Often working with geologists and soil scientists, these engineers investigate the rock and soil conditions for supporting structures, foundations, and retaining walls.

This is made more difficult by the variability of soil behaviors.

8. Hydraulic Engineering

Hydraulic engineers work with the flow and movement of fluids – primarily water.

These engineers design and maintain pipelines, drainage facilities, canals, and water supply networks using concepts such as fluid pressure, statics, and dynamics.

9. Transportation Engineering

Designing, constructing, and maintaining transport infrastructure, transportation engineers are concerned with the movement of goods and people safely and efficiently.

They work with a range of transport infrastructure including canals, roads, railways, ports, airports, and mass transit.

10. Urban / Municipal Engineering

This branch of civil engineering covers the design, construction, and maintenance of a range of different urban structures, assets, and networks.

These include streets, pavements, water supply systems, sewers, waste management/disposal, bulk material storage, lighting, parks, and cycling infrastructure, among other things.

Municipal engineering has cross-over with many other types of civil engineering but is primarily concerned with coordinating these structures and services alongside other specialists under the same municipal authority.

11. Water Resources Engineering

While hydraulic engineering (above) is concerned with the conveyance of fluids, water resources engineering covers the collection and management of water as a natural resource, both above and below ground. As a result, it takes sin disciplines such as hydrology, resource management, conservation, and environmental science.

12. Civil Engineering Systems

This discipline is concerned with integrating civil engineering project lifecycles from conception to planning, designing, and manufacturing, through operation and decommissioning.

This is done through the use of systems thinking and a holistic overview of the relationships between different parts of a project, coupled with an attention to technical detail too.

There are many more types of Civil engineering. These are the common ones and we will update you on more.

What Do Civil Engineers Do?

Civil engineers apply various engineering principles (for example, structural, environmental, construction, or geotechnical) to projects of all sizes on behalf of the private or public sectors for residential, commercial, industrial, or public purposes.

This includes calculating a project’s financial, environmental, and socioeconomic costs to ensure it is completed on time, within budget, and in accordance with codes, standards, and regulations.

Civil engineers can work on projects from conception to design, construction, maintenance, and even decommissioning / removal.

These duties can be performed under contract or as a consultant, with pay and job responsibilities determined by the engineer’s experience and the project’s requirements.

Some common duties of civil engineers include:

• Performing technical and feasibility studies, using reports, surveys, maps and plans, and related data
• Determining costs,
• Understanding and accounting for health and safety, building, and other engineering regulations
• Assessing environmental impacts and determining risk factors that may impact the project delivery
• Creating plans and blueprints
• Collaboration and communication with other engineers, professionals, and clients.

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