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Civil Engineering
Civil
engineering,
the
oldest
of
the
engineering
specialties,
is
the
planning, design,
construction, and management of the built
environment.
This
environment
includes
all
structures
built
according
to
scientific
principles,
from
irrigation
and
drainage
systems
to
rocket-launching
facilities.
Civil
engineers
build
roads,
bridges,
tunnels,
dams,
harbors,
power
plants,
water
and
sewage
systems,
hospitals,
schools,
mass
transit,
and
other
public
facilities
essential
to
modern
society
and
large
population
concentrations.
They also build privately owned facilities such as
airports,
railroads, pipelines,
skyscrapers, and other large structures designed
for
industrial, commercial, or
residential use. In addition, civil engineers
plan,
design, and build complete cities
and towns, and more recently have been
planning
and
designing
space
platforms
to
house
self-contained
communities.
The
word
civil
derives
from
the
Latin
for
citizen.
In
1782,
Englishman John Smeaton used the term
to differentiate his nonmilitary
engineering work from that of the
military engineers who predominated
at
the time. Since then, the term civil engineering
has often been used to
refer to
engineers who build public facilities, although
the field is much
broader
Scope
. Because
it
is so broad, civil engineering
is
subdivided into a
number
of
technical
specialties.
Depending
on
the
type
of
project,
the
skills of many kinds of
civil engineer specialists may be needed. When a
project begins, the site
is
surveyed and mapped by civil
engineers
who
locate
utility
placement
—
water,
sewer,
and
power
lines.
Geotechnical
specialists perform soil experiments to
determine if the earth can bear the
weight of the project. Environmental
specialists study the project’s impact
on
the
local
area:
the
potential
for
air
and
groundwater
pollution,
the
project’s impact on local animal and
plant life, and how the project can be
designed
to
meet
government
requirements
aimed
at
protecting
the
environment.
Transportation
specialists
determine
what
kind
of
facilities
are
needed
to
ease
the
burden
on
local
roads
and
other
transportation
networks
that
will
result
from
the
completed
project.
Meanwhile,
structural
specialists
use
preliminary
data
to
make
detailed
designs,
plans,
and
specifications
for
the
project.
Supervising
and
coordinating the work of these civil
engineer specialists, from beginning
to
end of the project, are the construction
management specialists. Based
on
information
supplies
by
the
other
specialists,
construction
management civil engineers estimate
quantities and costs of materials and
labor, schedule all work, order
materials and equipment for the job, hire
contractors
and
subcontractors,
and perform
other
supervisory
work
to
ensure
the project is completed on time and as specified.
Throughout any given project, civil
engineers make extensive use of
computers. Computers are
used to design the project’s various elements
(computer-aided
design,
or
CAD)
and
to
manage
it.
Computers
are
necessity for the modern civil engineer
because they permit the engineer
to
efficiently handle the large quantities of data
needed in determining the
best way to
construct a project.
Structural
engineering.
In
this
specialty,
civil
engineers
plan
and
design
structures
of
all
types,
including
bridge,
dams,
power
plants,
supports
for
equipment,
special
structures
for
offshore
projects,
the
United States space
program, transmission towers, giant astronomical
and
radio
telescopes,
and
many
other
kinds
of
projects.
Using
computers,
structural
engineers determine the forces a structure must
resist:
its own
weight,
wind
and
hurricane
forces,
temperature
changes
that
expand
or
contract construction materials, and
earthquakes. They also determine the
combination
of
appropriate
materials:
steel,
concrete,
plastic,
asphalt,
brick, aluminum, or other construction
materials.
Water resources
engineering.
Civil engineers in this specialty deal
with
all
aspects
of
the
physical
control
of
water.
Their
projects
help
prevent
floods,
supply
water
for
cities
and
for
irrigation,
manage
and
control
rivers
and
water
runoff,
and
maintain
beaches
and
other
waterfront facilities. In addition,
they design and maintain harbors, canals,
and
locks, build
huge
hydroelectric
dams
and
smaller
dams
and
water
impoundments
of
all
kinds,
help
design
offshore
structures,
and
determine the location of
structures affecting navigation.
Geotechnical engineering.
Civil engineers who
specialize
in this
field
analyze the properties of soils and rocks that
support structures and
affect
structural
behavior.
They
evaluate
and
work
to
minimize
the
potential settlement of
buildings and other structures that stems from the
pressure of their weight on the earth.
These engineers also evaluate and
determine how to strengthen the
stability of slopes and fills and how to
protect structures against earthquakes
and the effects of groundwater.
Environmental
engineering.
In
this
branch
of
engineering,
civil
engineers
design,
build
and
supervise
systems
to
provide
safe
drinking
water and to
prevent and control pollution of water supplies,
both on the
surface and underground.
They also design, build, and supervise projects
to control or eliminate pollution of
the land and air. These engineers build
water and wastewater treatment plants,
and design air scrubbers and other
devices
to
minimize
or
eliminate
air
pollution
caused
by
industrial
processes,
incineration,
or
other
smoke-
producing
activities.
They
also
work to control toxic
and hazardous wastes through the construction of
special dump sites or the neutralizing
of toxic and hazardous substances.
In
addition, the engineers design and manage sanitary
landfills to prevent
pollution of
surrounding land.
Transportation
engineering.
Civil
engineers
working
in
this
specialty
build
facilities
to
ensure safe
and
efficient
movement
of
both
people and goods. They
specialize in designing and maintaining all types
of
transportation
facilities,
highways
and
streets,
mass
transit
systems,
railroads and airfields, ports and
harbors. Transportation engineers apply
technological
knowledge
as
well
as
consideration
of
the
economic,
political, and social factors in
designing each project. They work closely
with urban planners, since the quality
of the community is directly related
to
the quality of the transportation system.
Pipeline engineering.
In
this branch of
civil
engineering,
engineers
build
pipelines
and
related
facilities
which
transport
liquids,
gases,
or
solids
ranging from coal
slurries
(mixed coal and water) and semiliquid
wastes,
to
water,
oil,
and
various
types
of
highly
combustible
and
noncombustible
gases.
The
engineers
determine
pipeline
design,
the
economic
and
environmental
impact
of
a
project
on
regions
it
must
traverse,
the
type
of
materials
to
be
used-steel,
concrete,
plastic,
or
combinations
of
various
materials-
installation
techniques,
methods
for
testing pipeline strength, and controls
for maintaining proper pressure and
rate of flow of materials being
transported. When hazardous materials are
being carried, safety is a major
consideration as well.
Construction
engineering.
Civil
engineers
in
this
field
oversee
the
construction of a project from
beginning to end. Sometimes called project
engineers,
they
apply
both
technical
and
managerial
skills,
including
knowledge of
construction methods, planning, organizing,
financing, and
operating construction projects. They
coordinate the activities of virtually
everyone
engaged
in the work: the surveyors; workers who
lay out and
construct
the
temporary
roads
and
ramps,
excavate
for
the
foundation,
build the forms
and pour the concrete; and workers who build the
steel
framework.
These
engineers
also
make
regular
progress
reports
to
the
owners of
the structure.
Community and urban
planning.
Those engaged in this area of
civil
engineering
may
plan
and
develop
community
within
a
city,
or
entire
cities.
Such planning
involves
far
more
than
engineering
consideration;
environmental, social, and economic
factors in the use and development
of
land and natural resources are also key elements.
These civil engineers
coordinate
planning
of
public
works
along
with
private
development.
They
evaluate
the
kinds
of
facilities
needed,
including
streets
and
highways,
public
transportation
systems,
airports,
port
facilities,
water-supply and waste
water-disposal systems, public
buildings, parks,
and recreational and
other facilities to ensure social and economic as
well
as environmental well-being.
Photogrametry, surveying, and
mapping.
The civil engineers in this
specialty
precisely
measure
the
Earth’s
surface
to
obtain
reliable
information for
locating and designing engineering projects. This
practice
often
involves
high-technology
methods
such
as
satellite
and
aerial
surveying,
and
computer-processing
of
photographic
imagery.
Radio
signal
from
satellites,
scans by
laser
and sonic beams,
are converted
to
maps
to
provide
far
more
accurate
measurements
for
boring
tunnels,
building highways and dams, plotting
flood control and irrigation project,
locating
subsurface
geologic
formations
that
may
affect
a
construction
project, and a host of other building
uses.
Other
specialties.
Two
additional
civil
engineering
specialties
that
are not entirely within the scope of
civil engineering but are essential to
the discipline are engineering
management and engineering teaching.
Engineering
management.
Many
civil
engineers
choose
careers
that eventually lead
to management. Others are able to start their
careers
in management positions. The
civil engineer-manager combines technical
knowledge
with
an
ability
to
organize
and
coordinate
worker
power,
materials,
machinery,
and
money.
These
engineers
may
work
in
governmen
t
—
municipal,
county,
state,
or
federal;
in
the
U.S.
Army
Corps of Engineers as military or
civilian management engineers; or
in
semiautonomous
regional
or
city
authorities
or
similar
organizations.
They may also manage private
engineering firms ranging
in size from
a
few employees to hundreds.
Engineering teaching.
The civil engineer who chooses a
teaching
career
usually
teaches
both
graduate
and
undergraduate
students
in
technical
specialties.
Many
teaching
civil
engineers
engage
in
basic
research
that
eventually
leads
to
technical
innovations
in
construction