Civil Engineering Orientation Midterm PDF
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This document provides an overview of civil engineering, covering its history and major sub-disciplines like transportation design and water resource. It also touches on the role civil engineers play in society and the skills needed for this profession.
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MIDTERM CIVIL ENGINEERING ORIENTATION - Civil engineering is arguably the oldest engineering discipline. It deals with the built environment and can be dated to the first time someone placed a roof over his or her head or laid a tree trunk across a river to make it easier to get acro...
MIDTERM CIVIL ENGINEERING ORIENTATION - Civil engineering is arguably the oldest engineering discipline. It deals with the built environment and can be dated to the first time someone placed a roof over his or her head or laid a tree trunk across a river to make it easier to get across. - The built environment encompasses much of what defines modern civilization. Buildings and bridges are often the first constructions that come to mind, as they are the most conspicuous creations of structural engineering, one of civil engineering\'s major sub-disciplines. - Roads, railroads, subway systems, and airports are designed by transportation engineers, another category of civil engineering. - And then there are the less visible creations of civil engineers. Every time you open a water faucet, you expect water to come out, without thinking that civil engineers made it possible. - New York City has one of the world's most impressive water supply systems, receiving billions of gallons of high-quality water from the Catskills over one hundred miles away. - Similarly, not many people seem to worry about what happens to the water after it has served its purposes. The old civil engineering discipline of sanitary engineering has evolved into modern environmental engineering of such significance that most academic departments have changed their names to civil and environmental engineering. - These few examples illustrate that civil engineers do a lot more than design buildings and bridges. They can be found in the aerospace industry, designing jetliners and space stations; in the automotive industry, perfecting the load-carrying capacity of a chassis and improving the crashworthiness of bumpers and doors; and they can be found in the shipbuilding industry, the power industry, and many other industries wherever constructed facilities are involved. And they plan and oversee the construction of these facilities as construction managers. - Civil engineers are highly trained professionals who plan public works projects and supervise their implementation. Most work in the private sector, but a good portion of them work in government. Their work is all around us. The infrastructure that moves people and commerce around the country was designed and implemented under the guidance of generations of civil engineers. - What Civil Engineers Do \- Civil engineers design and supervise the construction of major public works projects such as buildings, highways, airports, bridges, and dams. They can either work for a government organization or in the private industry competing for government contracts. \- Since there are so many different types of projects a civil engineer can undertake, many of them specialize in a type of project or branch of the profession such as transportation engineering, structural engineering, or geotechnical engineering. \- Much of the work is done in an office, but civil engineers also go to project sites to monitor construction. They ensure projects are going according to plan and answer any questions construction superintendents raise. \- From time to time, civil engineers speak about projects to governing boards and the general public. They also write documents about the project like responses to requests for proposals, status updates, and technical reports. Civil engineers in the private sector work closely with government contract managers \- In addition to a college degree in civil engineering or one of its specialties, civil engineers who sign off on project plans or supervise other civil engineers must be licensed according to rules enacted by state governments. Licensing processes include several exams and require years of work experience. In the end, licensed civil engineers earn the designation of a professional engineer (or PE). - Characteristics of Civil Engineers - Civil engineers are good problem solvers. When documented plans do not match reality, civil engineers devise solutions that keep within a project's framework. They answer questions about the project when those executing parts of the project need clarification. - Proficiency in advanced mathematics is essential to civil engineering. Geometry and calculus are obvious necessities. Of course, computer programs can solve equations in a matter of milliseconds, but civil engineers must know what those figures mean and apply them to plans. People outside the core group working on a public works project do not understand these mathematical areas to the extent civil engineers do, but those who make decisions about a public works project's direction understand business math. \- Civil engineers provide cost estimates and devise projects. They need buy-in from decision-makers on the money side of things so they can actually put their geometry and calculus skills to productive use. What are the Subdivisions of Civil Engineering? \- Civil engineering is a branch of engineering that deals with the design and construction of buildings, roads, bridges, and other large-scale structures. It is an established profession that has existed since the establishment of the first permanent human settlements. Within the civil engineering profession, there are many sub-disciplines one can specialize in. Here we look over some of the main ones. - Coastal Engineering \- Coastal engineering involves the management and maintenance of coastal areas with an emphasis on protection against flooding and erosion along the shoreline. This means knowledge in the areas of oceanography and marine geology is required to gain an understanding of the interactions between the saltwater and coastal structures. In addition to protection against floods, ocean waves moving towards the shoreline can also be used to generate energy. This is because the momentum associated with the movement of the wind creates a piezoelectric effect that can be harvested via an energy harvester, making this another possible area of study in coastal engineering. - **Transportation Engineering** \- Transportation engineering involves the design of transportation systems such as highways, roads, and public transportation networks. In addition, the operation and maintenance of these transportation systems are also part of the responsibilities of a transportation engineer along with an understanding of traffic control systems. - Structural Engineering - Earthquake Engineering \- Earthquake engineering involves working to reduce seismic hazards in areas prone to earthquakes. This requires the study of earth sciences as well as the design and construction of structures to withstand earthquakes. Additionally, locating the source of earthquakes along with understanding how a structure responds to an earthquake is also part of the job description. Research tasks in earthquake engineering include occurrence modeling of the frequency of earthquakes, geophysical modeling, ground-motion modeling, and more. - Environmental Engineering \- Environmental engineering deals with protecting the public from destructive environmental effects. Some of these processes are water and air pollution control, recycling processes, waste disposal, as well as soil contamination, and large-scale farming. Responsibilities of the discipline include minimizing or preventing harmful contaminants from being released into the surrounding environment. This means knowledge of basic chemistry and biology is required along with the processes that can reduce and eliminate their release. - Geotechnical Engineering - Water Resources Engineering \- Water resource engineering deals with the management of water supplies essential to everyday life. This means an understanding of the basic water processes is required so a clean supply of water can be used for drinking and living. Some tasks related to water resource engineering include the design of culverts and dams as well as erosion protection works along river banks. - Municipal and Urban Engineering \- Municipal and urban engineering deals with the design of basic municipal infrastructures such as streets, sidewalks, sewers, street lighting, and solid waste management. In addition, designing and maintaining public parks and underground utility lines are also part of the discipline. Some tasks include the design of waste collection networks and the documentation and update of underground utility networks. PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE OF CIVIL ENGINEERS THE PICE MISSION -- TO ADVANCE THE WELFARE OF OUR NUMBERS AND THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRESTIGE OF THE CIVIL ENGINEERING PROFESSION AND TO BE A DYNAMIC FORCE IN NATION BUILDING. THE PICE VISION -- THE LEADER AMONG PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS KNOWN GLOBALLY FOR PROFESSIONALISM, INTEGRITY , LEADERSHIP, EXCELLENCE, AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. PICE HISTORY On December 11, 1973, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued Registration Certificate No.53896 to the PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE OF CIVIL ENGINEERS, INC. (PICE). This was the culmination and fulfillment of a vision to merge two separate organizations of civil engineers in the country, the Philippine Society of Civil Engineers (PSCE) and the Philippine Association of Civil Engineers (PACE). The Philippine Society of Civil Engineers (PSCE) was formed sometime in the late twenties by a group of civil engineers mostly from the government sector. It was the country's first civil engineering organization with the late Engr. Marcial Kasilag as its first president. Engr. Kasilag holds the No.1 slot in the PRC Registry of Civil Engineers. He then occupied a high-ranking position in the government and the early members of PSCE were government engineers. There were relatively few civil engineers in private practice during that time as most of the early graduates were readily engaged by the various government agencies. In 1937, another group of civil engineers in the private sector, led by Enrique Sto. Tomas Cortes formed the Philippine Association of Civil Engineers (PACE). Mr. Cortes was its first president. The major objectives of both associations were similar: to elevate the standards of the profession, encourage research and engineering knowledge and technology, foster fellowship among members, and promote interrelation with other technological and scientific societies. The Philippine Association Civil Engineers (PACE) proved to be the more active between the two groups and this resulted to the transfer of many PSCE members to PACE. PACE, under the leadership of President Alberto Guevarra, was mainly responsible for the passage of Republic Act No. 544 otherwise known as the "Civil Engineering Law" in 1950. It was a milestone in establishing prestige and safeguarding the interest of the civil engineering profession in the country. It was sometime in 1972 under the administration of the late PACE President Cesar A. Caliwara when more serious effort was exerted to merge the two societies. Panel representatives were designated by both organizations to convene and start a series of talk. Leading members of PACE and PSCE, Eduardo Escobar, Pedro Afable, Angel Lazaro, Jr., Andres Hizon, Ambrosio Flores, Tomas de Guzman, Lucas Agbayani, to mention a few ere involved in the negotiation. The choice of a new name, formal accounting and turnover of assets and liabilities, accreditation of bonafide members and election rules for the first officers were some of the concerns that were sooner resolved. Finally, an election of the first officers and directors of the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers, Inc. (PICE) was held sometime in February 1974 and Cesar A. Caliwara became the first President. During his term, the first International convention was held in the Philippines on May 20 to 24,1975 with the theme " Civil Engineering in Disaster Prevention Control." Proceedings in this convention were published into a book and sold to members and public. Also, the drive to organize provincial chapters was intensified in order to truly unite the civil engineers of the country. Another historical milestone was the accreditation (no. 007) of PICE by the Professional Regulation Commission on August 13, 1975 as the only official recognized organization of civil engineers in the Philippines. The Role of Civil Engineers in Society - The main role of Civil Engineer is Land Surveying, Planning, Designing, Constructing maintaining of the various types of the structures. - To solve different engineering problems with the help of enough experience of field, numerical methods, laboratory techniques. - To carry out soil investigations for the design of the foundations - To carry out the leveling and surveying and prepare map to fix the boundaries of the plots and to calculate the area and the volume. - To fix the alignment of the various paths for making the roadways, railways. - To carry out the planning and supervise proper the execution of the actual construction activity. - To invite the tenders and to select contractor the work - To carry out valuation of land or building for the purpose of finding it's scale or purchase price or taxation. - To fulfill the basic needs of the occupants by using fundamentals of the building planning and by the help of the various building materials.