Civil Engineering

Civil engineering plans, designs, builds, and maintains the built environment — buildings, bridges, roads, dams, water systems, ports, and the infrastructure connecting them.

Overview

Civil work spans the full project lifecycle: feasibility, permitting, design, procurement, construction, commissioning, inspection, and life-extension. Licensure (P.E.) is the norm because designs directly affect public safety.

Sub-Disciplines

• Structural — buildings, bridges, towers, lateral systems.
• Geotechnical — soils, foundations, retaining walls, slope stability.
• Transportation — highways, rail, transit, airports.
• Water resources — hydrology, hydraulics, storm & flood management.
• Environmental — water/wastewater treatment, air quality, remediation.
• Construction management — scheduling, estimating, means & methods.
• Surveying & geomatics — control, layout, GIS.

Design Loads

Per ASCE 7: dead, live, snow, wind, seismic, rain, ice, flood, and earth-pressure loads, combined per the LRFD or ASD load combinations. Wind and seismic are usually the governing lateral loads.

Materials

• Concrete — typical f’c 3,000–6,000 psi; rebar Grade 60 (60 ksi yield).
• Structural steel — A992 (W-shapes), A36 (plate/angle), A500 (HSS).
• Masonry — CMU, brick, grouted reinforced walls.
• Timber — sawn lumber, glulam, CLT, LVL.
• Asphalt — HMA mixes per Superpave specs.

Codes & Standards

• IBC — International Building Code.
• ASCE 7 — Minimum Design Loads.
• ACI 318 — Building Code for Structural Concrete.
• AISC 360 — Steel Construction Manual.
• AASHTO LRFD — Bridge Design Specifications.
• NDS — National Design Specification for Wood.

Tools

• Design: AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Revit, MicroStation.
• Structural analysis: SAP2000, ETABS, RAM, RISA, STAAD.Pro.
• Geotechnical: PLAXIS, gINT, GeoStudio.
• Hydraulics: HEC-RAS, HEC-HMS, SWMM, WaterGEMS.
• Scheduling: Primavera P6, MS Project.