What is Civil engineering | Definition, History, Subjects, Salary, Jobs

Definition- Civil engineering is a professional engineering branch that deals with the design, planning, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage systems, pipelines, structural components of buildings, and railways.

Civil engineers design, create and connect up the world around us. They help make our villages, towns, and cities work for the people that live there. Have a look at all our civil engineering projects and see for yourself the work that civil engineers do.

Civil engineering is an exciting profession because at the end of the day you can see the results of your work, whether this is a completed bridge, a high-rise building, a subway station, or a hydroelectric dam.

In a single Line, Civil engineering is everything you see that’s been built around us.

 

History 

The beginnings of the civil engineering foundation in France were in 1716 of the Bridge and Highway Corps. Its teachers wrote books that became standard works on the mechanics of materials, machines, and hydraulics, and leading British engineers learned French to read them.

One of the earliest examples of a scientific approach to physical and mathematical problems applicable to civil engineering is the work of Archimedes in the 3rd century BC, including the Archimedes Principle, which underpins our understanding of buoyancy, and practical solutions such as Archimedes’ screw. Brahmagupta, an Indian mathematician, used arithmetic in the 7th century AD, based on Hindu-Arabic numerals, for excavation (volume) computations.

 

Types of Civil Engineering And Course Are:

Civil Engineering has many subcategories, and it is always advisable to check which degrees the colleges that you are interested in, offer. A few popular ones are mentioned below:

• Structural Engineering
• Architectural Engineering
• Highway Engineering
• Transportation Engineering
• Geotechnical Engineering
• Environmental Engineering
• Irrigation Engineering
• Railway Engineering
• Airport Engineering
• Tunneling Engineering
• Hydrology Engineering

• Structural Engineering :

This is the oldest form of civil engineering and has been present for many years. It focuses on the building of non-building structures. The structures that do not have occupancy are termed non-building structures. A few examples of these are dams, water culverts, roads, railroads, tunnels, and bridges. The nonbuilding structures are in high demand and therefore structural engineering jobs are very important.

• Architectural Engineering :

This is similar to construction and structural engineering since it also focuses on the building of structures. The difference here is that it focuses on the aesthetics of the structures. Although it focuses primarily on the beauty and looks of the structure but going beyond that, it also designs new structures in keeping with its relevance in that particular period and also the demands of construction existing at that time. As an example, if a Victorian-style town were to be revamped, then an architectural engineer’s expertise would be needed.

• Highway Engineering :

Highway engineering is an engineering discipline branching from civil engineering that involves the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of roads, bridges, and tunnels to ensure safe and effective transportation of people and goods. The book Highway Engineering includes the main topics and the basic principles of highway engineering and provides the full scope of current information necessary for effective and cost-conscious contemporary highways.

• Transportation Engineering :

Transport engineering is the application of scientific and technological principles in the planning, functional design, operation, and facilities management for any means of transport (road, rail, water, and air) to provide a safe, fast, comfortable, convenient, economic travel for people and goods. Transport engineering is connected to similar disciplines such as electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace, and marine engineering.

The main branches of transport engineering are traffic engineering, highway engineering, port and harbor engineering, airport engineering, infrastructure engineering. Academic study programs include topics such as transportation safety and design, urban planning, traffic engineering and simulation, highway traffic operations, public transportation systems.

• Geotechnical Engineering :

Geotechnical engineering is the study of the behavior of soils under the influence of loading forces and soil-water interactions. This knowledge is applied to the design of foundations, retaining walls, earth dams, clay liners, and geosynthetics for waste containment. The goals of geotechnical engineers could range from the design of foundations and temporary excavation support, through route selection for railways and highways, to the increasingly important areas of landfill disposal of wastes and groundwater contamination. As such, the geotechnical engineer is involved in field and laboratory investigations to determine the engineering properties of site soils and other geomaterials and their subsequent use in the analytical study of the problem at hand.

• Environmental Engineering :

Civil Engineers who are interested in solving environmental issues will be interested in this degree. A few tasks included in this would be to help design better water and purification systems, help reduce waste within a construction site, and so on.

• Irrigation Engineering :

Irrigation engineering is a kind of civil engineering which includes the study of controlling and harnessing the various natural sources of water. It studies irrigation and agriculture in-depth. Flooding is the basis of agriculture and the only way by which water is supplied to the crops. Irrigation engineering is a field of engineering which would discuss the uses of irrigation in crop production and how new principles and technologies can be used and applied for irrigational practices. It is essential to study irrigation engineering as it helps in determining future irrigation expectations and impacts of irrigation in the agriculture field.

• Railway Engineering :

Railway engineering is a multi-faceted engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction, and operation of all types of rail transport systems. It encompasses a wide range of engineering disciplines, including civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, and production engineering. A great many other engineering sub-disciplines are also called upon.

Each system consists of many components that must be properly integrated: from trains, tracks, stations, signaling, and control systems, through monitoring, maintenance, and the impact on cities, landscape, and people. This integration is the big challenge and the source of many train delays, inconvenient connections, and other issues that impact our society.

• Airport And Tunnel Engineering :

A terminal facility used for aircraft takeoff and landing, and including facilities for handling passengers and cargo and for servicing aircraft. Facilities at airports are generally described as either airside, which commences at the secured boundary between terminal and apron and extends to the runway and to facilities beyond, such as navigational or remote air-traffic-control emplacements; or landside, which includes the terminal, cargo-processing, and land-vehicle approach facilities.

Tunnel engineering is one of the most interesting disciplines in engineering. … The tunnels are defined as the underground passages that are used for transportation purposes. These permit the transmission of passengers and freights, or they may be for the transportation of utilities like water, sewage or gas, etc.

• Hydrological Engineering :

Hydrological engineering sometimes called hydrologic engineering or water resources engineering is an engineering specialty that focuses on water resources. Hydrology is that the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, as well as the hydrologic cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability.

Hydrological engineering is chiefly concerned with the flow and storage of water, principally water, and sewage. It is the study of the properties, distribution, and circulation of water on the surface of the land, in the soil and underlying rocks, and in the atmosphere Topics commonly covered include urban drainage, water supply, wastewater treatment, river management, and coastal protection. Hydrological engineering also focuses on preventing floods and lessening the effects of floods, droughts, and other natural disasters.

• Engineering Project Management :

A project manager’s role is a very important one in civil engineering since almost every engineer works with them. This is one of the strong reasons that make civil engineers pursue a bachelor’s or a master’s in Project Management. The role of a project manager is to facilitate work with companies, multiple processes, and engineering specialties to finish large projects. The people who come under the various specialties are drafters, structural engineers, electricians, and architects.

What is the Fee structure for Civil Engineering Degree?

An annual fee of 40k to 1.5 lac is generally the fee slab for this course. This may vary from one college to another depending on various internal factors, such as faculty, infrastructure, location, courses, and so on.

What is Civil Engineering Curriculum & Syllabus?

Civil Engineers make a huge impact in the everyday world. The candidates work towards designing, building, and maintaining underground and surface structures:

SEMESTER III

• Building Materials & Construction Technology
• Geotechnical Engineering
•  Calculus and Numerical Techniques
• Surveying
• Mechanics of Solids
• Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory
• Surveying Laboratory 8 18BTCE313
• Civil Engineering Material Testing Laboratory
• Mini Project – I

SEMESTER IV

• Concrete Technology
• Building Planning and CADD
• Fluid Mechanics
• Theory of Structures
• Transportation Engineering
• Concrete Technology Laboratory
• Fluid Mechanics I Laboratory
• Transportation Engineering Laboratory
• Mini Project – II

SEMESTER V

• Design of Steel Structures
•  DCC
• Theory of Structures II
•  Hydrology and Water Resource Engineering
• Fluid Mechanics II
•  Elective
• Automated Surveying Laboratory
• Fluid Mechanics II Laboratory
• Mini Project – II

SEMESTER VI

• Design of Reinforced Concrete Structures
•  Environmental Engineering
• Foundation Engineering 3
• Construction Project Management
• Elective II
• Elective III
•  Environmental Engineering Laboratory
• Mini Project – IV

SEMESTER VII

• Quantity Surveying and Estimation
•  Pre-Engineered Structures
•  Elective IV
•  Elective V
• Elective VI
•  Computational Laboratory
•  Quantity Surveying and Estimation Laboratory
•  Project Phase

SEMESTER VIII

• Project Phase II 0 0 24 12 100 200 300 PRS

What is the scope of Civil engineering in India?

The task of a civil engineer encompasses the estimating, planning, designing, supervising of construction, and managing the construction of structures. The civil engineer is also responsible for the maintenance of roads, buildings, dams, and so on.

• The civil engineers are responsible for the entire construction process. They have to plan systematically so that the workflows smoothly.
• The civil engineers are responsible for the budgets. The raw materials, machinery, equipment, labor cost, and other factors have to be decided by him in consultation with the planner. They also set the deadlines for the work to be completed.
• The civil engineer is in charge of overseeing the construction work. They are responsible for quality checks at each phase of construction.
• The civil engineer is also responsible for the final inspection once the project is said to be complete. They inspect the project thoroughly and issue a safety certificate and then the term is complete.

 

What are Career Opportunities And Type Of Civil Engineering Jobs?

After you complete your civil engineering degree you have a vast choice of career options in diverse fields. The various roles can be site engineer, structural engineer, Water engineer, rural and urban transport engineer, building control surveyor, consulting civil engineer, contracting civil engineer, nuclear engineer, design engineer, CAD technician, and many others.

The other job designations can be construction manager, geotechnical engineer, environmental engineer, public health engineer, transportation engineer, urban planning engineer, and many others.

The sectors of employment can include both, government and private sectors.

 

What is the salary of a Civil engineer?

The average package is a starting salary of civil engineer per month ( in INR ) Rs.30,000 Rs. 1,00,000 and Mid-Level Salary per annum (in INR) Rs.3,50,000- Rs. 10,00,000.

The senior-level salary is higher depending on the company and the qualifications and the skills of the candidates.