Structural engineering in Civil Engineering

Structural engineering in Civil Engineering

April 5, 2018

Civil engineering is in fact a widely applied and practiced field of engineering. Amongst the various areas some of the common sections are structure engineering, water engineering, transportation engineering, geotechnical engineering, environmental engineering, urban planning and so on. In comparison with others the scope of structural engineering is accelerating with quite greater speed and the reason behind is the more works related to this field in comparison to others.

An structural engineers are those trained personnel who are capable of understanding, making predictions and making designs calculating  strength, stability, durability, and rigidity of the built structures. A structural engineer has to face a diverse range of challenges. Thus they do require creativity and problem solving techniques, so they are designers and problem solvers as well.  They are mainly focused for developing designs and integrating the designs with that of other designers. The designs and analysis is made of elements like slab, column, and beams by use of various software like SAP, ETABS, STAADPRO, etc.

Structural engineer’s job includes:

  • Analyzing blueprints, maps, reports, and topographical and geological data;
  • Estimating the cost and quantities of materials, equipment and labor;
  • Computing load and grade requirements, water flow rates and material stress factors to determine design specifications;
  • Inspecting project sites to monitor progress and ensure the project is being constructed according to design specifications;
  • Conducting studies of traffic patterns or environmental conditions to identify potential problems and assess how they will affect the project.

Structural engineering is a guardian of safe, reliable, and sustainable infrastructural construction. This very engineering is responsible for inventive concepts and designs which develops extremely new technologies and techniques to create extraordinary structures. The typical civil engineering structures includes large buildings, bridges and dams, roads, hydropower stations and designing the structures of machinery, vehicles, aircrafts and space craft . In addition to steel, concrete, woods, aluminum other new materials that are being developed and used in structural engineering include reinforced plastics and polymers as well.  The rehabilitation of existing structures weakened by corrosion continues to be an important task.

Amongst the world’s most marvelous works of structural engineering It includes the master piece works from past such as Egyptian pyramid, Great wall of china, Eiffel tower, Babylon Garden to today’s modern giant structures like Burz khalifa, three Gorges dam, Brooklyn Bridge, Kiev TV tower, Westminister Abbey, one World Trade Centre Space Needle , Leaning tower of Pisa, Guggehheim Museum and dozens of others  many others .

There is a very high demand of structural engineering because it alone covers the fields like construction of residential buildings, roads, railways, airports, hydropower stations, stadiums, reconstruction works, demolishing works etc. Moreover the craze of structural engineer is also increasing day by day as they make designs of every structures, renovating structures, construct earthquake resistant structures in seismic zones, forensic expertise and so on. Further a structural engineer is not only focused in grand breaking schemes but  also making a difference in living people’s lives for buying or making homes where consulting a expert engineer will save a huge amount of money and also secure the property is structurally safe that will not let any nasty surprises to come in coming days.

So, the importance of structural engineering is very crucial in the field of civil engineering. it alone can be claimed to be the backbone of every infrastructural development of today’s modern world.