Structural & Civil Design
Load combinations, steel and reinforced concrete beams, soils and bearing capacity, stormwater runoff, Manning's equation, surveying, transportation, civil CAD and BIM, and construction administration.
Leads to: Civil Engineer
Before you start
This course builds on Engineering Mechanics: Statics & Strength, Technical Drawing & CAD Basics and Scientific Python. Take them first if you are new to the topic.
About this course
A mid-level course for future civil engineers that applies mechanics, drawing and Python to the main branches of civil design. In structures you will combine loads into factored design loads and check a steel beam and a reinforced concrete beam by the strength design approach used in AISC 360 and ACI 318. In geotechnical and water work you will classify a soil and estimate bearing capacity, compute peak runoff with the rational method, and size an open channel with Manning's equation. In site, transportation and delivery you will read survey data and contours, reason about sight distance and traffic counts, draft a site plan in free tools, and answer a contractor's request for information. Prerequisites: Engineering Mechanics, Technical Drawing & CAD Basics, and Scientific Python. All numbers in this course are for learning: code values are referenced by name and edition, illustrative values are labelled, and nothing here is design advice. Civil engineering practice requires an ABET-accredited bachelor's degree, the FE exam, about four years of experience under a PE, and the PE licence to seal plans (see NCEES, https://ncees.org). Real designs need review and sealing by a licensed professional engineer.
Course content
Module 1
Structures
3 lessons · 1h 44mCombine loads into factored design loads, then check a steel beam and size reinforcement for a concrete beam by strength design.
- 34mLoads and load combinationsReading
Turn area loads into beam line loads, apply factored load combinations, and find the governing design moment.
- 32mSteel member designReading
Check a laterally braced steel beam for flexure, shear and live-load deflection, and know when lateral-torsional buckling takes over.
- 38mReinforced concrete basicsReading
Use the equivalent stress block to find a beam's flexural strength, size the tension reinforcement, and check that the section is tension-controlled.
Module 2
Geotechnical and Water
3 lessons · 2h 11mSoil phase relations, classification and bearing capacity, rational-method runoff, and open-channel flow with Manning's equation.
- 40mSoil mechanics basicsReading
Use soil phase relations, classify a clean coarse soil with the USCS, and estimate the bearing capacity of a strip footing.
- 36mHydrology and stormwaterReading
Estimate peak runoff from a small site with the rational method: composite runoff coefficient, time of concentration and design intensity.
- 55mOpen-channel hydraulicsReading
Use Manning's equation to find the capacity of a channel or pipe, solve for normal depth, and check whether flow is subcritical.
Module 3
Site, Transport, and Delivery
4 lessons · 3h 31mSurvey data and contours, transportation basics, civil CAD and BIM, and how engineers support construction through RFIs and submittals.
- 45mSurveying and GISReading
Reduce a differential leveling run, read coordinates, bearings and contours on a survey, and load site data into a free GIS.
- 33mTransportation basicsReading
Explain stopping sight distance, read traffic counts (AADT, peak hour factor, design hour volume) and see how they shape road design.
- 1h 13mCivil CAD and BIMReading
Understand how civil CAD and BIM models become plan sets, and draft a simple site plan with free tools.
- 1hConstruction administrationReading
Follow the engineer's role during construction: contract documents, submittals, RFIs, field observation and change orders, and draft an RFI response.