Friday, December 20, 2013

Civil Engineering

Civil engineering is a branch in professional engineering which deals more with designing, construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment. This includes things such as bridges, roads, canals, building, and dams. It is among the oldest disciplines in engineering after the military and was started to distinguish military engineering from non military engineering (Fink, Wheeler, 2005, p. 56). The person who practices this discipline is referred to as a civil engineer.

Todays usage of the term civil engineering  refers to a broad field in the department of engineering that is concerned with the planning, maintenance of the already build structures, construction of new structures, public works that are related to the earth and, civilization, water, and their processes (Shenhav, 1999, p. 132). However, this kind of engineering deals with building and maintaining the roads, water supply, sewage system, traffic and the control of floods. Some of the vital sub discipline of civil engineering includes

Construction engineering

This sub- branch of engineering is concerned with planning and implementation of designs done by the other engineers like the geotechnical, structural, environmental engineers and many others. Due to the risk involved in this industry these engineers have taken the roles of drafting and checking contracts, evaluating the whole operation taking place in the site, and more importantly monitoring the price of materials supplied in the construction work (Loui, 2005, p. 121).

Coastal engineering.
This sub- branch is technically concerned with managing the coastal areas. It makes sure that the coastal strip is free from erosion and also guards it from floods. Today the engineers have started to use the power of erosion to claim land along the coastal line.

Earthquake engineering
This is a sub discipline under the structural engineering, and it is concerned with making sure that structures build are able to withstand hazardous earthquakes.  Its main objective is to understand how structures can interact with shaky grounds, predict the cost of possible earthquakes and also to came up with designs, build and maintain the already existing structures to stand the exposures of the earthquakes (Backs, Boucsen, 2000, p. 226).

Environmental engineering. 
This branch deals with purification of air and water, treatment of biological, chemical and thermal ravage. These engineers engage themselves in reducing pollution, industrial ecology and also green engineering. They also involves themselves with collecting of data on the cost of proposed act to be undertaken on the environment, therefore helping the society, the government in their process of decision making (Fink, Wheel, 2005, p. 56)

Water resource engineering.
It deals with the gathering and managing of water which is a natural resource we have in the world. It embarks to preserve the quality and the quantity of water whether underground or on the surface. The engineer role is to analyze, model, control the amount of water as it flows in and out these made facilities Backs, Boucsen, 2000, p. 229). They engage in the designs of water distribution, drainage systems, canals, pipelines and many others.

Structural engineering.
This sub branch deals with the structural designing and structural analyzing of buildings, towers, tunnels, flyovers, bridges and many others. They calculate the load required to stand on a building and the forces and stresses on the structure due that load on it. They ensure that structures build are safe for people to use and more importantly make sure that they fulfill the purposes intended for.  

The history of civil engineering
Since civil engineering deals with the application of scientific and physical principles, its history is connected to the understanding of mathematics and physics. It is also connected to the know-how of things like structures, geology, geography, soils, environment, materials science and other fields. In the ancient history most of these works was done by artisans who due to experience rose to become master builders (Loui, 2005, p. 124). Very good examples of people who applied the scientific principles to civil engineering includes Brahmagupta who was an Indian mathematician, in 7th AD he used arithmetic using the Hindu- Arabic numbers to dig out computation and also works done by the Archimedes around 3rd BC.
The impacts of civil engineering have on the society.

Civil engineering is a vital component in todays developments. The engineers are responsible for the transportation of, water, energy and other infrastructure networks that we normally use today. Every reasonable individual today recognizes the outstanding contributions that civil engineering department has done to the society (Shenhave, 1999, p. 135). They have gone a step further putting in use the innovative technology in this field.

Structural engineers are too critical in the coming up of structure that lasts for a longer period, that can withstand the forces of natural hazards which  include aspects such as , earthquakes, tornadoes, and even hurricanes. In everyday life, people drive over, into, and through projects that have been designed, analyzed and supervised by engineers. These projects include bridges, houses, tunnels and many others (Loui, 2005, p. 127).

The engineers have also helped this industry in ensuring that the projects implemented are sustainable. Why would an individual or government use a lot of money and time on structures that will not withstand the test of time, weather, and other factors of nature The engineers prevent these kinds of risks. They have also been able to come up with structures that are flexible to certain limit hence not dangerous for people to use them.

Civil engineering has been able to come up with measure in construction that has reduced the risks of earthquakes in the world (Fink, Wheeler, 2005, p. 59). It has improved the knowledge of the effects of earthquakes on the social, economical, political, physical and cultural environment. Further to the issue they have advanced the science and the practice of earthquake engineering in the society that detects a coming earthquake.

The engineers have also helped the society in examining the impacts of climatic change on water resources around the world. The have come up with structure which help the human populations a times when disasters strike, as a result of climate change.  These disasters include things like floods earth quacks occurring in todays societies.

Civil engineering is a very vital element in human lives today and should be taken seriously by the society and or the authorities concerned. It is a department which the authorities should ensure its free from corruption in order to avoid the risk of putting human lives under structures constructed without the stipulated requirements. It is a department which the governments should fund well in order to produce well polished professional to help the industry grow.

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