Questions tagged [civil-engineering]

Questions that fall into the problem domain of civil engineering or one of its sub-disciplines. Questions about buildings or other structures could usually use the "structural-engineering" tag also.

The civil engineering tag covers the design, construction and maintenance of the built environment; including bridges, infrastructure and tall structures.

Civil engineering is typically involved when projects are large in scale or affect a large area of land.

Use this tag when someone who has trained as a civil engineer is likely to be able to answer/ask your question. As with most disciplines, civil engineering encompasses a lot of specialisms and it may be necessary to further sub-categorize your question using additional tags.

Civil Engineering Sub-disciplines

Civil engineering is a very broad field. If your question is specific to any of the following disciplines, consider using the more specific tag instead of or in addition to this one:

  • Geotechnical Engineering
  • Structural Engineering
  • Transportation Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Water Resources Engineering

Engineering projects are often multi- and inter-disciplinary and the above list is not exhaustive.

856 questions
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What is this large steel structure used in excavation?

I keep seeing these large rectangular structures on job sites they put in the ground. I'm guessing something for strengthening the surface structures?
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As built vs as recorded

When an infrastructure project is complete, the professional team has to prepare drawings representing the infrastructure, as it was completed in the end. All on-site changes and deviations from designs are incorporated in these drawings. This is…
SlydeRule
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Significant figures

I have a question about the significant figures topic: Problem: Find the volume of a cylinder having a diameter measured as 2.3 ft and length measured as 8.25 ft. Solution: V = π(D^2 /4)h = π((2.3)^2)(8.25)/4 = 34.276739 cu ft = 34 cu…
isaint
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Drilling holes in ground and filling with gravel - to what ends?

Near where I live there's a construction site for a new supermarket. The last week or so they did things I don't quite understand. Some background: The ground in our area (Ruhrgebiet) is rather clayey The site is near a small hilltop, the area…
mart
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Why don't towers use buoyancy to reduce weight?

Instead of using steel and concrete to build towers why not use mostly light weight, high tensile materials and then suspend the four corners from four giant helium balloons? The four main cables would be anchored to the ground at the bottom, and…
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What are the moisture related issues in the use of Stucco and EIFS in the building construction Industry?

I am investigating the use of stucco masonry versus Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS) in the construction industry. I have no knowledge or training in this matter and my knowledge is limited to what I have read in the past few…
Mahendra Gunawardena
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Is this corner window correctly structured?

Is this L-type corner window correctly structured? We used 18 rebars in total, 6 for each window. This building will soon have an RCC lintel.
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Why is building houses over train tracks way more difficult / expensive?

The question is already in the title, but I guess some context might be interesting: I'm living in Munich (Germany). It is the area in Germany which is probably most expensive to live. Even the surrounding area is way more expensive. Building higher…
Martin Thoma
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What does it mean to do a "hot casting" of a brick?

I was talking to someone about brickmaking and he said doing a "hot casting" of a brick requires more energy and there are alternatives that use less energy. What does that mean?
opaque_dragon
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Why does sulfur concrete require no cement?

Sulfur concrete only uses sulfur as a binding agent then an aggregate. Why does it not use cement?
opaque_dragon
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What is this kind of sewer maintenance work?

I took this photo behind my place; there was this group of workers for about an hour. They have a small hose, from the black spool, they were pushing in and out of the manhole and a large hose that didn't seem to move at all. The truck's engine was…
Thomas
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Where does the light in the ceiling of the British house of commons chamber come from?

I am sorry if this is a strange question. Sometimes I like to visit parliaments from around the world and compare their buildings. After looking at the British house of commons chamber, I noticed that there was sun light coming out of ceiling of…
MrDi
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What methods exist to measure the modulus of Elasticity of Soil?

I would like to know what test can be done to quickly measure the modulus of elasticity of soil with varying parameters (density, moisture content etc). One method I know is using the oedometer test. By varying the vertical stress and measuring the…
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How do you call a map that shows the characteristics of a train tunnel (3D) in paper (2D)?

I have googled for a while and I can't seem to find the correct term to refer to this. Imagine you have a tunnel in where trains, cars, or anything goes through. This tunnel might elements along its extension, such as cracks, fissures, weak spots,…
Pochi
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what does the EI in deflection of beams formula stand for?

I know it has something to do with young modulus, but how do you apply it in real life. ( say you have a reinforced concrete beam)
user29722
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