Structural Engineering - Advances Through Time

The story of Structural Engineering dates back to the very dawn of civilization when man first gave up his nomadic and cave-dwelling existence and began to build structures.

Although the primitive structural engineering efforts would have been very much a trial and error type of operation, it is obvious that the application of science and mathematics to structure began very early. The Pyramids of Egypt that were built between 2700-2500 B.C. represent feats of structural engineering that are not only still standing 5000 years later, but boggle the mind on how they could have been built by such a primitive society. The fact that many people advance theories that the structural engineering work must have been done by Aliens from Outer Space shows the complexity of this construction project.

For most of the early history of structures, no distinction was made between architect and engineer. Indeed, little distinction was made between craftsman and engineer. Yet, the work that would mark the field of structural engineering was being done by the builders of such structural wonders as the Parthenon in Athens or the Appian Way of Rome. The principles of engineering were being developed and the science and understanding of matter and energy were continuing although at a very slow pace.

The organization of craftsmen into guilds that passed on the knowledge of building from generation to generation actually hindered advances in knowledge. The guilds tended to be rigid and not open to change. Even religion seemed to be the enemy of science during so many centuries and some of the most advanced thinkers, and engineers, of ancient times were reviled and unappreciated in their lifetimes.

It is a sad commentary of humankind that the real advances in engineering came in the area of Military Engineering. This trend has really continued into modern times. One example of this was the swamp land just south of Washington, D.C. For almost 50 years prior to the American Civil War, the railroad from Washington to Richmond, Virginia either swung on a wide detour around these swamps, or traveled the final miles by steamboat to avoid them. Yet, military necessity in the war led engineers to find a way to drain the swamps and push the railroad through in a matter of months.

The very term, Civil Engineering, was coined to separate Military Engineering from more peaceful pursuits. It was in 1771, that some men began to call themselves "engineers." In the last century, the tremendous explosion of scientific knowledge and technological advance made the field of Civil and Structural Engineering into distinct professions. This explosion has hardly reached its peak, and it is the Engineers that will guide its force into making things that are "useful to man."

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Structural Civil Engineering

Structural civil engineering is one of the many fields involved in civil engineering. They have the responsibilities of designing buildings and machinery. The main goal of a structural civil engineer is to design a structure, no matter the type, that is built with strong integrity, with massive attention paid to reliability and safety of the structure.

What types of things require structural civil engineering? Thousands of things, specifically large items that require a great deal of planning, designing, and attention to detail. For example, a structural engineer might design large machinery such as cranes, or larger pieces of medical equipment or furniture. A structural engineer might also built various vehicles such as watercrafts, spacecrafts, aircrafts, and large trucks.

However, structural civil engineering in the construction field has to do with tunnels, dams, retaining walls or other walls, bridges, and buildings. They are responsible for the systems and elements that support these structures. There are many elements that go into designing the structure system of a building or any large item for that matter. They have to design large items that have the ability to resist collapse, keeping safety in mind. They also have to keep other things in mind as well, such as how well the building functions for a business or residence.

Structural civil engineering is responsible for every aspects of a building's support. This means they are responsible for designing floors, columns, and beams. They have to decide what materials can be used and the load capacity of these materials. They are also responsible for determining how energy, heat, and moisture will interact within the building and its materials.

They carry further responsibility for determining the power of the structure to withstand water, wind, earthquakes, tsunamis, the structure weight, as well as sabotage or acts of violence. Essentially the integrity of a structure relies on the experience, knowledge, and expertise of those within the civil engineering field.

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Structural Engineering Standards

The history of structural engineering, a trial and error. Knowledge and understanding that had been there for him, handed down from generation to generation. Today, structural design standards are written, and very detailed.

One way to understand the structural design standards is to think of a flood of cards. There are codes and standards, which cover almost all eventualities, fire codes, building codes, electrical codes, local codes,Regional codes and regulations. There are security code. All these codes are minimum standards for construction and is the responsibility of structural engineers to fulfill all, while the actual construction or design a structure that does not require the emptying of the time at Fort Knox to pay for it.

This can be a difficult task for the structural engineer. The architect is freedom a little 'more in artistic creation. Dream things and say This is as it should be, but the structural engineer does not have the luxury of dreams. Their world is a world of practice, what works and what does not. The engineer can rely on codes, in many cases to support his arguments, because if a structure is not in harmony with them, can not be built.

All standards of structural design are not from the legislature, but. SEI, which is a fellowship of the American Society of Civil engineers> Civil engineers and the International Institute for Structural Engineering with members in 105 countries, have helped to raise to do the same. The field of Civil Engineering has accepted its responsibility in an attempt to create structures that are practical and above all safe for humans use it and still live or work in them.

The green movement has begun to affect the structural engineering to some extent. The need for facilitiesThat are in harmony with the environment has become an area of awareness for designers. It can be assumed that these environmental standards, must find their way to the codes and laws in the next few years, civil engineers, in order to be aware of.

The need to maintain standards of structural design is not only a necessity to stay within a strict code. This is an ethical responsibility, every time a structure must be designed to maintainValue of human life than cutting costs and meeting schedules. In most engineering programs taught in universities today, ethics is a required course.

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