Course Descriptions
Civil Engineering (CE)

Graduate Courses

To view the complete schedule of courses for
each semester, go to Cardinal Students.

Analysis of stress and strain, stress-strain relations for elastic materials, Mohr's circle in three dimensions, strain energy, distortional energy, theories of failure, mechanical behavior of materials, unsymmetrical bending, shear center, shear flow, and curved beams.

An introduction to modern continuum mechanics. Concept of vectors and tensors. Indicial notation, base vectors, coordinate systems, coordinate transformations, contravariant, covariant and mixed tensors, cartesian tensors. Concept of stress and strain. Conservation laws and compatibility conditions. Examples of linear elastic solid and newtonian viscous fluid.

Theory of stress, theory of strain, stress-strain relations, equations of elasticity, two-dimensional elasticity, selected problems.

Experimental techniques for determination of soil strength and stress-strain behavior, methods of analyzing an presenting test results, compositional and environmental factors affecting stress-strain, volume change, pore pressure, and strength behavior of sands, clays, and compacted soils, relation between drained and undrained behavior, effects of 3-D stress conditions. Prerequisites: CE 366, CE 367 or equivalent.

Basic hypothesis, simple cases of plastic collapse, effect of end-fixity, rectangular portal frames, methods of plastic design, deflections, shear and axial load, applications to design.

Free and forced vibrations of single degree of freedom systems under a variety of time dependent loads. Damping in structures. Unit impulse response functions. Frequency domain analysis. Free and forced vibrations of multi degree of freedom systems. Modal Analysis, eigenvalues, eigenvectors. Numerical integration, time history analysis, and modal analysis of MDOF systems. Vibrations of continuous systems.

Basic concepts, materials, flexural analysis, partial prestressing, beam design, shear and torsion, losses of prestress force, composite beams, deflections, introduction to slabs and axially loaded members. Prerequisite: CE 403.

Integrated design of simple structure including foundations, columns, beams, floor and wall slabs to meet specified functional and space requirements and building, steel, and concrete design code requirements. Commercial software will be used to analyze structural framework. Final designs will be presented as set of sketches with descriptive notes. Prerequisite: CE 402, CE 403.

Analysis of indeterminate structures by the force and displacement methods. Development of the stiffness and flexibility matrices for structures. Extensive computer use. Prerequisite: CE 312.

Methods for the condition assessment of civil structures. Theory and application of acoustic and electromagnetic techniques for the nondestructive evaluation of concrete, steel, and wood. Wave propagation in isotropic solids, ferromagnetism and physical properties of civil materials. Nondestructive evaluation technologies for quality assurance during construction. Introduction of sensors and instrumentation for health monitoring of civil structures.

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Expands topics from the field of chemistry and adapts them to an environmental engineering context. Environmental: application of fundamental chemistry principles to water and water treatment process, combustion processes, and the fate and transport of pollutants in ground and surface water and the atmosphere. Chemical equilibria, stoichiometry, kinetics, sorption, basic concepts from organic chemistry, aerobic, anaerobic biotic reactions, nitrogen cycle, phosphorous cycle, and carbon cycle.

Hands-on experience with common environmental testing methods. Emphasis on water, wastewater, ground and surface water testing, used to evaluate surface and groundwater pollution, support environmental modeling, and evaluate water and waste treatment design and operations. Includes tests for Ph, acidity, alkalinity, hardness. Field trip to local wastewater or water treatment facility.

An introduction to microbiology as it relates to environmental pollution. Energetics and kinetics of microbial growth. Biomass production. Aerobic and anaerobic biological processes for wastewater renovation. Degradation of pollutants by microbes and bioremediation.

Designed to impart a thorough understanding of the major environmental laws and implementing regulations. Covers methods used to implement federal environmental enforcement strategies, interrelations of major regulatory programs, current prospects for policy changes. Also: the Superfund and Community Right-to-Know Acts, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, and related permit and enforcement regulations and procedures.

Introduction to the principles of sustainable development and sustainability. Current practices are presented using case histories from both national and international experience. Student will be exposed to policy and ethical aspects from both a technical and non-technical perspective. Outside speakers will present current issues related to the implementation of principles in practice mationally and internationally.

Focuses on techniques and procedures used to obtain design data and complete actual geotechnical and geo-environmental designs of facilities located within the region. Presents as short design projects a series of case histories covering broad aspects of design, including shallow foundations, deep foundations, ground improvement, slope stability, geotechnical or environmental design in karst terrain, design of waste containment liner systems, design of petroleum contamination remediation systems, and completing environmental site assessments or audits. Students will submit brief reports on their analysis and proposed design. . Prerequisites: CE 366, CE 468.

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Introduction to innovative infrastructure management applications and the available tools and technologies. Covers physical infrastructure management using computer available technologies; physical infrastructure using computer assisted decision tools--highways, sewers, and underground systems; remote sensing technologies; energy management systems; assessment tools for environmental issues; and economic assessments--case studies. Case studies presented using Arc View and other Geographic Information System (GIS) tools.

Basic mechanics, theory and design principles for highway and airport pavement structures. Emphasis will be paced on mechanistic-empirical structural pavement design. Contents include traffic characterization, materials selection and testing procedures, environmental consideration, mechanics of rigid and flexible pavements, also pavement performance modeling and reliability. Prerequisite: MATH 122.

Introduces some of the technologies, processes, and demonstrations that are a part of intelligent transportation system development. Some technologies reviewed include global positioning system applications, sensor and communication systems for public transit, congestion management systems, commercial vehicle inspection management systems, and emergency/accident response improvements. Review of Geographic Information System technology applications for transportation planning, land use planning, impact assessment, and public communication, including specific application case studies. Presents new pavement design criteria developed under the Strategic Highway Research Program, along with improved pavement management system leveraging condition index technics. A review of the current status of the federal smart vehicle program and its implications on transportation in the future, including environmental benefits.

Various components of traffic systems, traffic flow characteristics, traffic data collection and traffic control of urban streets and freeways. Traffic operations of arterial streets and networks, optimal signal timing design, and capacity analysis using theoretical analysis, experimental techniques, and computer simulation. Traffic flow theory at micro-, meso- and macro-scopic levels will also be addressed.

Introduces a scientific approach to decision making, usually under conditions requiring the allocation of scarce resources. Provides several of the most useful and realistic mathematical models available for solving engineering management problems, including linear programming, transportation and assignment models, deterministic economic order quantity inventory models, and network models. Same as CMGT 575.

Detailed system design by individual and student groups with projects selected from transportation, water resources, energy problems, policy planning, and the like. Prerequisite: Senior or graduate standing.

Basic hydromechanics. Surface and tidal waves. Wave reflection, refraction, and diffraction wave shoaling, wave transport, wave forces on structures. Forces due to breaking and nonbreaking waves. Coastal currents. Storm surges. Coastal precesses and littoral currents. Beach erosion and protection. Wave oscillation in harbors. Harbor planning and design. Design of seawalls, breakwaters, revetments, and jetties.

A series of lectures on various topics in construction from the perspectives of an owner, the project architect and the contractor. Lectures follow a detailed topical outline, updated each year by the instructor. Analysis of ¿real world¿ practical cases in a lecture and open discussion format. Introduction to various construction law and litigation topics, contact clauses and topics. Develop a non-theoretical, practical course, using ¿real world¿ examples and case studies to supplement the mission of the Department of Civil Engineering, which mission is to provide a balanced education to students, strong in scientific, engineering, humanistic, and social bases, so that they may attain a leadership role in their profession and ¿use their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare and the environment.¿

The course introduces the concept of value engineering (VE) and demonstrates its application and technique. The VE process identifies opportunities to remove unnecessary osts while assuring quality, reliabilty, and performance. The course includes techniques used in VE such as: creativity, weighted evaluation, design-to-cost, life-cycle costing, FAST diagramming, and human relations.

In-depth analysis of the procedures for developing a detailed estimate of the general contractor and subcontractor for construction of building projects. Examines external sources that impact on the estimated costs. Determining the monitoring procedures for control of costs by subcontractors, suppliers, and vendors. Utilization of the estimate in the purchase budget, internal cost control, and determination of tax liabilities. Study of federal regulations impacting construction costs, safety requirements, insurance, and bonding costs. Use of the estimate in the interrelation between the architect/engineer and the contractor. Quantitative estimates included in class projects.

Introduces mid-level administration and management techniques in the construction industry to maximize the understanding and participation of new managers in management procedures. Major managerial functions including planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. Specialized issues include leadership, motivation, communication, contract documents, construction schedules, change orders, claims, ethics, cost controls, interrelation within a corporate structure, working relationships with the legal, accounting, and other construction related professions.

Examines the different types of schedules used in the construction process including bar chart, Critical Path Method (CPM), Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). Develops an understanding of the forward and backward passes for both the Arrow Diagram Method (ADM) and the Precedence Diagram Method (PDM). Analysis cost and resource loaded schedules. Introduces advantages/disadvantages of different delay analysis techniques.

The course provides students with an introduction to different types of construction equipment and their application, equipment economics, productivity measures, probability theory and statistics, and performance improvement. The course primarily focuses on modeling and simulation of field operations using discrete event simulation, including use of specialized software. Activity cycle diagrams will be used extensively to describe processes and their elements, activities and resources. Verification and validation of simulation models will be discussed. Analytical skills gained from this course will allow students to better understand and design construction operations.

Introduces the practical and theoretical aspects of groundwater occurrence and flow. The geology, hydrology, and geochemistry of groundwater. Practical analytical tools, including flow net theory and use; aquifer test data collection and interpretation; construction dewatering; water supply well design; environmental contaminant transport. Federal and state regulations that pertain to groundwater development and quality.

Focuses on the regulatory and practical issues associated with contamination of groundwater. Regulations associated with various laws focusing on CERCLA, SARA, RCRA, and the Clean Water Act. Source, transport mechanism, and fate of various types of pollutants. Approaches to contaminant transport modeling using both analytical and numerical simulates. Prerequisites: Calculus (through differential equations); CE 591 or equivalent.

Hydrologic cycle, precipitation, runoff, hydrologic data sources, frequency analysis, peak flow determination at ungaged sites, hydrographs, hydrologic routing, effects of urbanization, storm water management facility, GIS in hydrology, computer applications for hydrologic analysis.

Introduction to the development of water resources with emphasis on urban water supply systems; rationale for selecting between alternative sources of supply; procedures for development of individual supplies; methods of analysis for surface and groundwater; reservoirs and desalting; design of storage, distribution, and treatment systems; development of water quality considerations including trace and toxic elements; socioeconomic-political aspects of water supply planning.

This course provides a survey of engineering approaches to treatment of water with an emphasis on fundamental principals and models. Theory and conceptual design of systems for treating municipal drinking water and wastewater are discussed. Physical, and chemical processes are presented, including sedimentation, filtration, disinfection, coagulation, and biological treatment.

Reviews the various methods currently available or being developed for treating hazardous wastes. Incineration, bioremediation, chemical treatment, and separation processes. Examples of multiphase hazardous waste treatment applications illustrate uses and limitations of alternative methods for treating hazardous wastes.

Visco-elastic Behavior. Non-linear Visco-elastic Behavior in 1-D and 3-D. 1-D Plasticity and Visco plasticity. 3-D Non-Hardening Plasticity Theory. 3-D Plasticity with Strain and Strain-Rate Hardening. Application of Linear Visco-elasticity, Non-Linear Visco-elasticity and Plasticity Principles in the Analysis of Simple Structural Elements.

Brief overview of 3-D soil behavior, simple, hyperbolic, and rigid-plastic constitutive models for soils, Cam Clay model, stress-dilatancy theory, models for elastic behavior, general framework of work-hardening plasticity theory, associated versus non-associated plastic flow, double hardening and single hardening models, incrementalization procedure, large stress reversals, and rotational kinematic hardening models. Prerequisite: CE 504 or permission of instructor.

Information technology in various aspects of civil engineering. Overview of design and implementation of management information systems including geographic information systems and global positioning systems. File structures and access methods, relational database, database modeling, design and user interface, E-R diagram, information storage and retrieval, query languages ANSI SQL, normalization process, concurrency control, transaction processing, distributed, WEB-based and multi-tiered database systems. Applications of GIS and GPS in transportation and environmental engineering will also be emphasized.

Mechanics of earthquakes and strong ground motions characteristics. Response spectra and seismic response of elastic and inelastic systems. Numerical methods for analysis of inelastic structures. Mechanical behavior of structural members under earthquake excitations. Seismic design philosophies, performance based structural design, pushover analysis, spectral capacity curbes, design demand spectra. Special topics, code provisions.

Introduction to seismology, seismic hazard analysis. Soil properties under dynamic conditions. Wave propagation. Ground response analysis, soil structure interaction, machine foundations. Local site effects, liquefaction. Special topics.

Variational approach to mechanics, calculus of variations. Hamilton's principle and Lagrange's equations of motion, Hamilton-Jacobi theory. Applications; theory of small oscillations, dynamical theory of thick plates, geometric theory of propagation. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.

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Explores fundamental and advanced risk and reliability applied to civil engineering systems. Topics covered include hazard and failure consequences, definition and quantification of risk, risk aversion and risk acceptance, modeling uncertainty, probabilistic risk assessment, assessment of consequences and likelihood of failure, system reliability, maintainability. Projects will explore risk and reliability in stuctural systems, geotecnical, transportation, environmental systems, and construction processes.

Decision-making under uncertainty by application of quantitative techniques from operations research and management science (ORMS). Focus on the modeling and stochastic side of ORMS, with multidisciplinary applications in engineering. Multi-criteria decision making, stochastic network optimization and dynamic programming, system modeling and simlulation, and stochastic processes. Students will gain necessary knowledge and skills to solve real world problems.

Introduction to energy management in structural systems. Basic concepts of seismic isolation, mechanical behavior of elastomeric and sliding isolation systems. Design concepts of isolation systems for buildings and bridges, code provisions. Theory and applications of active structural control and energy dissipation systems in large structures. Current methods of structural control, practical considerations, implementation issues. Case studies.

Basic equations, boundary and initial conditions. Three-and two-dimensional potential flow theory. Free streamline theory. Infinitesimal waves in deep water, higher order theory; shallow water waves.

Designed to provide students with advanced knowledge related to theories and practices of geotechnical, foundation, and structural systems, emphasizing: analysis and design of the group pile foundation, drilled shaft foundation, and underground structures (culverts, pipelines, etc.); reinforced concrete deisgn of earth structures (spread footings, mat foundations, cantilever walls, etc.); and geotechnical and foundation stabilization and improvement methods. Also designed for hands-on experience in utilizing state-of-the art computer programs currently used in design practice for the analysis and design of geotechnical, foundation, and structural systems under static as well as dynamic loadings (foundation vibration, earthquake, etc.).

First- semester Fall studies on special academic topics or on research under direct supervision of an assigned faculty member.

Second-semester Spring studies on special academic topics or on research under direct supervision of an assigned faculty member.

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Research for Master's thesis during Fall Semester

Research for Master's thesis during Spring Semester.

Guidance of Ph.D. dissertation during Fall Semester.

Guidance of Ph.D. dissertation during Spring Semester.