Program Criteria - Civil Engineering Program
The program awards the BS degree in civil engineering, with well-established focus in general, structural, environmental, and geotechnical areas; a new focus area in water resources engineering (replacing agricultural engineering) was initiated in 2000-2001. The curriculum specifications and faculty qualifications more than adequately satisfy both ABET criteria and the American Society of Civil Engineers guidelines. The adequacy of the curriculum and faculty in meeting the above criteria and guidelines as well as all the educational objectives of the program are described here.Curriculum
Specific criteria to be met under ASCE requirements for program curriculae are discussed in the following sections.A - Proficiency in math, probability, statistics, physics, and chemistry
The program curriculum ensures that all graduates will have proficiency in the following subjects by completing the indicated courses with a grade of C or better:
The above subject areas are further reviewed, reiterated, and built upon in several other courses taught within the college and the program faculty (e.g., math in all classes; statistics in all lab classes; physics in hydraulic engineering, statistics, and dynamics; chemistry in CE 256).
B - Proficiency in four areas of civil engineering
As mentioned earlier, the program provides for specialization in four major focus areas in civil engineering; structural, environmental, water resources, and geotechnical. However, all students will have acquired proficiency in all the above four areas, before proceeding to their choice of specialization, by completing the following courses with a grade of C or better:
C - Ability to conduct experiments and analyze / interpret data
All graduates will have acquired laboratory experience and the skills to critically analyze and interpret data in the following four major civil engineering areas, by completing the indicated courses with a grade of C or better:
In addition, the following focus area-specific courses provide further opportunities for gaining experimentation and data analysis skills:
D - Ability to perform design
Ability to design and analyze components, processes, or elements, are integrated into the curriculum from early stages; ability to design integrated, real life-like systems is covered in the capstone design courses in each of the four focus areas. Design is intentionally incorporated into all the courses taught by the department, starting from basic and engineering science courses, and progressing through design-intensive courses to culminate in the capstone design course.Design in Structural Engineering focus area:
The first class in this focus area is CE 301: Mechanics of Materials, where the
students learn fundamental theories of stress, strain, and deflection of
deformable bodies due to bending, axial force, torsion, and shear. The students
are introduced to the procedures for applying these basic principles to the
design of shafts and beams. In the next two classes, CE 315: Determinate
Structural Analysis and CE 365: Indeterminate Structural Analysis, the fundamentals learned in CE 233 and CE 301
are applied to the structural analysis of civil engineering structures based on
elastic theory. Here they learn about
the different types of loads, load paths, and computation of internal forces
for several types of structures. Several
methods for computing deflections and rotations of elastic structures are also
covered including the integration method, conjugate beam, virtual work, and
Castigliano’s theorems. Other topics covered include influence lines and
indeterminate structural analysis using slope deflection, moment distribution
and the force method for use as design tools. In this class students are also
exposed to ASCE-7 and use this standard to determine loads on a structure. In the following class CE 445: Reinforced
Concrete Design, the students are taught the fundamentals of reinforced
concrete design based on Ultimate Strength Design specifications and material
properties learned in CE 311. All program students take the above courses.
Students that have chosen structural engineering specialty will continue on to CE 444:
Elements of Steel Design where they apply the Load and Resistance Factor Design
(LRFD) approach for designing steel. In
another design-intensive course, CE 457: Foundation design, application of fundamentals
of soil systems to design of piles, retaining walls etc. in a comprehensive
design project is completed. The culminating capstone design course for
structural engineering students is CE 469: Structural Systems, where a building
is designed. In this project, the students start with load calculations and
structural analysis. The students then
continue on to the design of the individual structural members and finally to
constructability including cost estimates. A comprehensive report is prepared
and presented in front of industry professionals for each of the two
projects. (Student portfolios are
available for review by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) review team of ABET). Students also have a structural
elective where they may select one course from CE 454: Wood Design, CE 455: Masonry
Design or CE 468: Mechanics of Structural Systems.
Design in Environmental Engineering focus area:
The first class in this focus area is CE 256: Environmental science (and CE 256L,
the laboratory section), where the students learn fundamentals of environmental
processes. Basic sizing calculations are done as “design” examples, using
empirical guidelines/rules of thumb. In the next class, CE 356 Fundamentals of
environmental engineering, they learn the theory and fundamentals of individual
engineered processes and reactors used for water and wastewater treatment. Here
they apply design guidelines, mass balance, and process equations to “design”
components and processes for water and wastewater treatment; for e.g. sizing a
rapid mix tank under certain energy dissipation, sizing an aeration basin for
desired removal efficiency etc. for given conditions. All program students take
the above courses.
At the next level, students opting for the environmental engineering specialty
take a design-intensive course, ENVE 455: Solid and hazardous wastes system
design. Here, students are introduced to process selection and conceptual
design for solid and hazardous wastes treatment. Typically the faculty utilize
practicing engineers to provide data and information for actual projects to
give students an insight into actual projects. Projects usually involve some of the following;
process selection and concept design for soil
size reduction and screening; off-gas capture and treatment; waste treatment
and stabilization; leachate collection and treatment; secondary liquid waste
treatment, water reuse and recycling. These projects are usually completed in three phases, culminating in a
comprehensive written report and oral presentation in front of industry
professionals, others and the instructor. Students from CE 355G, a Viewing the Wider World general education
class, provide a critical non-engineering audience.
These students then continue on to the capstone design course, ENVE 456:
Environmental engineering design where a complete wastewater treatment plant is
designed. In these projects, the students start with population projection, and
continue with plant capacity estimation, concept design, process selection and
detailed design, reactor selection and detailed design, equipment sizing and
selection (from catalogs), to plant layout and cost estimates. Two
comprehensive reports are prepared for each of the two projects and presented
to a panel of industry professionals, other students and the instructor. (Student
portfolios, presentation videos and plan sheets are available for review by the
EAC review team of ABET).
Design in Water Resources Engineering focus area:
The first class in this focus area is CE 231: Introduction to fluid mechanics,
where students learn the fundamentals of fluid flow. Here they apply continuity
and energy equations to “design” components of hydraulic systems; for e.g. in
sizing the pipes, estimating pump horsepower etc under given conditions. They
also get an opportunity to conduct laboratory tests on related topics. The students work in teams to design and
build a fountain and then present the results to practicing professionals and
the public. In the next class, in CE 331: Hydraulic engineering, they are exposed to the details of various components,
applying their fundamental knowledge to select different components or
materials to meet certain desired conditions, under some constraints. Equipment
selection is done for close-ended problems; e.g. matching given pump curves to
system curves to select pump.
Following that, students continue with a design
intensive course, CE 382: Hydraulic systems design, where they learn to develop
spreadsheet models and use computer programs (KY-Pipe) to derive performance
curves to evaluate various combinations of the hydraulic components such as
pipe networks, and select equipment from commercially available products.
Students learn to solve open-ended problems using trial and error, simulation,
and optimization. Students learn to write short reports incorporating
computer-simulated results (Student portfolios are available for review by the
EAC review team of ABET). All program students take the above courses.
Finally, in the capstone design courses, CE 482: Hydraulic structures, students
undertake a project to design structures
for flow measurement, regulation, drainage, energy dissipation, and conveyance.
Students apply rainfall, runoff, and flow estimation methods learnt in CE 483:
Introduction to surface water hydrology, to develop and establish design
criteria based on static and dynamic loads, and students evaluate adequacy
based on structural stability (uplift, overturning, sliding, foundation),
capacity, precision (for flow measurement structures), and economic
performance.An integrated, comprehensive design project is carried out each semester with the local water
management agency, Elephant Butte Irrigation District, acting as a client.
Student groups design the necessary hydraulic structures, evaluate costs,
prepare a comprehensive report, and present their designs to the cooperator,
consulting engineers from the area, other students in the class, and the instructor. (Student portfolios are
available for review by the EAC review team of ABET).
Design in Geotechnical Engineering focus area:
In the revised CE curriculum, freshmen students take GEOL: 111 Survey of Geology,
which provides the fundamentals of geology and engineering geology. In this
course, students acquire the basic background and laboratory skills needed for
CE 357: Soil Mechanics. The second class
in this focus area is CE 357: Soil Mechanics, where students learn the main
concepts of soil mechanics and soil engineering as they relate to civil
engineering projects, basic soil testing methods and interpretation of the
engineering properties of soils. CE 457: Foundation Design applies the knowledge learned in previous courses to the
design of shallow and deep foundations in diverse soil profiles and site
conditions, and the calculation of settlements and lateral earth pressures.
According to the revised curriculum, this course is now required to all CE students.
Two senior elective courses are included in the geotechnical engineering track: GEN
452: Geohydrology and GEN 459: Geomechanics and Applied Rock Engineering. GEN
452: Geohydrology addresses the effects of ground water and groundwater systems
on engineering projects, water supply, and contaminant transport and
mitigation. The course incorporates
effective stress, aquifer analysis, well-field design, dewatering for
construction and a variety of other ground-water- and geotechnical-related
design elements. On the other hand, GEN 459: Geomechanics and Applied Rock
Engineering broadens the students’ scope of understanding of earth materials as
engineering materials and expand their knowledge base to include the
engineering properties and engineering characteristics of rocks and weathered
rocks. In this course, the students learn to apply the above to the design of
rock slopes, underground excavations, foundations, and rock support systems.
GEN 485: Design of Earth Dams is the capstone design course for the geotechnical
focus area in civil engineering. In this course, students work in teams to
design a small flood-control earthen dam, from the initial site investigation
and characterization to the hydrologic basin analysis to the final geotechnical
design of the dam embankment, spillways and outlet works. Actual data, available materials, and local
sites are considered in the capstone project. The design project also requires
the students to select the most appropriate site for the dam, perform
settlement calculations of the embankment and foundation materials, determine
flood routing, and provide recommendations or specifications for construction
control. The course is taken not only by
students in the geotechnical engineering track, but also by students that
choose the general option, water resources option and graduate students. The
background diversity in these engineering design teams makes the learning
experience more stimulating and broader. Each student submits a report addressing each topic.
A comprehensive final design report is submitted by the team. Guest lectures in
this field are invited to classroom to share their experience with the student.
Practicing professionals are invited to critique the final oral
presentations. (Examples of student portfolios are available for review by the
EAC review team of ABET).