Ce 10 - Civil Engineering Orientation

CE 10 – CIVIL ENGINEERING ORIENTATION
CHAPTER I : HISTORY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
It is difficult to determine the history of emergence and beginning of civil

engineering, however, that the history of civil engineering is a mirror of the history of
human beings on this earth. Man used the old shelter caves to protect themselves of
weather and harsh environment, and used a tree trunk to cross the river, which being
the demonstration of ancient age civil engineering.
Civil Engineering has been an aspect of life since the beginnings of human
existence. The earliest practices of Civil engineering may have commenced between
4000 and 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (Ancient Iraq) when humans
started to abandon a nomadic existence, thus causing a need for the construction of
shelter. During this time, transportation became increasingly important leading to the
development of the wheel and sailing.
Until modern times there was no clear distinction between civil engineering and
architecture, and the term engineer and architect were mainly geographical variations
referring to the same person, often used interchangeably. The construction of Pyramids
in Egypt (circa 2700-2500 BC) might be considered the first instances of large structure
constructions.
Around 2550 BC, Imhotep, the first documented engineer, built a famous stepped
pyramid for King Djoser located at Saqqara Necropolis. With simple tools and
mathematics he created a monument that stands to this day. His greatest contribution to
engineering was his discovery of the art of building with shaped stones. Those who
followed him carried engineering to remarkable heights using skill and imagination.
Ancient historic civil engineering constructions include the Qanat water

management system (the oldest older than 3000 years and longer than 71 km,) the
Parthenon by Iktinos in Ancient Greece (447-438 BC), the Appian Way by Roman
engineers (c. 312 BC), the Great Wall of China by General Meng T’ien under orders
from Ch’in Emperor Shih Huang Ti (c. 220 BC) and the stupas constructed in ancient Sri
Lanka like the Jetavanaramaya and the extensive irrigation works in Anuradhapura. The
Romans developed civil structures throughout their empire, including especially
aqueducts, insulae, harbours, bridges, dams and roads.
Other remarkable historical structures are Sennacherib's Aqueduct at Jerwan
built in 691 BC; Li Ping's irrigation projects in China (around 220 BC); Julius Caesar's
Bridge over the Rhine River built in 55 BC, numerous bridges built by other Romans in
and around Rome(e.g. the pons Fabricius); Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct, Nimes,
France) built in 19 BC; the extensive system of highways the Romans built to facilitate
trading and (more importantly) fast manoeuvring of legions; extensive irrigation system
constructed by the Hohokam Indians, Salt River, AZ around 600 AD; first dykes
defending against high water in Friesland, The Netherlands around 1000 AD; El Camino
Real - The Royal Road, Eastern Branch, TX and Western Branch, NM (1500s AD).
Machu Picchu, Peru, built at around 1450, at the height of the Inca Empire is
considered an engineering marvel. It was built in the Andes Mountains assisted by
some of history’s most ingenious water resource engineers. The people of Machu
Picchu built a mountain top city with running water, drainage systems, food production
and stone structures so advanced that they endured for over 500years.
A treatise on Architecture, Book called Vitruvius' De Archiectura, was published

at 1AD in Rome and survived to give us a look at engineering education in ancient
times. It was probably written around 15 BC by the Roman architect Vitruvius and
dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesar Augustus, as a guide for building projects.
Throughout ancient and medieval history most architectural design and
construction was carried out by artisans, such as stonemasons and carpenters, rising to
the role of master builder. Knowledge was retained in guilds and seldom supplanted by
advances. Structures, roads and infrastructure that existed were repetitive, and
increases in scale were incremental.
One of the earliest examples of a scientific approach to physical and
mathematical problems applicable to civil engineering is the work of Archimedes in the
3rd century BC, including Archimedes Principle, which underpins our understanding of
buoyancy, and practical solutions such as Archimedes’ screw. Brahmagupta, an Indian
mathematician, used arithmetic in the 7th century AD, based on Hindu-Arabic numerals,
for excavation (volume) computations.
Educational & Institutional History of Civil Engineering

In the 18th century, the term civil engineering was coined to incorporate all things
civilian as opposed to military engineering. The first engineering school, The National
School of Bridges and Highways, France, was opened in 1747. The first self-proclaimed
civil engineer was John Smeaton who constructed the Eddystone Lighthouse. In 1771,
Smeaton and some of his colleagues formed the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers,
a group of leaders of the profession who met informally over dinner. Though there was
evidence of some technical meetings, it was little more than a social society.
In 1818, world’s first engineering society, the Institution of Civil Engineers was
founded in London, and in 1820 the eminent engineer Thomas Telford became its first
president. The institution received a Royal Charter in 1828, formally recognizing civil
engineering as a profession. Its charter defined civil engineering as: “Civil engineering
is the application of physical and scientific principles, and its history is intricately linked
to advances in understanding of physics and mathematics throughout history. Because
civil engineering is a wide ranging profession, including several separate specialized
sub-disciplines, its history is linked to knowledge of structures, material science,
geography, geology, soil, hydrology, environment, mechanics and other fields.”
The first private college to teach Civil Engineering in the United States was
Norwich University founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge. The first degree in Civil
Engineering in the United States was awarded by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in
1835. The first such degree to be awarded to a woman was granted by Cornell
University to Nora Stanton Blatch in 1905.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Infrastructure is the physical and organizational structures essential for the
operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an
economy to function. It typically refers to the technical structures that support a society,
such as roads, water supply and sanitation, power grids, telecommunications, and so
on. In some contexts, the term infrastructures may also include basic social services,
such as schools and hospitals. In military services, infrastructures refer to the buildings
and permanent installations necessary for support, redeployment, and operation of
military forces.
Types of Infrastructure
A. Transportation
 Roads and highways networks, including structures ( bridges, tunnels, culverts,
retaining walls), signals and markings, electrical systems (Street lighting, traffic
lights) and edge treatments (curbs, sidewalks, landscaping)
 Railways, including structures, terminal facilities (rail yards, train stations), level
crossings, signaling and communications systems.
 Canals and navigable waterways requiring continuous maintenance (dredging,
etc.)
 Seaports and lighthouses.
 Airports, including air navigational systems.
 Mass transit systems (commuter rail systems, subways, tramways, trolleys and
bus terminals).
 Bicycle paths and pedestrian walkways.
B. Energy infrastructure
 Electrical power network, including generation plants, electric grid, substations
and local distribution
 Natural gas pipelines, storage and distribution terminals as well as the local
distribution network.
 Petroleum pipelines, including associated storage and distribution terminals.
 Steam or hot water production and distribution networks for direct heating
systems.
C. Financial Infrastructure
 Banking System.
 Exchanges.
 Money Supply
 Financial Regulations.
D. Water Management
 Drinking water supply, including the system of pipes, reservoirs, pumps, valves,
filtration and treatment equipment and meters. It also includes buildings and
structures to house and equipment, used for collection, treatment and distribution
of drinking water.
 Sewage Collection and disposal.
 Drainage systems (storm sewers, ditches, etc.)
 Major irrigation systems (reservoirs, irrigation canals)
 Major flood control systems (dikes, levees, major pumping stations and
floodgates.)
E. Communication
 Communication software
 Postal Services.
 Social Networks.
 Telephone Networks (landlines), including switching systems.
 Mobile Phone Networks.
 Cable television networks including receiving stations and cable distribution
networks.
 Internet backbone, including high-speed data cables, routers and servers as well
as the protocols, and other basic software required for the system to function.
 Communication Satellites.
 Undersea Cables.
 Major Private, government or dedicated telecommunications networks, such as
those used for internal communications and monitoring by major infrastructure
companies, by governments, by the military or by emergency services.
 Pneumatic tube mail distribution networks.
F. Waste Management Facilities

 Solid waste landfills
 Solid waste incinerators
 Materials recovery facilities
 Hazardous waste disposal facilities
G. Earth Monitoring and Measurement Networks

 Meteorological Monitoring networks
 Tidal Monitoring networks
 Stream gauge of fluviometric monitoring networks
 Seismometer networks
 Remote sensing Satellites
 Geodetic benchmarks
 Global Positioning system.
END

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CE 10 – CIVIL ENGINEERING ORIENTATION

CHAPTER I : HISTORY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

It is difficult to determine the history of emergence and beginning of civil

Ancient historic civil engineering constructions include the Qanat water

A treatise on Architecture, Book called Vitruvius' De Archiectura, was published

Educational & Institutional History of Civil Engineering

F. Waste Management Facilities

G. Earth Monitoring and Measurement Networks

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