INTRODUCTION TO CIVIL

ENGINEERING
Navneet Singh
CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
Introduction
Civil engineering is the oldest of the engineering specialties, and its main task is to
perform civil works in order to make the properties of matter and the sources of energy in
nature useful to people. The advancement of civil engineering has, therefore, been closely
related to that of civilization.
Civil engineering is truly the oldest of engineering specialties and is concerned with
public undertaking. In addition, the engineering profession itself has an extremely long
history of development and has been associated with the civilizations established
throughout history from ancient times to the present. Thus, the term “engineer” was long
been recognized as a person who builds various facilities and structures to satisfy the
needs of human activities, including military operations.
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People have accumulated broad experience and knowledge, and based on this, they
have established a number of techniques to improve their lifestyle over several
thousands of years. The adopted technique was gradually refined to the engineering
discipline by applying the advanced achievement in science and mathematics to
various practical applications. Thus, engineering is defined as the discipline in which
science and mathematics are applied for the control and use of the material and power
in nature for people. The subjects concerned are: building structures, machines,
numerous products, systems, and processes.
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Engineering is one of the oldest professions in the world, and was traditionally
classified into the following four primary disciplines: civil engineering, mechanical
engineering, electrical engineering, and chemical engineering.

In ancient as well as medieval times, as military activities were extremely important

to protect any state, engineering technology was enthusiastically applied to construct
structures such as fortresses, roads, bridges, and tunnels. That is why the title of
“engineer” was used only for military engineers for a long time.

In an old English dictionary, one may find the word “engineer” defined as “a soldier
formerly engaged in siege work, but now having the job of ensuring that military
vehicles can move quickly and easily across country by building roads, bridges,
tunnels, etc.” That is to say, in those days military engineers had far more technical
knowledge than others.
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In the eighteenth century the term “civil engineering” was used first to
distinguish the newly-recognized profession from military engineering. It is well
known that John Smeaton, who was the builder of the Eddystone lighthouse near
Plymouth, England, called himself a civil engineer to differentiate himself from
the “military engineer”. The profession of civil engineering is thus as old as
civilization itself, in a broad sense.
Historical Background of Civil Engineering
Since human beings appeared on the earth, they survived the severe natural
environment by securing food, clothing, and shelter, and gradually improved their
ways of living to become more comfortable. Generation after generation, people
accumulated their experience and improved their skills, step by step, to establish it as
technology. They then kept refining their technology to engineering in general
practices by applying the science and mathematics that was available at that time.
Engineering in General
From ancient times people devoted great efforts to constructing various facilities
and structures to make their living conditions safer and more effective. This
practice kept improving their skill during a tremendously long period of time,
and the techniques they learned were applied to numerous projects in other
regions of ancient civilizations. We can now visit and enjoy a number of sites of
cultural heritage in the world that, fortunately, have survived to the present.
Example
In ancient Egypt the Great Pyramid at Giza was constructed in about 2600 B.C.
with 2.3 million stone blocks that weigh an average of over 1.5 tonnes each. The
height and the base length of the pyramid are 146.6m and 230m, respectively.
This magnificent construction project was made possible only with the full use
of astronomical and other survey technology.
Example
The Great Wall in China is another spectacular heritage site. The total length of the
wall is at present about 2,250km, and the construction project was initiated by
Shih-hung-ti, the first emperor of China, in 214 B.C. by connecting the walls that
existed at that time. The main purpose of this big wall construction was to protect the
state against possible invasion by mounted troops through the state’s northern border.
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There are many other sites of heritage that can be mentioned, such as the
Parthenon in Greece, constructed in 438 B.C.; the Roman road built
about 310 B.C.; the Pont du Gard, a three-layer arch bridge for the
Aqueduct of Nemausus, in France, constructed in about 15 B.C.; the
Colosseum in Rome constructed in 80 A.D.; and the Great Canal in China
completed in 610 A.D. connecting several big rivers such as the Yellow
River and the Yangtze River.
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As explained above, ancient technology was refined to engineering with utilization of

the results of science and mathematics. However, in medieval times, engineers were
isolated from academic advancement, and they had to work by trial and error. This
period is thus regarded as a kind of dark period for the engineering profession.
In ancient and medieval times military engineers were specialists in attacking or
defending castles and the like with the use of numerous devices. Those military
engineers had access to the then most advanced technical knowledge, which could be
applied to public works in peaceful times. That is why only military engineers were
called engineers for a long time. Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) described himself as
an excellent military engineer in his letter of introduction to the duke of Milan.
Civil Engineering as the Oldest Engineering Discipline
From the earliest times, engineering works related to both military operations and
peaceful activities had been mostly civil works. The beginning of civil
engineering as a separate discipline may be traced back to the foundation of the
Bridge and Highway Corps in France in 1716. From this corps the École
National des Ponts et Chaussées (the National School of Bridges and Highways)
grew in 1747. The oldest of the four primary and main engineering disciplines is
civil engineering, which was developed as a profession from the techniques used
in the ancient world. It is concerned with designing, site preparations, and
construction of all types of structures and facilities, such as bridges, roads,
tunnels, harbors, and airfields.
Functions of Civil Engineering
Civil engineering is a form of human activity that has been pursued ever since
people first wanted to change the natural environment for their own benefit.
It was well described by Thomas Tredgold in 1829 when the Institution of
Civil Engineers in Great Britain applied for its Charter:
That species of knowledge which constitutes the profession of a civil
engineer; being the art of directing the great sources of power in nature for
the use and convenience of man, as the means of production and of traffic in
states both for external and internal trade, as applied in the construction of
roads, bridges, aqueducts, canals, river navigation and docks, for internal
intercourse and exchange, and in the construction of ports, harbors, moles,
breakwaters and lighthouses, and in the art of navigation by artificial power
for the purposes of commerce, and in the construction and adaptation of
machinery and in the drainage of city and towns.
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There are particular forms of construction that serve modern needs, such as airports,
highways, dams, tunnels, and power stations of various types, but these are minor
refinements of the general theme of civil engineer as the creator of physical
infrastructure on which any level of civilization depends.
Civil Engineering-The oldest Engineering
Specialities
Civil engineering, the oldest of engineering specialties, is concerned with civil
works or public works, including building construction, and consists of several
separate specializations, as explained later. The function of civil engineers can
be divided into the following three categories, depending on the steps in
construction practice: those performed before construction, during construction,
and after construction. In the first step feasibility studies, site investigation, and
design works are carried out in order to make sure that the proposed project is
meaningful and executable. In the second step, which is the main part of the
project, closer co-operation among clients, consulting engineers, and contractors
is extremely important to complete the construction projects successfully.
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Finally, in the third step, it is, needless to say, extremely important that maintenance
effort is applied to keep the structures alive, in the sense of function as well as
physical quality. In addition to these three categories, investigation activities and/or
research are also important to solve not only the practical problems encountered
during the course of construction works, but also to gain more advanced knowledge
on design and execution of construction.
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The profession of civil engineering can be divided into three broad categories:
consulting, contracting, and government (or municipal) engineering. Civil engineering
itself consists of several distinct specializations, such as structures, construction,
foundation, transportation, sanitation, and hydraulics. Nowadays, specialization of
civil engineering discipline is becoming broader to include areas such as planning
and management, remote sensing, landscape, environment, energy facilities, water
management, and infrastructure systems, including national and regional planning,
urban planning, telecommunication systems, and disaster prevention systems.