BE8252-BASIC CIVIL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

UNIT I SCOPE OF CIVIL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

PART A
2 Marks Question and Answers
1. Define Civil Engineering?
Civil Engineering is a branch of engineering which aims to provide a comfortable and
safe living for people by providing shelters by Civil Engineers.

2. Mention the important functions of civil engineer?

i) Feasibility studies, Site investigation and design before the construction starts.
ii) Dealing with contractors and clients during construction.
iii) Maintenance and Research after the construction completed.

3. Mention the main branches of Civil Engineering?

i) Structural Engineering
ii) Geotechnical Engineering
iii) Transportation Engineering
iv) Irrigation Engineering
v) Water supply, Sanitary and Environmental Engineering
vi) Fluid Mechanics

4. What are the contributions of Civil Engineering to the welfare of Society?

Because of Civil Engineering and Civil Engineers, we have many amenities that make
civilization possible.
 Water piped to our homes and other places.
i) Sewage taken away to treatment plants.
ii)Roads that make easy driving possible and reduce the likelihood of accidents.
iii) Bridges and connect people who formerly were divided by water.
 Layout and construction of schools, public buildings and parking lots that make the best use
of land.
5. List the sub-discipline or branches in Civil Engineering?
Civil Engineering is the broadest of the engineering fields. It comprised of many related
specialties.
Sub-disciplines of Civil Engineering are:
 Coastal Engineering
 Construction Engineering
 Environmental Engineering
 Geotechnical Engineering
 Structural Engineering
 Transportation Engineering
 Water Resources Engineering

6. What is meant by Coastal Engineering?

Coastal engineering is a branch of civil engineering concerned with the specific demands
posed by constructing at or near the coast, as well as the development of the coast itself.
Typical coastal engineering application areas include: beach protection and nourishment,
coastal structures, coastal erosion, near shore circulation, marine renewable energy (wind,
wave, and tide), natural hazard impacts on coastal infrastructure, development of water
resources, and instrumentation for coastal and offshore measurements

7. What are the important construction materials?

i) Bricks ii) Stones iii) Sand iv) Cement v) Cement Concrete vi) Steel Sections
vii) Industrial timbers viii) Plastics and Composite materials.

8. Define Bulk density & Porosity.

Bulk density is the ratio of mass to the volume of the material in its natural state
i.e. including pores and voids.
Porosity is used to indicate the degree by which the volume of a material is occupied by
pores.
It is the ratio of volume of voids to the total volume of the specimen.
9. Define Thermal conductivity & Thermal capacity.
Thermal conductivity of the material is defined as the amount of heat in kilocalories that
will flow through unit area of the material with unit thickness in unit time when difference
of temperature on its faces is also unity.
Thermal capacity is defined as the property of the material to absorb heat

T = H / M (T2 – T1)

10. Differentiate Elasticity & Plasticity.

Elasticity: When an external force is acting on a body, it undergoes some deformation.
The property by which a body returns to its original shape after the removal of external load
Plasticity: It is the converse of elasticity. This is the property of material by which no
deformation disappears when it is relieved from the external load.

11. Define Abrasion & Hardness.

Abrasion: The resistance to abrasion of a material is found out by dividing the difference
in weights of specimens prior to and after abrasion with the area of abrasion.
Hardness: The ability of a material to resist penetration by a harder body is known as its
hardness. To find hardness of a material, a load through a penetrator is applied on the
surface of a specimen and the surface area of the impression is found out.

12. What is meant by Construction Engineering?

Construction Engineering is considered a professional sub-practice area of civil engineering
or architectural engineering. Construction Engineering is a professional discipline
that deals with the designing, planning, construction, and management of infrastructures such
as roads, tunnels, bridges, airports, railroads, facilities, buildings, dams, utilities and other
projects.

13. What is meant by Environmental Engineering?

 Environmental engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of
scientific and engineering principles for protection of human populations from the effects of
adverse environmental factors; protection of environments, both local and global, from
potentially deleterious effects of natural and human activities; and improvement of
environmental quality.

14. Environmental engineers are called upon to resolve the problems of providing safe drinking
water, cleaning up contaminated sites with hazardous materials, disposing of waste water and
managing solid wastes.

15. What is the role of Civil Engineer in the society?

Civil engineers create, improve and protect the environment in which we live. They plan,
design and oversee construction and maintenance of building structures and infrastructure,
such as roads, railways, airports, bridges, harbours, dams, irrigation projects, power plants,
and water and sewerage systems. They also design and build tall buildings and large
structures that can withstand all weather conditions.

16. Which is the oldest engineering discipline?

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline and it is the oldest discipline after
military engineering. It deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physically
and naturally built buildings.

17. What is meant by Transportation Engineering?

Civil engineers that specialize in transportation engineering will work with the planning,
construction and management of transportation facilities. They will design and implement the
infrastructures that deal with transportation in order to provide a safe, comfortable,
convenient, economical and environmentally compatible mode of transport. There are six
divisions related to transportation engineering: highway, air transportation, and waterway,
aerospace, coastal & ocean and urban transportation.
18. What is meant by Geotechnical Engineering?
In geotechnical engineering the engineer studies soil, foundations and bearing capacities. The
engineer will study the behavior of the earth materials and how they will affect a structure that
is to be constructed. They will also evaluate pre-existing structures that are showing signs of
problems with the earth materials under or near the structure.

19. What is meant by Water Resources Engineering?

It concerns collection and management of water; the branch is connected with hydrology,
environmental science, meteorology, geology, resource management; it is closely related to
the design of pipelines, water supply network, drainage facilities and canals.
These engineers deal with the design and construction of hydraulic structures. These
structures include dams, canals and water distribution system. The engineer is responsible for
the design of the structure as well as the implementation and safety precautions that must be
closely adhered to when dealing with hydraulic structures.

20. What is meant by Structural Engineering?

This branch of civil engineering encompasses the structural analysis and design of structures.
It is the responsibility of the structural engineer to analyze and design a structure that will
safely bear or resist the stresses, forces and loads. The design must satisfy the project
specifications while meeting all safety regulations. The structure must endure massive loads
as well as natural disasters and climate changes.

21. What is the aim of Civil Engineering?

The Civil Engineering program aims to prepare students with a breadth and depth in the
technical knowledge so they can work immediately in most areas of the profession, including
geotechnical engineering, hydraulics, hydrology and water resources, etc.

22. State few specialized sub disciplines in Mechanical Engineering

 Mechanics.
 Mechatronics and robotics.
  Structural analysis.
 Thermodynamics and thermo-science.
 Design and drafting.

23. Mention few contribution of Mechanical Engineering to society.

1) A mechanical engineer can help the society by conducting the awareness program in
minimizing the solid waste. 2) A mechanical engineer can help the public by conducting the
awareness program in reducing the misuse of i) cooked food, ii) water, iii) paper, etc.

24. Differentiate between Civil and Mechanical Engineering.

While both disciplines are a form of engineering, each one requires specific things for the
person to be successful. Here are 10 differences between civil engineering and mechanical
engineering.
Civil Engineering Mechanical Engineering
Involves the design and construction of Involves inventing and re-inventing
buildings and other structures machinery
Projects are longer in duration Projects are shorter in duration
Projects are smaller and require more
Projects are generally on a large scale
precision
Must ensure that structures will be stable and Works with the living functions of the object
efficient in its environment, i.e. the or structure, i.e. the mechanics of elevators
framework of the structure and such
Works with large team including construction
Works with mainly with other engineers
manager, architect, and construction workers

25 Application of IC engine
Automobiles: IC engines are widely used in automobiles such as cars, buses, trucks, and
motorcycles to power vehicles. Aircraft: IC engines are also used in small aircraft and
helicopters to provide propulsion. Marine: IC engines are used in marine applications such as
ships, boats, and submarines.
26.Define automation
Automation is the use of technology to perform tasks with where human input is minimized.
This includes enterprise applications such as business process automation (BPA), IT
automation, network automation, automating integration between systems, industrial
automation such as robotics, and consumer applications such as home automation and more.