INTRODUCTION AND

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

ECS358 – CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN PROJECT

PREPARED BY: NADIAH SAARI

 Course Outcomes
CO1: Design reinforced concrete elements and system to meet
requirements for public safety, societal and environmental
considerations.

CO2: Construct civil engineering design projects in accordance with

relevant code of practices.

CO3: Utilise appropriate techniques in civil engineering design

project within the scope and limitations.

CO4: Demonstrate effective communication skills in civil

engineering design project.

CO5: Integrate professional ethics and responsibilities in civil

engineering design project.

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 Programme Outcomes
PO3/PLO3: Design solutions for well-defined technical problems
and assist with the design of systems, components or processes
to meet specified needs with appropriate consideration for public
health and safety, cultural, societal and environmental
considerations.

PO4/PLO2: Conduct investigations of well-defined problems;

locate and search relevant codes and catalogues, conduct
standard tests and measurements.

PO5/PLO2: Apply appropriate techniques, resources and modern

engineering and IT tools to well-defined engineering problems,
with an awareness of the limitations.

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 Programme Outcomes
PO8/PLO6: Understand and commit to professional ethics and
responsibilities and norms of technician practice.

PO10/PLO4: Communicate effectively as an individual and as a

member in diverse technical teams.

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 Learning Outcomes
At the end of this topic students should be able to:

1. Explain the application of the ultimate and serviceability limit

state design in designing structures.

2. Identify the relevant code of practices for structural reinforced

concrete design.

3. Describe and explain the role of computers in civil engineering

projects.

4. Explain the characteristics of sustainable and innovative

reinforced concrete design.

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 Structural Design
• Structural design is a methodical investigation to get the
economical specification of a structure or a structural element
to carry the predicted load safely. With the application of
structural design the required size, grade, reinforcement etc. of
structural members to withstand the internal forces calculated
from the structural analysis can be obtained.

• Structural design is a part of Structural Engineering which is a

sub-division of Civil Engineering. Structural engineers are
trained to design the structural elements accurately and
supervise during construction to ensure the proper
implementation of the structural design.

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 Main Objectives of Structural Design
To provide a structure which throughout its intended life span:

1. Possess an acceptable margin of safety against collapse

whilst in use.
2. Serviceable and perform its intended purpose whilst in use.
3. Sufficiently strong (robust) to cater for subjected loadings.
4. Economic to construct (construction cost).
5. Economic to maintain (maintenance cost).

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 Limit State Design
• Objective of design – to achieve acceptable probabilities that a
structure will not become unfit for its intended use.

• In other words, it will not reach its limit state.

• There are two principle types of limit states:

i. Ultimate limit state (ULS)

ii. Serviceability limit state (SLS)

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 Ultimate Limit State
• This requires the structure to be able to withstand and hold, with
an adequate factor of safety against collapse, the safety of the
occupants and the safety of the structure itself.

• The possibility of buckling, overturning and accidental damage

(e.g. explosion) has to be taken into account when designing
structures under ULS.

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 Serviceability Limit State
• This requires the structure to be able to ensure the occupants to
be comfortable.

• Generally, the most important SLS are:

i. Deflection (the appearance of the structure or the comfort of

the occupants should not be affected)
ii. Cracking (must not affect the appearance and efficiency of the
structure)
iii. Durability (must be considered in terms of the proposed life of
the structure and its conditions of exposure)

• Other limit states are excessive vibration, fatigue and fire

resistance.
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 Code of Practices
• A document about the best practice by engineers and also
experienced researchers.

• Current code of practice in Malaysia for structural reinforced

concrete design is EN 1992-1-1: 2004 - Eurocode2: Design of
concrete structures.

• Other code of practices being used together with EC2:

i. EN 1990: 2002 - Eurocode: Basis of Structural Design

ii. EN 1991-1-1: 2002 - Eurocode 1: Actions on structures
(densities, self-weight, imposed loads for buildings)

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 Actions
• The set of applied forces (or loads) for which a structure is to be
designed.

• The standard loadings are given in BS EN 1991: Eurocode 1 –

Actions on Structures.

• The main categories of actions are:

i. Permanent actions, Gk
ii. Variable actions, Qk

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 Permanent Actions (Gk)
• Actions which are normally constant during the structure life.

• Include the weight of the structure itself and all static

components.

• Examples:

i. Self-weight of all permanent structures such as beams,

columns, floors, wall, roofs and finishes.
ii. Permanent partitions.

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 Variable Actions (Qk)
• These actions are more difficult to determine accurately.

• Estimates are based on standard codes of practice or past

experience.

• The values adopted are based on observations and

measurements and it is less accurate than the assessment of
dead loads.

• Examples: weights of buildings occupants, furniture, machinery

and retained earth or water.

• The standard values can be obtained from EN 1991-1-1:2002

(Actions on Structures).
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 Partial Factor of Safety
• This is applied to actions (loads).

• To cater for errors/inaccuracies due to:

i. Design assumptions and inaccuracy in calculation.

ii. Possible unusual load increment.
iii. Unforeseen stress redistribution.
iv. Constructional errors.

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 Design Load
• For the design at ULS the load combination that will be used is:

Design load = 1.35 Gk + 1.5 Qk

• For the design at SLS the load combination that will be used is:

Design load = 1.0 Gk + 1.0 Qk

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Typical reinforced concrete members
1. Beam – a horizontal member carrying transverse loads.

2. Slab – a horizontal plate element carrying transverse loads.

3. Column – a vertical member carrying primarily axial load but

generally subjected to axial load and bending moment.

4. Staircase - a series of steps properly arranged to connect

different floors of a building carrying transverse loads.

5. Base and foundation – a pad or strip supported directly

on/below the ground that spread the loads from column or
wall to the ground.

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 Role of Computers
• Software development has effectively contributed in various
civil engineering disciplines, as it facilitates engineers' tasks
with the ability to perform variety of complex calculations,
enhanced the quality of design, modelling, drafting, designing
practice and several analysis processes for civil engineering
projects.

• The applications of civil engineering software can be applied

for many essential work like designing huge structures e.g.
factories, bridges, highway systems, water treatment plants,
energy efficient buildings etc., virtual reality, predicting the
behaviour of engineering structures, solving equations for
optimization of resources tender bidding, earth-work
estimation, cost estimation, project management, structural
drawing, predictive model making and others.
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 Role of Computers
• In addition, software’s general features make the work easier
and faster to be performed, more accurate, time saving, as well
as reducing the total cost, the workload and manpower
compared to the work that is done manually.

• Some software that help design engineers in their daily duties:

1. AUTOCAD - to aid in the creation, modification, analysis or

optimization of a design. CAD software is used to increase
the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of
design, improve communications through documentation,
and to create a database for manufacturing. CAD output is
often in the form of electronic files for print, machining, or
other manufacturing operations.
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 Role of Computers
2. Microsoft Project – Scheduling is very important when it
comes to managing engineering projects. With the
knowledge of basic scheduling concepts such as activity
relationships, critical paths, Gantt Charts etc. this software
will help to create detailed schedules to manage different
projects.

3. ESTEEM - a software specifically designed to provide

integrated solution for structural engineer for designing
reinforced concrete building. The user interface is user
friendly and most of the toolbar icon is self explainable with
easily accessible help context.

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 Sustainable and Innovative Design
• The construction industry is responsible for a large percentage
of carbon emissions. From sourcing to design to material
manufacturing to building construction, the carbon dioxide output
from projects around the world has a significant environmental
impact.

• This has led to sustainable construction innovations that not only

reduce the production of carbon dioxide, but also improve a
building’s longevity, reduce energy bills and increase the use of
natural light.

• Green building technology refers to structures that are

environmentally friendly and resource-efficient throughout a
building’s service life, from design to construction.

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 Sustainable and Innovative Design
• Green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact on the
natural environment by 1) efficiently using energy, water, and
other resources, and 2) reducing waste, pollution and
environmental degradation.

• Generally, sustainable building materials lie into two categories:

1) renewable materials, which are made from resources that

can be replaced by nature (e.g. timber) or recycle (e.g.
recycled wood/metal/concrete etc.)
2) green materials, which are generally more efficient than
traditional products because they require fewer resources to
produce (e.g. bamboo, straw, soil).

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 Sustainable and Innovative Design
• In addition, materials that help cut down a building’s water or
energy consumption can be considered sustainable.

• Demand for sustainable materials is strong, as property owners,

developers and regulators put a greater emphasis on cost
savings, environmental protection, and energy conservation.

• Growth in sustainable building materials will be given a further

economic boost by the expected recovery in overall construction
activity.

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 Sustainable and Innovative Design
• As a sustainable material, concrete is also easily and affordably
reused and rehabilitated. In order to obtain green concrete,
innovative approaches are necessary from the manufacture
and shipment of cement to the blending and application of
concrete to reduce energy use, capture and utilize emissions
from cement manufacturing, as well as build energy-efficient
and durable structures.

• The most common strategy for making a green concrete is to

replace the portland cement with industrial by-products (IBP),
e.g. fly ash and blast furnace slag.

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 Sustainable and Innovative Design
• The desirable qualifications of green concrete for sustainability:

1. Long service life and high performance – Reinforced

concrete’s durability ensures that the structure will retain its
structural capabilities for many years due to the high-
performance concrete, e.g. anti-corrosion and anti-cracking
concrete. The carbon footprint and large energy consumption
from cement industry are minimized when the need to
replace or repair the structure is not necessary.

2. Maximized recycling materials usage and minimized

environmental impact – Concrete producers can replace
significant amounts of cement in their mixtures with industrial

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 Sustainable and Innovative Design
by-products such as silica fume and blast-furnace slag.
Their use in concrete removes them from landfills and
minimizes cement consumption, even producing a more
durable concrete. Waste industry products can be recycled
and in turn result in reduced waste release in the
environment.

3. Minimized transportation cost – Taking advantage of local

materials, reinforced concrete components can be made
locally anywhere in the world. This turns out to be the key
element in reducing emissions due to transportation.
Through the utilization of local materials, the impacts of
transportation and energy consumption are minimized.

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