This handbook presents a comprehensive collection of civil engineering calculation procedures useful to practicing civil engineers, surveyors, structural designers, drafters, candidates for professional engineering licenses, and students. Engineers in other disciplines—mechanical, electrical, chemical, environmental, etc.will also find this handbook useful for making occasional calculations outside their normal field of
specialty.
Each calculation procedure presented in this handbook gives numbered steps for performing the calculation, along with a numerical example illustrating the important concepts in the procedure. Many procedures include "Related Calculations" comments which expand the application of the computation method presented. All calculation procedures in this handbook use both the USCS (United States Customary System) and the SI (System International) for numerical units. Hence, the calculation procedures presented are useful to engineers throughout the world.
Major calculation procedures presented in this handbook include stress and strain, flexural analysis, deflection of beams, statically indeterminate structures, steel beams and columns, riveted and welded connections, composite members, plate girders, load and resistance factor design method (LRFD) for structural steel design, plastic design of steel structures, reinforced and pre-stressed concrete engineering and design, surveying, route design, highway bridges, timber engineering, soil mechanics, fluid mechanics, pumps, piping, water supply and water treatment, wastewater treatment and disposal, hydro power, and engineering economics.
Each section of this handbook is designed to furnish comprehensive coverage of the topics in it. Where there are major subtopics within a section, the section is divided into parts to permit in-depth coverage of each subtopic.
Civil engineers design buildings, bridges, highways, airports, water supply, sewage treatment, and a variety of other key structures and facilities throughout the world. Because of the importance of such structures and facilities to the civilized world, civil engineers have long needed a handbook which would simplify and speed their daily design calculations. This handbook provides an answer to that need.
While there are computer programs that help the civil engineer with a variety of engineering calculations, such programs are highly specialized and do not have the breadth of coverage this handbook provides. Further, such computer programs are usually expensive. Because of their high cost, these computer programs can be justified only when a civil engineer makes a number of repetitive calculations on almost a daily basis. In contrast, this handbook can be used in the office, field, drafting room, or laboratory. It provides industry-wide coverage in a convenient and affordable package. As such, this hand-book fills a long-existing need felt by civil engineers worldwide.
In contrast, civil engineers using civil-engineering computer programs often find data entry time requirements are excessive for quick one-off-type calculations. When one-off type calculations are needed, most civil engineers today turn to their electronic calculator, desktop or laptop computer and perform the necessary steps to obtain the solution desired. But where repetitive calculations are required, a purchased computer program will save time and energy in the usual medium-size or large civil-engineering design office. Small civil-engineering offices generally resort to manual calculation for even repetitive procedures because the investment for one or more major calculation programs is difficult to
justify in economic terms.
Even when purchased computer programs are extensively used, careful civil engineers still insist on manually checking results on a random basis to be certain the program is accurate. This checking can be speeded by any of the calculation procedures given in this handbook. Many civil engineers remark to the author that they feel safer, knowing they have manually verified the computer results on a spot-check basis. With liability for civil engineering designs extending beyond the lifetime of the designer, every civil engineer seeks the "security blanket" provided by manual verification of the results furnished by a computer program run on a desktop, laptop, or workstation computer. This handbook gives the tools needed for manual verification of some 2,000 civil-engineering calculation procedures.
Each section in this handbook is written by one or more experienced professional engineers who is a specialist in the field covered. The contributors draw on their wide experience in their field to give each calculation procedure an in-depth coverage of its topic. So the person using the procedure gets step-by-step instructions for making the calculation plus background information on the subject which is the topic of the procedure.And since the handbook is designed for worldwide use, both earlier, and more modern
topics, are covered. For example, the handbook includes concise coverage of riveted girders, columns, and connections. While today's civil engineer may say that riveted construction is a method long past its prime, there are millions of existing structures world wide that were built using rivets. So when a civil engineer is called on to expand, rehabilitate, or tear down such a structure, he or she must be able to analyze the riveted portions of the structure. This handbook provides that capability in a convenient and concise form.
In the realm of modern design techniques, the load and resistance factor method (LRFD) is covered with more than ten calculation procedures showing its use in various design situations. The LRFD method is ultimately expected to replace the well-known and widely used allowable stress design (ASD) method for structural steel building frameworks. In today's design world many civil engineers are learning the advantages of the LRFD method and growing to prefer it over the ASD method. Also included in this handbook is a comprehensive section titled "How to Use This Handbook." It details the variety of ways a civil engineer can use this handbook in his or her daily engineering work. Included as part of this section are steps showing the civil engineer how to construct a private list of SI conversion factors for the specific work the engineer specializes in.
The step-by-step practical and applied calculation procedures in this handbook are arranged so they can be followed by anyone with an engineering or scientific background. Each worked-out procedure presents fully explained and illustrated steps for solving similar problems in civil-engineering design, research, field, academic, or license-examination situations. For any applied problem, all the civil engineer need do is place his or her calculation sheets alongside this handbook and follow the step-by-step procedure line for line to obtain the desired solution for the actual real-life problem. By following the calculation procedures in this handbook, the civil engineer, scientist, or technician will obtain accurate results in minimum time with least effort. And the approaches and solutions presented are modern throughout.
The editor hopes this handbook is helpful to civil engineers worldwide. If the handbook user finds procedures which belong in the book but have been left out, he urges the engineer to send the title of the procedure to him, in care of the publisher. If the procedure is useful, the editor will ask for the entire text. And if the text is publishable, the editor will include the calculation procedure in the next edition of the handbook. Full credit will be given to the person sending the procedure to the editor. And if users find any errors in the handbook, the editor will be grateful for having these called to his attention. Such errors will be corrected in the next printing of the handbook. In closing, the editor hopes that civil engineers worldwide find this handbook helpful in their daily work.
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