Elements of Civil Engg and Mechanics

Module I:
INTRODUCTION TO CIVIL ENGINEERING

ENGINEERING: It is a profession of converting scientific knowledge into useful practical

applications, where the materials & forces in nature are effectively used for the benefit of mankind. An
Engineer is a person who plays a key role in such activities.

CIVIL ENGINEERING: It is the oldest branch of professional engineering, where the civil
engineers are concerned with projects for the public or civilians.

 THE ROLE OF CIVIL ENGINEERS IS SEEN IN EVERY WALK OF LIFE AS FOLLOWS:-

1. Providing shelter to people in the form of low cost houses to high rise apartments.
2. Laying ordinary village roads to express highways.
3. Constructing irrigation tanks, multipurpose dams & canals for supplying water to agricultural
fields.
4. Supplying safe and potable water for public & industrial uses.
5. Protecting our environment by adopting sewage treatment & solid waste disposal techniques.
6. Constructing hydro-electric & thermal-power plants for generating electricity.
7. Providing other means of transportation such as railways, harbour & airports.
8. Constructing bridges across streams, rivers and also across seas.
9. Tunnelling across mountains & also under water to connect places easily & reduce distance.

As seen above, civil engineering is a very broad discipline that incorporates many activates in
various fields. However, civil engineers specialize themselves in one field of civil engineering. The
different fields of civil engineering and the scope of each can be briefly discussed as follows.

1. SURVEYING:
It is the art of determining the relative position of points on the earth’s surface by measuring the
horizontal between them.
Levelling is the process of determining the position of points in a vertical plane

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Surveying are of two types

1) Geodetic survey: the survey in which the shape of the earth is taken in to account is called
geodetic surveying
2) Plane survey: the survey in which the shape (or) curvature of earth is not taken in to account is
called plane surveying

The scope of surveying and levelling are:

a) To prepare plan and map which help in project implementation (setting out the alignment
for a road or railway track or canal, deciding the location for a dam or airport or harbour)
b) To determine the dimensions and contours of any part of the earth surface
c) To establish boundaries of land
d) To measure the areas and volume of land
e) To select suitable site for an engineering project
f) To conduct engineering survey, topographical survey, military survey, mine survey,
geological survey, archaeological survey, hydro graphic survey, environmental survey etc..

The Knowledge of surveying is essential in many phases for every engineering project such as
buildings, roadways, railways, dams, bridges, tunnels, harbours, mines, water supply and sanitation,
pipe line laying, airports etc.. Surveying is essential

2. BUILDING MATERIALS:
Any engineering structure requires a wide range of materials known as building materials. The
building materials chosen should have such properties that are safe, economical, eco-friendly and
serviceable for the purpose for which they are used

The building materials can be broadly divided into following categories

a. Traditional materials: stones, timber, bricks, lime, cement, tar, bitumen, mortar, ferrous and
non-ferrous metals etc
b. Alternative building materials: mud blocks, concrete blocks, glass, aluminium, paint, flyash
etc.
c. Composite materials: RCC, fibre reinforced concrete, ferro-cement, composite laminated doors,
asbestos sheets, fibre reinforced glass etc.

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3. CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY:
As land cost is going up there is a demand for tall structures in urban areas, while in rural areas
need for low cost construction, one has to develop technology using locally available materials
Construction technology comprises of different techniques of construction for different materials
under site different condition. The study of construction machinery comes under its purview. The
management or organization of men (labour), material, method in relation to site, money and time is
the backbone of construction management. It involves almost every branch of engineering,
commerce and economics, for; its ultimate aim is to ‘achieve the desired construction in the most
economical way. A clear knowledge of following points is necessary for reliable construction and its
management.
a) Money, Materials, Machines, Manpower, Methodologies,
b) Maintenance, Modernization, Monitoring, Motivations,
c) Managements of all types.

4. GEO-TECHNICAL ENGINEERING (Soil Mechanics):

The load from the structure is to be safely transferred to soil, for this safe bearing capacity of soil
is to be properly assessed. This branch of study in civil engineering is called geotechnical
engineering, which deals with the study of the properties, behaviour and use of earth materials (soil)
in engineering works
Geotechnical engineering has much wider scope that:
a) It is concerned with the properties of earth materials
b) To investigate the soil and bed rocks below the structure and study the soil structure
interaction
c) To select the type of foundation earth works for particular structure
d) To design foundation of building, dams, retaining walls, bridges, road pavement, railway
lines etc.
e) To design foundation for underground structure like tunnels, power houses etc.
f) To design foundation for machines such as turbines, compressors etc. to transmit
vibrations to foundation soil
g) To study the effect of soil as a medium for blasts during mining, earthquake, landslides
and nuclear explosions
h) They include various types of foundations like shallow foundation, deep foundations.
Pile foundation, well foundation etc.
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5. STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING :
A building or a bridge or a dam consists of various elements like foundations, columns, beams,
slabs etc. These components are always subjected to forces. Depending upon the materials available
the components of the building should be safely and economically designed. A structural engineer is
involved in such a designing activity

Scope of structural engineering:

a) The structural engineering plays a vital role in planning, designing and building the
structure
b) The structural analysis and structural design are the components of structural engineering
c) The structural engineering should take the responsibility about the safety and
serviceability of the structure for its life time
d) The structural engineer should be prepared for to accept the natural calamities like
earthquake, wind, landslide etc. and provide remedial measures

6. HYDRAULICS ENGINEERING :
Water is an important need for all living beings, study of mechanics of water and its flow
characteristics is another important field in civil engineering and its known as hydraulics
Hydraulics mainly deals with the practical problems of flow of water. The concept of
fluid pressure, fluid statics, and flow pattern helps in engineering to design the structures like
dams, reservoirs, bridges, culverts, sewage system etc. this concept is also used for flow through
pipes, pumps, turbines, hydraulic machines etc. Hydroelectric power generation facilities are also
included under this aspect.

7. WATER RESOURCES AND IRRIGATION ENGINEERING :

Water is to be supplied to agricultural fields and for drinking purposes, hence suitable water
resources are to be identified and water is to be stored. Identifying, planning and building water
retaining structures like tanks and dams and carrying stored water to agricultural fields through
irrigation channels is known as water resources and irrigation engineering

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Scope of water resources and irrigation engineering:

a) It facilitates to control, regulate and utilize water to serve wide variety of purposes
b) It gives scope for utilization of water in beneficial purpose by providing water supply,
irrigation, hydroelectric power development and navigational improvement
c) Water quality management
d) Scope for recreational use of water resources
e) To protect fish and wild life
f) India being an agricultural country, irrigation will definitely help in the overall
development of our country, citizen and improve the civilization

8. TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING:
Transportation means the movement of the men and goods from one point to another. It is as old
as civilization
The Transportation system includes road ways, railways, airways and water ways, design,
construction and maintenance of railway lines, signal system are part of the transportation
engineering

Scope of water resources and transportation engineering:

a) It contributes to the economic, industrial. Social and cultural development of any country
b) To optimise the transportation cost, maintenance and administrative overheads
c) Planning the transport process with respect to survey and analysis of existing condition
and forecasting the future condition
d) It involves accident study for safe and comfort transport system
e) For traffic performance and control

9. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING :
People in every village, town & city need potable water. The water available (surface water &
ground water) may not be fit for direct consumption. In such cases, the water should be purified and
then supplied to the public. For water purification, sedimentation tanks, filter beds, etc. should be
designed. If the treatment plants are for away from the town or city, suitable pipelines for conveying
water & distributing it should also be designed.
In a town or city, a part of the water supplied returns as sewage. This sewage should be
systematically collected and then disposed into the natural environment after providing suitable
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treatment. The solid waste that is generated in a town or locality should be systematically collected
and disposed of suitably. Before disposal, segregation of materials should be done so that any
material can be recycled & we can conserve our natural resources.

Scope of environmental engineering:

a) The study of importance of protection and conservation of our environment
b) The proper distribution of water supply with water treatment facility
c) Solution of problems of environment sanitation with waste water treatment
d) The proper disposal of / recycle of waste water and solid waste
e) Adequate drainage of urban, rural and recreational areas
f) Control of air pollution and provide healthy environment to public

 INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES ON THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF A

COUNTRY:

Infrastructure may be divided into economic infrastructure and social infrastructure

1. ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE:
It includes the progressive growth of the country and its economic condition in generating
revenue
a) Well-developed cities, towns and villages :
The master plan of cities and towns are prepared by civil engineers by using town planning
procedures. The plans for each house will be planned by civil engineering and it will be
constructed under the supervision of civil engineers.
b) Transportation facilities: transportation facility play a crucial role in the economic and
commercial progress of a country by the effort of civil engineers like
i. Providing road ways and railways connecting every corner of a country
ii. Providing airways, where enormous time can be saved
iii. Providing water ways for transporting ores, petroleum products food, grains etc.
c) Water supply and drainage systems: providing a good and assured water supply scheme for
drinking, industries, agriculture and other purpose and also an efficient drainage system by
collecting the waste treating it properly and final disposal in the form liquid with the help of
civil engineering technique

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d) Power supply: it is an essential factor for development of country. It includes power plants,
solar energy, wind energy, etc. all these can be managed and constructed by civil engineers
e) Irrigation facilities: The economy of the country depends on the agricultural output.
Agriculture depends upon the water supply and power. Irrigation includes construction of
dams, proper distribution of water through canals and distributaries etc.

2. SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE:
It includes provides
a) Good health can by providing primary health centres, hospitals with sophisticated instruments
and veterinary hospitals for animals health
b) Education facilities: it includes providing education at primary, higher college and
professional courses, and technical courses with interdisciplinary education as a new concept
c) Other facilities: wild life conservation, agriculture, industries, communication, agriculture,
fire stations for emergency and safety purpose are constructed by the effort of civil
engineering

Thus the civil engineers play a vital role in contributing the socio-economic development of
the country

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Engineering Mechanics

Engineering Mechanics
It is a branch of applied sciences that describes and predicts the state of rest or of uniform motion
of bodies under the action of forces.

 STATICS: It is a branch of mechanics which deals with the study of the behaviour of bodies or
particles in the state of rest.
 DYNAMICS: It is a branch of mechanics which deals with the study of the behaviour of bodies
or particles in the state of motion.

Dynamics is further divided into two types:

 KINEMATICS: The dynamics dealing with the problems without considering the
forces causing the motion of the body.
 KINETICS: The dynamics dealing with the problems with considering the forces
causing the motion of the body.

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 Basic idealizations of Mechanics:

1. Particle: A particle may be defined as an object which has only mass and no size. Such a body
cannot exist theoretically. However in dealing with problems involving distances considerably
larger compared to the size of the body, the body may be treated as particle, without sacrificing
accuracy.
Examples of such situations are —
 A bomber aeroplane is a particle for a gunner operating from the ground.
 Planetary motion of moon around the sun.
2. Continuum: A body consists of several matters. It is a well-known fact that each particle can be
subdivided into molecules, atoms and electrons. It is not possible to solve any engineering
problem by such discrete particles. The body is assumed to consist of a continuous distribution of
matter. In other words, the body is treated as continuum.
3. Rigid Body: A body is said to be rigid, if the relative positions of any two particles do not change
under the action of the forces.
In Fig. (a) Points A and B are the original position in a body. After application of a
system of forces F1, F2, F3, the body takes the position as shown in Fig. (b). A' and B' are the
new positions of A and B. If the body is treated as rigid, the relative position of A'B' and AB are
the same i.e.,

4. Point Force: A force which is assumed to act at a fixed point is known as point force or
concentrated force. We can represent a load by a concentrated force, provided the area over
which the load is applied is very small compared to the overall size of the body (neglecting the
contact area).

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 Newton’s Three Laws of Motion

1. Newton’s First Law
It states that everybody continues in its state of rest or of uniform motion in a straight line
unless it is compelled by an external agency acting on it which changes or tends to change the
state of rest or uniform linear motion of the body.
2. Newton’s Second Law
It states that the rate of change of momentum of a body is directly proportional to the
impressed force and it takes place in the direction of the force acting on it. Thus, according to this
law.
Force ∝ rate of change of momentum. But momentum = mass × velocity as mass do not change,
Force ∝ mass × rate of change of velocity
i.e., Force ∝ mass × acceleration
F∝m×a
3. Newton’s Third Law
It states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
 Newton’s Law of Gravitation
Everybody attracts the other body. The force of attraction between any two bodies is directly
proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
According to this law the force of attraction between the bodies of mass m1 and mass m2 at a distance
‘d’. as shown in Fig. is

Where G is the constant of proportionality and is known as constant of gravitation.

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Scalar Quantity: A scalar is any positive or negative physical quantity that can be completely specified
by its magnitude.
Examples: length, mass, and time. Etc.
Vector Quantity: A vector is any physical quantity that requires both a magnitude and a direction for its
complete description.
Examples: force, position, and moment. Etc.

UNITS OF MEASUREMENT:
Length (L), Mass (M) and Time (S) are the fundamental units in mechanics. The units of all other
quantities may be expressed in terms of these basic units. The three commonly used systems in
engineering are
 Metre-Kilogramme—Second (MKS) system
 Centimetre—Gramme—Second (CGS) system, and
 Foot—Pound—Second (FPS) system.
The units of length, mass and time used in the system are used to name the systems. Using these
basic units, the units for other quantities can be found. For example, in MKS the units for the various
quantities are as shown below:
Quantity Unit
Area m2
Volume m3
Velocity m/sec
Acceleration m/sec2

SI system of units:
SI stands for ‘Systeme International’ units or International System of units. As in MKS system,
in SI system also the fundamental units are metre for length, kilogramme for mass and second for time.
The difference between MKS and SI system arise mainly in selecting the unit of force.
The prefixes used in SI system when quantities are too big or too small are shown in Table
Exponential Form Prefix SI Symbol
Multiple
1 000 000 000 109 giga G
1 000 000 106 mega M
1 000 103 kilo k
Submultiple
0.001 10-3 milli m
-6
0.000 001 10 micro µ
0.000 000 001 10-9 nano n

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 FORCE:
Force is defined as an action or agent, which changes or tends to change the state of rest or of
uniform motion of a body in a straight line.
F = m × a kg - m/sec2 (or) N

Newton is defined as a force required to move a body of mass 1kg at an acceleration of 1 m/sec2

Units of force:
 The absolute (SI) unit of force is the Newton and is denoted as ‘N’.
 The gravitational (MKS) unit of force is the kilogram force and is denoted as ‘kgf’.

 CHARACTERISTICS OF A FORCE:

The following are the four characteristics of a force:

1) Magnitude
2) Point of application
3) Line of action and
4) Direction

In Fig. AB is a ladder kept against a wall. At point C, a person weighing 600 N is

standing. The force applied by the person on the ladder has the following characters:
 Magnitude is 600 N
 The point of application is at C which is 2m from A along the ladder.
 The line of action is vertical and
 The direction is downward.
Note that the magnitude of the force is written near the arrow. The line of the arrow shows the
line of application and the arrow head represents the point of application and the direction of the
force

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 Principle or Law of Transmissibility of Force:

According to this law the “state of rest or motion of the rigid body is unaltered if a force acting
on the body is replaced by another force of the same magnitude and direction but acting anywhere on
the body along the line of action of the replaced force”.

 Principle Super position of Force:

It states that “The action of given system of forces on a rigid body will not change, if we add or
subtract another system of forces which are in equilibrium”
 Principle Physical Independence of Force:
It states, “If a number of forces are simultaneously acting on a particle, then each one of them
will produce the same effect which it would have done while acting alone or independently ”.

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 SYSTEM OF FORCES

 Coplanar forces. The forces, whose lines of action lie on the same plane, are known as coplanar
forces.
 Non-coplanar forces. The forces, whose lines of action do not lie on the same plane, are known
as non-coplanar forces
 Collinear forces. The forces, whose lines of action lie on the same line, are known as collinear
forces
 Coplanar concurrent forces. The forces, which meet at one point and their lines of action also
lie on the same plane, are known as coplanar concurrent forces.
 Coplanar non-concurrent forces. The forces, which do not meet at one point, but their lines of
action lie on the same plane, are known as coplanar non-concurrent forces.
 Non-coplanar concurrent forces. The forces, which meet at one point, but their lines of action
do not lie on the same plane, are known as non-coplanar concurrent forces.
 Non-coplanar non-concurrent forces. The forces, which do not meet at one point and their lines
of action do not lie on the same plane, are called non-coplanar non-concurrent forces.

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 MOMENT OF A FORCE:
The turning effect or rotational effect produced by a force on a body is known as the moment of
the force.
The magnitude of the moment is defined as the product of the magnitude of the force and the
perpendicular distance between the line of action of the force and the point or axis of rotation.

MO=F*d (anticlockwise moment)

Units of Moment: N-mm or kN-m
Moment of a force either rotate the body clockwise (or) anticlockwise

Where:
Point ‘O’ is known as Moment centre
Perpendicular distance ’d’ is known as Moment arm (or) Lever arm

 COUPLE:
Two equal, opposite and parallel forces constitute a couple.

Couple will rotate the body either Clockwise (or) Anticlockwise.

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 CHARACTERISTICS OF A COUPLE:
1) Two equal and opposite parallel forces are required to form a couple.
2) The magnitude of the moment of the couple is constant and it is given by product of the
magnitude of one of the force and moment arm (perpendicular distance between the two forces).
3) Translator moment of the couple is zero, (means algebraic sum of the forces in a couple is zero)
4) Couple will unchanged if the couple is rotated in any angle
5) Couple will unchanged if the couple is shifted to any other position
6) A couple can be balanced only by an equal and opposite couple in the same plane

 Resolution of a Force:
The process of splitting of a force into its two rectangular components (horizontal and vertical) is
known as resolution of the force

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NOTE: - SIGN CONVENTIONS

FORCE: MOMENT:

+VE +VE

Up and Right Clockwise

-VE -VE

Down and Left

Anti-Clockwise

Resolution of a Force:

Along = Cos Ɵ
Away = Sin Ɵ

Along = Cos Ɵ
Away = Sin Ɵ

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