1 MODULE I CE 100 – BASICS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Module I

INTRODUCTION TO CIVIL ENGINEERING

Civil Engineering deals with construction activities of buildings, roads, bridges,

tunnels, etc. and also with engineered constructions, their planning, design,
construction and management. Enjoying spacious and comfortable living in a building,
or an underground enclave; driving from a given location to virtually any region in the
continent; and having plenty of clean water available for any domestic use are some of
the examples that the civil engineering profession offer today.

The main scope of Civil Engineering is planning, designing, estimating, supervising

and management of different construction activities.

 Various Disciplines of Civil Engineering

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O T
According to scope, type of structures and activities carried out, following are the
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main branches of civil engineering:

i. Building Construction
ii. Advanced Building Construction
iii. Building Planning and Management
iv. Environmental Engineering or Water Supply and Sanitary Engineering
v. Geotechnical Engineering (Soil Mechanics)
vi. Surveying and Levelling
vii. Structural Engineering
viii. Transportation Engineering
ix. Town Planning
x. Water Resource Engineering

 Building Construction
o Construction of various structures and different types of buildings

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Asst. Prof., Muthoot Institute of Technology and Science, Varikoli, Ernakulam
2 MODULE I CE 100 – BASICS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

o Construction of building components like brick work, Reinforced Cement

Concrete (RCC) works, foundations, doors and windows, floor, roof, etc.
o Study of engineering materials like cement, steel, timber, glass, etc.

 Advanced Building Construction

o Study of construction of deep foundations
o Underwater construction
o Construction of dams, bridges, tunnels, off‐shore oil rig, etc.
o Study of equipment like power shovel, rollers, cranes etc. for large scale
projects

 Building Planning and Management

o Fundamental principles of planning
o Building bye‐laws

. I N
o Planning of public, residential and industrial buildings
ES
o Construction management of whole project
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o Management of construction materials, labour and equipment

 Environmental Engineering
o Design, construction and maintenance of water treatment plant, water
distribution system and sewage system
o Waste water treatment and solid waste management
o Air, water and land pollution

 Geotechnical Engineering
o Soil investigation
o Design of foundations
o Measurement of soil parameters and safe bearing capacity of soil
o Study of geology

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Asst. Prof., Muthoot Institute of Technology and Science, Varikoli, Ernakulam
3 MODULE I CE 100 – BASICS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

 Surveying and Levelling

o For setting out of works
o For preparing maps of land
o Measurement of levels of land and prepare contour maps
o Carried out using chains, compass, plane table, levels, theodolites, EDM
instruments, etc.

 Structural Engineering
o Design of RCC structures (Retaining walls, water tanks, bridges, residential
buildings, etc.)
o Design of steel structures (railway platform, factory sheds, steel bridges,
etc.)
o Design of earth quake resistant structures
o Concrete technology

ES . I N
 Transportation Engineering
N O T
o Airport engineering
o Bridge engineering
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o Harbour and Docks engineering
o Highway engineering
o Railway engineering
o Tunnel engineering
o Traffic engineering

 Town Planning
o Arrangement of various components of a town in such a way that the town
attains significance of a living organism
o Towns are divided into different zones like residential zone, commercial
zone, industrial zone, etc.

Basil Mathai
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Asst. Prof., Muthoot Institute of Technology and Science, Varikoli, Ernakulam
4 MODULE I CE 100 – BASICS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

 Water Resources Engineering

o Fluid Mechanics – deals with behaviour of all, more or less incompressible,
liquids and gases
o Hydrology – deals with study of sources of water, measurement and study of
rainfall, flood, etc.
o Irrigation Engineering – deals with designing of hydraulic structures like
dams, canals, etc.

 Relevance of Civil Engineering in Overall Infrastructural Development

The importance of infrastructure for sustained economic development is well
recognised. The visible signs of current shortfalls include increasingly congested roads,
power failures, shortage of drinking water, etc. These illustrate the widening gap
between demand and supply of infrastructure.

. I N
There is a potential for public‐private partnerships to contribute more and help to

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O T
bridge the infrastructure gap in India. There is a need of holistic approach to look into
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infrastructure from the industrial perspective to enhance the quality of inputs to the
operations of the company.

Buildings are designed by civil engineers by conveying an array of structural

elements that support the architectural spatial distribution. Highway is designed by
creating a plane that adequately supports weight and stresses of vehicles in motion. The
water resource system is designed by a civil engineer that arranges for water intake at
an appropriate source, a water conveyance set and a water distribution network. The
civil engineer designs waste water disposal and waste water treatment plants.

Operations management for infrastructural development has three major aspects:

i. Quality
ii. Cost and
iii. Time

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Asst. Prof., Muthoot Institute of Technology and Science, Varikoli, Ernakulam
5 MODULE I CE 100 – BASICS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Infrastructure Development involves fundamental structures that are required for

the functioning of a community & society. This is usually referred to structures like
roads, water supply, sewers, electrical grids, telecommunications, renewable energy,
water sources identification & boring (wells), purification systems for clean water,
hazard waste management and so on. Governments cannot manage to do it without
skilled/trained manpower (which includes engineers from all the departments).

Civil engineers can manage to do these projects related to infrastructural

development as the fundamental idea of less space and more efficiency is embedded in
all civil engineers which is a crucial factor in development of infrastructure.

So civil engineers have a very crucial role to play in the development of

infrastructure. The role of Civil Engineering activities in the infrastructural development
can be summarised as follows:

. I N
 A proper planning of towns and extension areas in the cities.
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 Fast rate of urbanisation and increase in the cost of land has forced civil
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engineers to go for vertical growth in cities. This has resulted in new
building technologies and sophisticated analysis methods. Civil engineers
have to solve problems of rural areas as well. Low cost housing is the need
of the hour to make poor people afford their own houses.
 Water is an important need for all living beings. Civil engineers have to
explore into various water resources and ensure water supply to urban
areas throughout the year. Water is required for agriculture also.
 Good roadways and transportation facilities include another important
amenity of the public which civil engineers deliver.
 Other important infrastructural activities of civil engineers are controlling
pollution of air, water and land.

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Asst. Prof., Muthoot Institute of Technology and Science, Varikoli, Ernakulam
6 MODULE I CE 100 – BASICS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

 The impact of infrastructural development of a country

 Provide protection from drought, famine, flood, etc.

 Improved irrigation facilities
 Better sewage system
 Improved education facilities
 Improvement in transportation and communication
 Generation of electricity from natural resources

 Types of Buildings as per NBC

As per the National Building Code (NBC), buildings are classified into nine groups
based on their occupancy as follows:

 Group A ‐ Residential buildings

 Group B ‐
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Educational buildings
 Group C
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‐ Institutional buildings
 Group D ‐ Assembly buildings
 Group E ‐ Business buildings
 Group F ‐ Mercantile buildings
 Group G ‐ Industrial buildings
 Group H ‐ Storage buildings
 Group I ‐ Hazardous buildings

 Group A – Residential buildings

The buildings which are provided with sleeping accommodation for normal
residential purposes, with or without cooking/dining or both the facilities, except those
under Group C. Sub‐divisions of Group A are:

o Sub‐group A‐1 ‐ Lodging or rooming houses

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7 MODULE I CE 100 – BASICS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

o Sub‐group A‐2 ‐ One or two family private dwellings

 Detached houses
 Semi‐detached houses
 Row of houses
 Apartments or flats
 Duplex type apartments
 Skyscrapers
o Sub‐group A‐3 ‐ Dormitories
o Sub‐group A‐4 ‐ Apartment houses (Flats)
o Sub‐group A‐5 ‐ Hotels

Sub‐group A‐1: Lodging or rooming houses

Any building or a group of buildings under the same management in which
separate sleeping accommodation for a total of not more than 15 persons on either

ES . I N
N O T
transient or permanent basis with or without dining facilities.

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Sub‐group A‐2: One or two family private dwellings
Any private dwelling which is occupied by members of a single family and has a
total sleeping accommodation for not more than 20 persons. If rented to outsiders, it
should be for accommodating not more than 3 persons.

Different types of dwellings:

 Detached house – All walls and roofs are independent of any other building
with proper set‐back distances on all sides. Plot size: minimum 250 m2;
Frontage: 12 m.
 Semi‐detached house – Three sides are detached with proper set back
distances. Plot size: 125 to 250 m2; Frontage: 8 to 12 m.
 Row of houses – Two sides are detached with proper set‐back distances. Plot
size: 50 to 125 m2; Frontage: 4.5 to 8 m. Very common in cities like Mumbai,
Kolkata, Chennai, etc.

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Asst. Prof., Muthoot Institute of Technology and Science, Varikoli, Ernakulam
8 MODULE I CE 100 – BASICS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

 Flat/Terrace house – A group of dwelling units separated by horizontal

divisions. A single flat generally has 3 to 4 rooms with usual amenities
provided for one family.
 Duplex house – It is a type of detached or semi‐detached house provided
with an accommodation of single dwelling at two or more floors. Interesting
spaces due to differences in level.

Sub‐group A‐3: Dormitories

Any building in which group sleeping accommodation is provided with or without
dining facilities for persons who are not the members of same family in a single room or
a series of rooms, under single management.

Sub‐group A‐4: Apartment houses / Flats

Any building or structure in which living quarters are provided for 3 or more
families living independently with separate cooking facilities.

ES . I N
Sub‐group A‐5: Hotels
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Any building or group of buildings under single management in which sleeping
accommodation with or without dining facilities is provided for more than 15 persons.

 Group B – Educational buildings

Any school, building or day‐care centre used for educational purpose for more
than 8 hours a week involving assembly for instruction, education or recreation and
which is not covered by Group D comes under this group.

 Group C – Institutional buildings

These include any building or part thereof, which is used for purposes like medical
or other treatment/care of persons suffering from physical or mental illness, diseases or
infirmity, care of infants, aged persons, etc. Sub‐divisions of Group C are:

o Sub‐group C‐1 ‐ Hospitals and Sanitaria

Hospitals, clinics, sanitaria, etc. under single management

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To get more study materails visit www.ktunotes.in February 2017
Asst. Prof., Muthoot Institute of Technology and Science, Varikoli, Ernakulam
9 MODULE I CE 100 – BASICS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

o Sub‐group C‐2 ‐ Custodial Institutions

Orphanages, old age homes, etc.
o Sub‐group C‐3 ‐ Penal Institutions
Jails, prisons, mental sanitaria, etc.

 Group D – Assembly buildings

Any building or part of a building like theatres, assembly halls, restaurants, places
of worship, dance halls, club house, air terminals, surface and marine public
transportation service, recreation piers, sports stadium, gymnasiums, skating rings, etc.
where group of people gather for amusement, recreation, social, religious or other
similar purposes are included in Group D. Subdivisions of this group are:

o Sub‐group D‐1
 Fixed seats over 1000 persons

ES . I N
 Primarily meant for theatrical or operatic performances
o Sub‐group D‐2
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 Seating capacity of less than 1000 persons
o Sub‐group D‐3
 Primarily meant for assembly of more than 300 persons without
permanent seating arrangement
o Sub‐group D‐4
 Primarily meant for assembly of less than 300 persons without
permanent seating arrangement
o Sub‐group D‐5
 Any building meant for outdoor assembly of people not covered by
sub‐groups D‐1 to D‐4

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Asst. Prof., Muthoot Institute of Technology and Science, Varikoli, Ernakulam
10 MODULE I CE 100 – BASICS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

 Group E – Business buildings

Any building or part of a building which is used for the transaction of business
(other than Group F), for keeping of accounts and records, barber shops, lunch
counters serving less than 100 people, is included in Group E.

 Group F – Mercantile buildings

This group includes any building or part of a building which is used as shops,
offices, stores, markets, showrooms for display and sale of merchandise either whole
sale or retail.

 Group G – Industrial buildings

This group includes any building or part of a building in which products or materials
of all kinds and properties are fabricated, assembled or processed. These include
assembly plants, smoke houses, gas plants, refineries, diaries, textile mills and saw mills.

 Group H – Storage buildings

ES . I N
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This group includes any building or part of a building which is primarily used for
storage or sheltering of goods, wares or merchandise except those which are highly
combustible/explosive products, vehicles or animals. These include warehouses, cold
storages, freight depots, transit sheds, store houses, truck and marine terminals,
garages, etc.

 Group I – Hazardous buildings

This group includes any building or part of a building which is used as storage,
handling, manufacture or processing of highly combustible or explosive materials or
products which may produce poisonous fumes or which are highly corrosive or toxic, or
acids and other chemicals producing flames/fumes, irritant gases, or which require any
material producing explosive mixtures. This group includes:

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11 MODULE I CE 100 – BASICS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

i. Storage under pressure of 0.1 N/mm2 and in quantities exceeding 70 m3 of

acetylene, hydrogen, illuminating and natural gases, ammonia, chlorine, SO2,
CO2, methyl oxide and all gases subject to explosion, fume or toxic hazard
ii. Storage and handling of hazardous and highly inflammable liquids and other
materials
iii. Manufacture of artificial flowers, synthetic leather, explosives and fireworks

 Selection of Site for Buildings

For good planning and designing of buildings, the site selection is the one of the
most important factor. The following general principles should be kept in mind while
selecting a site for a building:

 The purpose of building and extend of privacy is desired

 The site should be located in fully developed or fast developing locality

ES . I N
 The site should be located in such a way that community services like police

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and fire protection, clearing of waste and street cleaning, utility services like

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water‐supply, electricity, etc., amenities like school, hospital, market, etc.
and means of transport are also available
 Before selecting a site, one should study the bye‐laws of the local authority,
which put before restrictions regarding proportions of plots to be built up,
open spaces and margins to be left around, heights, etc.
 Area of plot should be such that the building constructed on it meets the
requirement of the owner, after following certain restrictions of local
authority
 Shape of the plot should not be irregular, and should not be having any
sharp corners
 The site should be situated on an elevated place and also levelled with
uniform slopes from one end to the other to provide good drainage of rain
water

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Asst. Prof., Muthoot Institute of Technology and Science, Varikoli, Ernakulam
12 MODULE I CE 100 – BASICS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

 The soil of the site should be good enough with high Safe Bearing Capacity
to provide economical foundations
 The site should be situated in a naturally beautiful environment which
creates healthy living and working conditions
 The site should be away from quarries, kilns, factories, industries, rivers with
heavy flood, etc., if possible
 The legal and financial aspects should also be given due consideration

Components of a Residential Building

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Figure 1. Components of a residential building

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Usually a building is divided into three parts:

i. Foundation
ii. Plinth
iii. Superstructure

Foundation is the part of a building constructed below ground level and which is in
direct contact with sub‐strata and transmits all the loads to the sub‐soil.

Plinth is the building above the ground level and up to the floor level immediately
above the ground.

Superstructure is the part of the building constructed above the plinth level.

The Table 1.1 gives the functions of different structural components of a building.

Table 1. Important building components and their functions

Building Component

ES . I N Function(s)
Transmits the loads; supports the superstructure; provides stability.
Foundation
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Provides safety against scouring

Plinth KTUHelps in transmitting loads from superstructure to substructure;

Protects the building from moisture rainwater, dust, insects, termite, etc.
Supports beam and slab; transmits the loads.

Wall Provides partition, privacy and safety;

Protects building against heat, cold, rain, noise, fire, etc.
Supports beam and slab
Column Transmit the loads
Gives a plane and levelled surface for the occupants, furniture, the equipment,
Floor etc.
Covers the top of the building
Roof Gives protection against rain, heat, snow. Sound, wind, etc.
Permits entry, exit, light and ventilation to the building
Door Imparts safety and privacy to the building
Gives nice scenic view to the building
Window Permits light and ventilation

Step For access in building from GL to upper floors

Stair For vertical circulation among the floors in the building

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14 MODULE I CE 100 – BASICS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Lintel, Arch Gives support to the wall above the openings in wall

Sill It gives support to the bottom of window openings

Supports the slab
Beam Transmits loads coming from slab to column or wall

Weather shed Protects the walls of the buildings from sun, heat and rain
(Sun shade)
Parapet Provides boundary to the terrace and encloses it

Industrial buildings

Any building structure used by the industry to store raw materials or for
manufacturing products of the industry is known as an industrial building. It provides
facility in such a way that the space is used primarily for research, development,
service, production, storage or distribution of goods which may also include some
office space.

ES . I N
Industrial buildings may be classified as:
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 Normal Type Industrial buildings
 Special Type Industrial buildings

Normally industrial buildings are shed type buildings, with simple roof structures
on open frames. These buildings are used for workshops, warehouses, etc. These
buildings require large and clear areas unobstructed by the columns. The large floor
area provides sufficient flexibility and facility for a later change in the production layout
without major alterations to the building.

Industrial floors shall have sufficient resistance to abrasion, impact, acid action
and temperature depending on the type of activity carried out in the building.

The notes on Module I end here.

Any textbook on Basics of Civil Engineering should be referred by the

students; do not rely on these notes only.
Basil Mathai
To get more study materails visit www.ktunotes.in February 2017
Asst. Prof., Muthoot Institute of Technology and Science, Varikoli, Ernakulam