MEng Civil Engineering

This course is compulsory to year 4 students on all programmes except Civil & Structural Engineering. This course is composed of a group design project part and a taught part. Building on the students’ knowledge of fundamental hydraulics principles, geotechnical analysis and design, and structural analysis and structural member design, this course uses the group design of an offshore wind turbine structure to enable students to gain experience in integrated structural / foundation / hydraulics design. The taught part of the course enables the students to develop a thorough understanding of some of the important factors affecting scheme design of structures, foundations and hydraulics systems.

To develop students’ design skills through an integrated structural / foundation / hydraulics group design project.  To equip students with the skills, knowledge and understanding to apply Eurocodes to a range of civil engineering design problems.

Material for offshore wind turbine design:
- Extreme environmental loading on offshore structures, use of DNV code
- Structural design options and basic calculations for turbine column and support structure
- Geotechncial options (piles, anchors, gravity bases etc)

Three group reports (one for each of the above areas) followed by a final short presentation (with supporting handout) covering the above topics and also broader construction and maintenance issues.

Design to Eurocodes
- Basis of design (understanding how to interpret and use Eurocodes)
- Geotechnics
- Structures
- Wind loading
In all cases learning how to apply Eurocodes to example civil engineering design problems, tested by an unseen exam.

Feedback will be provided through a number of methods:
(1) specific comments on individual group reports;
(2) a collective list of mistakes made in coursework will be prepared and posted on blackboard;
(3) students are welcome to ask lecturers before and after a lecture; students are also welcome to make arrangement to ask lecturers at other times;
(4) students can ask lecturers questions by email, but it is preferable to use Blackboard so that questions and answers can be seen by all students;
(5) additional tutorial sessions will be arranged to help with coursework and to help with preparation for examination.