What Does civil Engineering Mean
Engineering, through the use of various models and techniques , tries to solve different problems and satisfy various needs of human beings. Professionals in this science , who are called engineers , combine the scientific method with their creativity to carry out their projects.
The engineering specialty that is responsible for the creation of hydraulic infrastructures, transport works and entrepreneurship is called civil engineering . It generally deals with public works and major developments.
In addition to construction tasks, civil engineering is involved in the inspection , examination and preservation of what was built. In this way, it seeks to collaborate in the protection of the environment and in the prevention of accidents related to the infrastructure that derives from engineering works.
Contemporary civil engineering developed from the 19th and 20th centuries through the improvement of instruments that measure magnitudes and the development of mathematical calculation models.
Within the engineering civil, it is possible to distinguish between hydraulic engineering , the engineering construction , the highway engineering , the transport engineering , the geotechnical engineering and structural engineering .
Among the various tasks that civil engineers can develop, are the design of airports , roads , the construction of a building or the management of a bridge . That is why their task is very important to achieve urban growth in any country and improve its infrastructure.
In other words, it is in charge of conceiving, designing , building and maintaining the works of the public good (aqueducts, irrigation, buildings, communication routes, hydroelectric plants, etc); They are necessary for the satisfaction of all human needs (health, food, transportation, housing, energy and recreation) of the group of civilians in said community.
Fields of action of Civil Engineering
Over the years the fields of action of Civil Engineering have been growing; so much so that nowadays it is not only in charge of artificial works, but also of solving problems that have to do with the natural materials of the environment , for example the consequences of rains, earthquakes, etc.
Regarding the physical field of action, it is considered to include civil works and the land where they are built. To carry out their functions, engineers must carry out studies and keep track of the state of the buildings they make, as well as find a way to understand the behavior of space to avoid certain catastrophes .
Regarding the social field of action, it includes the design and planning of infrastructure works. It should be noted that the responsibility of engineers is very high, since the welfare and safety of citizens depends on their work and any error that may exist, be it procedural or conceptual, will have repercussions in the economic sphere of society.
It is necessary to emphasize that within Civil Engineering there are several branches; however, all base their studies on the same sciences: mathematics , physics and chemistry and work with materials of similar composition but in different proportions, given the type of specialty.
The branches included within Civil Engineering are: Environmental Engineering (controls pollution and works to improve the conditions of the natural environment ), Construction (studies and manages the way in which the physical execution programs of the works should be implemented), Structural (builds and maintains buildings such as bridges or transmission structures), Geotechnical (includes everything related to materials from the earth, such as soil and rocks), Sanitary (covers the construction and control of sewers and everything that refers to the water cycle in society), Hydraulics(It is in charge of supervising everything related to water resources), Roads and Transportation (it includes the means of communication and mobilization in a society , both of people and goods).