Civil Engineering MEng (Hons)

You will learn about typical management practice and activity necessary at the early stages of construction projects. There is a strong emphasis on the key pre-construction aspects of such projects in this module. Themes can include: the planning for, and management of, construction project-level organisations and resources; the use of construction production information, the management of design during the construction process, the role that Digital Construction solutions including Building Information Modelling (BIM) have in this process; construction project planning processes; and the production of construction solutions for specific project challenges.

This module provides an introduction to the Earth’s materials, their formation, development, and behaviour and explores how they impact on considerations for site investigation and assessment. You will learn about geological processes and structures and the formation, classification and erosion of rock and soils and the interpretation of geological maps. You will learn about the planning and implementation of site investigations, the interpretation of borehole data and various field testing techniques as used on construction sites. You will learn about the structure, content and use of relevant codes and standards. You will learn about soil improvement on construction sites, suitable fill materials for different construction activities and about the different types of temporary and permanent geotechnical structures commonly encountered and the concept of bearing capacity and simple sizing calculations and construction techniques for common types of foundations.

You will learn about the important theories, principles, and procedures that form the basis of structural analysis. You will be able to develop analytical skills and an appreciation of how this knowledge might be applied in practice to analyse simple and complex structures. You will focus on types of structure and supports and analysis of stress and strain due to load temperature changes. You will also address the influence lines for determinate structures, analytical principles of indeterminate structures and buckling instability of short and slender columns. Finally, the basic principles of ultimate load analysis will be introduced.

This module develops your understanding and knowledge of reinforced concrete, steel, and timber structures, and your ability to design these structures. In this module, you will learn about topics such as the design of reinforced concrete beams, slabs and columns, and the preparation of reinforced concrete drawings. You will also learn about the
design of steel beams, columns, frames and connections, and the design of timber posts, beams and connections. You will make use of computer methods to design structures and learn to check and validate results from computer models.

You will study the hydraulics of open channel flow, pipelines and pumps, as well as focusing on engineering hydrology, where you will study water supply and catchment hydrology.

You will learn to apply for a 12 month placement in a construction engineering company. You will do this through developing and improving your skills in the following areas:

1. Communication
2. CVs
3. Interviews
4. H&S within the workplace
5. Professional conduct
6. Teams
7. Constructing a Learning Plan
8. Evidencing your learning
9. Reflection in the workplace
10. Networking

The module is designed to further develop your expertise in engineering mathematics, focusing on algebraic methods of solving engineering computational problems. On this module, you will learn about the use of matrix algebra to solve large systems of equations, together with the formulation and solution of algebraic eigenvalue problems involving differential equations from the perspective of an engineer. You will focus on the fundamentals of matrix theory that underlie powerful practical numerical algorithms for solving systems of linear equations and boundary value problems. As you explore the mathematical techniques, you will discover how each is used in applications of civil engineering problems, including structural analysis, and vibration and stability of structures. This module will enable you to fully understand the tools behind finite element analysis, an important method in engineering.

Outline syllabus (the syllabus includes all or part of the following topics):

1. Vectors and matrices
2. Determinant and rank
3. Linear systems of equations
4. Algebraic eigenvalue problem
5. Galerkin, Ritz, and Finite Element Method
6. Elements of scientific programming

You will develop your understanding of academic conventions in UK higher education aligned to your level of study, including expectations around critical analysis, structure, argumentation, evidencing, and referencing. The module focuses on developing communication strategies that will help you express your ideas clearly and coherently in written assignments and spoken activities. You will also reflect on your current academic and language skills and develop strategies for development ahead of your assessments.

In this module you explore the role of engineering interventions in addressing the current Climate Emergency and designing resilient solutions to achieve Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions. Through this exploration, you will grow to appreciate the relationships between environmental management and sustainability. On completion of the module, you have an understanding of how environmental engineering theory through the complete life cycle of the project, enhancing your ability to minimise adverse impacts and more generally improving your future employment prospects in the civil engineering industry and more widely.

You will have the opportunity to build upon your learning from previous modules and apply it to geotechnical engineering design problems. You will cover the stability of earth slopes, lateral earth pressure and retaining structures, shallow and deep foundations, settlement of foundations, soil stabilization techniques, use of standards and codes of practice and the derivation of design parameters from site investigations.

Your learning on this module will start from a client brief for a project. The brief for the project will be based upon a real project and will be communicated in a realistic manner through correspondence and role-play client meetings. In groups, you will explore the meaning of the brief and the business relationship with the client, develop a design team and key objectives and milestones and then work on options for the technical solution of the problem, considering factors such as cost, required construction technology and techniques, sustainability issues, health, safety and design risk management and the requirements for the business success of the different parties involved. At all stages in the module you will engage in reflective consideration of your learning, which will be inspired by other design and construction examples taken from industry.

You will learn to establish the scope, aims and objectives of a research topic, developing a clear problem statement and identifying specific research questions to be answered. You will acquire an understanding of research ethics, being required to complete an online university ethics submission in line with university policy prior to commencing your research project. You will learn to critically review published literature relating to the topic, including how to distinguish between different types of literature such as peer-reviewed or ‘grey’ literature. You will learn how to select research methods appropriate to answer your research questions and how to design a programme of research to achieve your project aims with the resources at your disposal. You will then gain knowledge and experience in applying specific research methods, for example laboratory practice or specific applications software for computer modelling. You will learn how to critically evaluate research results and how to draw specific conclusions against objectives set out at the start of the project. You will then learn how to structure and write an appropriate technical output detailing your findings and how to consider various options for disseminating your findings to a wider audience, for example posters, conference papers, journal articles and client reports. Underlying all this you will learn to identify and manage health and safety risks, risks to the successful completion of the project and any ethical issues associated with your project.

In this module, you will learn about structural testing methods and how to validate the results of finite element applications software for structural analysis and design. You also will learn theory of finite element method, its extended application to the consideration of dynamic problems and behaviour of dynamic structural systems. This module provides a solid foundation in structural testing, computer modelling and the finite element method in particular.

You will develop your understanding of academic conventions in UK higher education aligned to your level of study, including expectations around critical analysis, structure, argumentation, evidencing, and referencing. The module focuses on developing communication strategies that will help you express your ideas clearly and coherently in written assignments and spoken activities. You will also reflect on your current academic and language skills and develop strategies for development ahead of your assessments.

You will learn river engineering, urban hydrology and urban drainage, coastal engineering, and sediment transport. In each case you will learn advanced analysis techniques using computer software as well as more basic analysis based on hand-calculations. In each case you will build upon the knowledge gained in different subjects earlier in your education and learn how to apply it to wide-ranging design/maintenance/upgrading problems.

The module content includes key elements appropriate to Highways and Railway engineering, including topics such as:
• Route selection
• Design of horizontal and vertical alignment
• Flexible and rigid pavements design and specification
• Railway permanent way components and design
• Railway switch and crossing design
• Highway and railway drainage and earthworks
• Sustainable transport options
• Maintenance techniques and temporary works

You will examine common forms of existing structures such as various types of bridges, and to consider how you can apply your existing Civil Engineering skills and knowledge learned in earlier study to gain a quantitative understanding of their original and current loading, and current condition. You will consider different structural components and materials and how they might degrade over time and how this affects their performance. You will also study some non-destructive testing techniques for examining engineering assets, for example Ground Penetrating Radar.

Within this module you will explore the challenges of collecting, analysing, interpreting and presenting data on existing, complex geotechnical threats to assets. The module themes include setting the context for and implications of geotechnical instabilities; concepts of failure processes; classifications; surface and sub-surface characterization schemes; appropriate and costed monitoring interventions; and numerical modelling techniques. You will learn about how to monitor and quantify changes affecting geotechnical structures including rock and soil problems and the parameters influencing failure; how to model critical conditions; and assess the effectiveness of management solutions. In this module you will also learn about recent research-led innovations that have provided new data on geotechnical environments and study practitioner-based case studies through workshops. Finally, you will learn how to develop focused and informed data collection of a challenging site, analysing and then interpreting your own investigation into geotechnical instability, specialising in aspects which interest you most, presenting your findings and producing a professional recommendation report.

This module will provide you with the opportunity for you to bring together your specialist knowledge and skills within a realistic design project. You will work in a small team to present a plan for a civil engineering development for which you will then progress from feasibility through to final design. This module aims to offer a simulation of the experience of design work amid multi-disciplinary working environments as realised in practice. It is envisaged that you will come to realise through practice, that good design is achieved through balancing frequently conflicting requirements in order to satisfy a range of stakeholders. You will be provided with the opportunity to demonstrate your specialist technical abilities but also your planning, organisational and team working skills. You will be expected to explore unfamiliar knowledge as well as the wider social and environmental considerations demanded of the engineering profession. This course provides a solid foundation in multi-disciplinary working environments (real world project), computer modelling and the finite element method.

Within this module you will learn about the key aspects of asset-related challenges and address the need to conduct detailed survey investigations of asset location and condition. You will consider how to conduct effective monitoring programmes that identify changes and how to analyse the patterns and nature of change in the context of asset operation and stability. You will also learn about the role of in situ logging and how to establish driver-response relationships that may threaten asset function. To achieve this you will be introduced to an applied range of survey and monitoring techniques and get hand-on experience with analysing complex datasets. You will draw on all your engineering experience and judgement to make clear recommendations about future action and developments to asset operators, progressing from diverse and complex information sources, to clear, detailed and appropriately considered and costed recommendations for actions.

You will develop your understanding of academic conventions in UK higher education aligned to your level of study, including expectations around critical analysis, structure, argumentation, evidencing, and referencing. The module focuses on developing communication strategies that will help you express your ideas clearly and coherently in written assignments and spoken activities. You will also reflect on your current academic and language skills and develop strategies for development ahead of your assessments.