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Many software programs are available for each discipline of
civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...
. Most civil engineers practice in specialized subsets of civil engineering, such as
geotechnical engineering Geotechnical engineering is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials. It uses the principles of soil mechanics and rock mechanics for the solution of its respective engineering problems. It ...
,
structural engineering Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and muscles' that create the form and shape of man-made structures. Structural engineers also must understand and cal ...
,
transportation engineering Transportation engineering or transport engineering is the application of technology and scientific principles to the planning, functional design, operation and management of facilities for any mode of transportation in order to provide for t ...
,
hydraulic engineering Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the m ...
,
environmental engineering Environmental engineering is a professional engineering discipline that encompasses broad scientific topics like chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, hydraulics, hydrology, microbiology, and mathematics to create solutions that will protect and ...
, project and construction management and land surveying.


Early history

The trend to implement software programs into the civil engineering industry began as educational concerns for the future as civil engineering prepared to enter the twenty-first century. Today, these concerns and trends are centered on the
continuing education unit A continuing education unit (CEU) or continuing education credit (CEC) is a measure used in continuing education programs to assist the professional to maintain their license in their profession. Continuing education or professional development is ...
which have become required as part of maintaining the professional license. As a result of the expanding use and demand for these software programs, there was less of a necessity for occupations such as
draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for ...
, because the engineer began to prepare and input the design parameters into the program, thus eliminating the need for manual drafting. Land surveying, a specialized subset of civil engineering, relies heavily on the computerization of the industry. University textbooks have already since begun to include software applications for students to gain experience with some kind of software interface.


Infrastructure design

Another specific subset, infrastructure design, relies heavily on estimates of load, pressure, drainage and flow. Some software houses have attempted to provide design software catering for the variety of infrastructure design fields in an integrated manner. However, general-purpose software may be used in the same manner at a fraction of the cost of design software. When planning the construction phase, various project management methods are used to estimate factors such as cost, schedule and resourcing. Different software packages rely on different formulas and theories as the basis for these calculations. Consulting engineers also take advantage of the insight software can provide as far as crossing services are concerned. A road design may have to accommodate the presence of underground pipes for example. ''Civil Designer'' is an example of a design package which forms an integrated data gathering, drawing, surface modeling and design system for civil engineering infrastructure.


Maintenance

Another aspect of software programs utilized by civil engineers is not only for the use of designing site infrastructure, but also to maintain it. As recent as 2011, there are programs available which allow the engineer to monitor bridges for cracks and settlements, as well as water distribution networks for failing subsurface pipes through the use of sensors installed. This has created the ability for the engineer to eliminate some of the costs and liabilities associated with human inspectors.


Hydraulic engineering

Hydraulic engineering Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the m ...
as a sub-discipline of
civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...
is concerned with the flow and conveyance of
fluids In physics, a fluid is a liquid, gas, or other material that continuously deforms (''flows'') under an applied shear stress, or external force. They have zero shear modulus, or, in simpler terms, are substances which cannot resist any she ...
, principally water and
sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from reside ...
. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the movement of the fluids. This area of civil engineering is intimately related to the design of
bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...
,
dams A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
,
channels Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
,
canals Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
, and
levees A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually earthen and that often runs parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastli ...
, and to both sanitary and
environmental engineering Environmental engineering is a professional engineering discipline that encompasses broad scientific topics like chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, hydraulics, hydrology, microbiology, and mathematics to create solutions that will protect and ...
.


See also

*
Computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...
*
Project management software Project management software (PMS) has the capacity to help plan, organize, and manage resource tools and develop resource estimates. Depending on the sophistication of the software, it can manage estimation and planning, scheduling, cost control ...
*
Geographic information system A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with software tools for managing, analyzing, and visualizing those data. In a ...


References


External links


Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Software Directory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Civil Engineering Software Computer-aided engineering Civil engineering