Civil Engineering for GPSC Assistant Engineer (Civil)
Civil Engineering is the concerned-subject paper for GPSC Assistant Engineer (Civil). It tests degree-level application across structural analysis and design, geotechnical engineering, water resources, environmental engineering, transportation, surveying and construction management. Numerical accuracy and familiarity with Indian Standards matter more than descriptive recall.
Core rules
- Structures: limit state design under IS 456 uses factored loads and partial safety factors; under-reinforced RCC sections are ductile. Steel design follows IS 800.
- Geotechnical: effective stress σ′ = σ − u governs settlement and shear strength; compaction is controlled by OMC and MDD; bearing capacity follows IS 6403.
- Water resources: the rational method is Q = CIA/360 when A is in hectares and I in mm/h; unit hydrograph and irrigation duty/delta are standard numerical topics.
- Environment and transport: BOD₅ and COD are not interchangeable; drinking water follows IS 10500; highway geometry follows IRC standards, including SSD and superelevation.
Worked example
A singly reinforced rectangular beam has b = 300 mm, d = 500 mm, M20 concrete, Fe415 steel and 4 bars of 20 mm diameter. Is it under-reinforced? Ast = 4 × 314 = 1256 mm². xu/d = 0.87 fy Ast / (0.36 fck b d) = (0.87 × 415 × 1256) / (0.36 × 20 × 300 × 500) = 0.42. For Fe415, xu,max/d = 0.48. Since 0.42 < 0.48, the section is under-reinforced and will show ductile failure. If xu/d exceeded 0.48, revise the section or provide compression steel.
Traps that cost marks
Using overall depth instead of effective depth; forgetting that xu,max/d depends on steel grade (0.53 for Fe250, 0.48 for Fe415, 0.46 for Fe500); mixing N/mm² and kN/m²; using 3.6 instead of 360 in the rational formula for hectares; treating BOD and COD as interchangeable; applying SPT N values without overburden or dilatancy corrections.