PE Civil case studies
PE Civil · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam is NCEES's licensure examination that tests for a minimum level of competency in a particular engineering discipline. It is designed for engineers who have gained a minimum of four years of post-college work experience in their chosen discipline. The PE Civil case studies are 5 cases and about 3,465 words.
1The 15,000 Loose Yards That Weren't a Surplus
A highway embankment needs 9,000 compacted cubic yards (CCY) of fill. The contractor is using on-site cut material - a silty sand with a measured swell of 25% (bank to loose) and, based on the project's Standard Proctor curve, a shrinkage factor of 15% (bank to compacted).
626 words, about 3 min2A Wall That Was Fine Until the Weep Holes Plugged
A 5.0 m tall cantilever retaining wall retains level, clean silty sand backfill (γ = 19 kN/m³, φ = 32°, Rankine Ka = 0.31). It has a gravel chimney drain and 100 mm weep holes at 1.0 m above the base.
608 words, about 3 min3Three Bars Where the Drawings Showed Four
An existing office building is being renovated. GPR on an interior simply supported beam (24 ft span) shows 3-#8 bottom bars continuous, not the 4-#8 on the 1974 drawings.
686 words, about 3 min4A Curve That Never Met Its Design Speed
A rural two-lane highway has a 55 mph design speed, 12 ft lanes, 4 ft shoulders, and level grade. A horizontal curve has R = 700 ft with e = 0.06.
729 words, about 4 min5The Detention Basin That Isn't the Size of the Plan
A 14-acre commercial site, essentially 100% impervious after development, discharges to a small creek. Pre-development 100-year peak was 8 cfs; post-development 100-year inflow to the on-site basin is 55 cfs.
816 words, about 4 min