PE Civil: Structural case studies
PE Civil: Structural · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The PE Civil: Structural exam is one of the NCEES Principles and Practice of Engineering examinations. NCEES describes the PE exam as testing "for a minimum level of competency in a particular engineering discipline," and 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: Structural case studies are 5 cases and about 3,865 words.
1Early Steel Release on a Schedule-Critical Medical Office Addition
A 9,600 m² four-story steel-framed medical office building must be substantially complete by week 62 to meet the owner's lease commencement. The critical chain is: 100% construction documents and building permit at week 8; steel released to the mill at permit (22-week delivery); erection 8 weeks; deck and elevated slabs 8 weeks; MEP rough-in 12 weeks; finishes 8 weeks.
713 words, about 4 min2Support of Excavation and Dewatering Beside a 1920s Unreinforced Brick Building
A contractor will excavate 6.1 m for a basement within 4.5 m of a three-story 1920s unreinforced brick building whose shallow strip footings bear 1.8 m below grade. The profile is 3 m of loose fill over medium-dense sand to 15 m, with groundwater at 2.5 m; the sand has an estimated friction angle of 32°, void ratio 0.65, specific gravity 2.65, and permeability about 1×10⁻⁴ m/s.
857 words, about 4 min3Model-Detail Mismatch on a Continuous Floor Beam
A floor beam spans 7.2 m from an exterior wall to a girder and continues 4.8 m past the girder to a second bay. The analysis model uses the software default 'rigid' beam-to-girder connection, so the beam is analyzed as continuous over both spans.
695 words, about 3 min4Low Cylinder Breaks and Site-Added Water on an Elevated Slab
A 4,000 psi normal-weight elevated slab mix contains 560 lb/yd³ of cementitious material with 25% Class F fly ash and a design w/cm of 0.51, placed in 50°F weather. During the third of six placements the finisher added about 5 gal/yd³ of water at the truck to raise the slump from 3 to 6 in.
792 words, about 4 min5RFI on a Slip-Critical Brace Splice: Oversized Holes and an Untested Primer
A diagonal brace in a new two-story chevron-braced frame splices at mid-height between two 1/2 in A36 gusset plates using 24 ASTM A325 3/4 in high-strength bolts in standard holes, one shear plane. The connection is slip-critical at the service load of 195 kips.
808 words, about 4 min