Publisher's Synopsis
Civil engineering plays a crucial role in the recovery of a complex system, made of physical subsystems, as is an urban environment. Consequently, whether techniques and technologies used in civil engineering for the recovery of an urban system are effective, it is restored quickly and efficiently. Design of many facilities such as: buildings, foundations, bridges, dams, highways, airports, seaports, offshore structures, tunnels, sanitary landfills, excavation etc. need to address the design issues rationally. The loading in civil engineering systems are completely unknown. Only some of the features of the loading are known. Some of the examples of loading are frequency and occurrence of earthquakes, movement of ground water, rainfall pattern, wind and ice loadings etc. The response of materials such as concrete, soil and rock to loading and unloading is of primary concern to the civil engineer. In all types of problems, the engineer is often dealing with incomplete information or uncertain conditions. It is necessary for the engineers and researchers to be aware of many assumptions and idealizations on which methods of analysis and design are based. The use of analytical tools must be combined with sound engineering judgment based on experience and observation. This 1st volume of Encyclopaedia of Introduction to Civil Engineering Systems: A Systems Perspective to the Development of Civil Engineering Facilities perspectives in Civil Engineering brings together original research and reviews on interdisciplinary theoretical and practical aspects related to the broad spectrum of civil engineering, including new developments in civil regulations. This book also addresses the futuristic construction materials. Relevant data of the developments made during the recent past are also presented. It is believed that nanotechnology is going to play an important role in the development of futuristic building materials. It is clear that the proper development of our infrastructure requires a holistic, coherent understanding of all the important elements that will make our products successful. Civil engineers have a responsibility for the entire life cycle of what we build: from planning, through design, to the management of the facility over its useful life. The development of civil engineering systems over the centuries and millennia has been characterized by continual improvements that were achieved mostly through series of trial-and-error as systems were constructed and reconstructed by learning from past mistakes.
