Structural engineer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Structural engineer[1] is an individual who practices structural engineering. Structural Engineers inspect, analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems. Their outcomes also have to fulfill the technical, economic, environmental, aesthetic and social aspects. It is a very creative profession which makes a significant contribution to infrastructure, public facilities, residential housing development and leisure venues essential to modern society.
Typical structures are buildings and bridges, although other structures such as tunnels, earth retaining structures, large tanks, towers, stadiums, monuments, silos and mining structures, are designed by structural engineers. Some specialist areas of work include oil drilling platforms and associated infrastructure, ship building and aircraft design. Most structural engineers are employed by the construction industry, however there are also needs of structural engineers in aerospace, automobile and shipbuilding industries. In the construction industry, they work closely with architects, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, quantity surveyors and construction managers. Structural engineers ensure that buildings or bridges are built to be strong enough and stable enough to resist environmental loading (e.g., gravity, wind, snow, rain, seismic (earthquake), earth pressure, and temperature loads). They also have to make the structures stiff enough to not deflect or vibrate beyond acceptable limits. Fatigue does not generally play a part in building design, but may be an important consideration for bridges and for aircraft design, or for other structures that may have a large number of stress cycles over their lifetimes - sign supports where the sign may be susceptible to wind vortex shedding and oscillations would be a good example. The use of certain materials also has to be considered regarding their possible deterioration due to rust, freeze-thaw, and other environmental concerns.
[edit] Education
The education of structural engineers is usually through a civil or architectural engineering degree with structural emphasis or through a structural engineering degree. The fundamental core subjects for structural engineering are strength of materials or solid mechanics, statics, dynamics, material science, numerical analysis and conceptual structural design. Reinforced concrete, composite structure, timber, masonry and structural steel designs are the general structural design courses that will be introduce in the next level of the education of structural engineering. The structural analysis courses which include structural mechanics, structural dynamics and structural failure analyses are designed to build up the fundamental analysis skills and theories for structural engineering students. At the senior year level or higher, prestressed concrete design, space frame design for building and aircraft, bridge engineering, civil and aerospace structure rehabilitation and other advanced structural engineering specializations are usually introduced.
Recently in the United States, there have been discussions in the structural engineering community about the knowledge base of structural engineering graduates. Some have called for a master's degree to be the minimum standard for professional licensing[2]. There is also growing support to establish a structural engineering undergraduate degree; some existed in the past, and one still exists at the University of California-San Diego. Many students who later become structural engineers major in civil, mechanical, or aerospace engineering degree programs, which typically do not emphasize structural engineering. Architectural engineering programs do offer structural emphases, and are often in combined academic departments with civil engineering.
[edit] Licensing
In the United States, structural engineers are licensed at the State level. In a few states, a Structural Engineering license is conferred after several years experience, and the passage of multiple exams[3].
In California, Washington, Nevada and a few other states, a Civil Engineering (CE or PE for Professional Engineer) license is usually the first step, which in itself requires at least two years, and in most states four, practical experience and the passage of at least one eight hour exam. After that milestone, two to three more years of specialized structural experience is necessary, then the passage of at least two more eight hour exams focusing solely on structures.
