Civil engineering Interview Questions

Civil engineering Interview Questions Civil engineering is one of the oldest branches of engineering that deals with the design, construction and maintenance of buildings, roads, bridges, artificial waterways, dams etc. Civil engineers have shown their expertise from time immemorial. From the Roman Pantheon to Hong Kong international airport, civil engineers have excelled in every step. Interview questions for civil engineers include strength of materials, material science, energy engineering, environmental engineering and earthquake engineering.

• • Define Modulus of Elasticity? 
    Modulus of Elasticity, also know as elastic modulus is the elastic deformation tendency of a material. In the stress strain curve the slope is the elastic modulus.
  • What is the chemical composition of cement? 
    Cement primarily consists of CaO. The chemical composition of Portland cement is tricalcium silicate, dicalcium silicate, tricalcium aluminate and tetracalcium aluminoferrite.
  • What is tensile strength? 
    It is the maximum longitudinal stress that an object can withstand without necking. It denotes the maximum point in a stress strain curve.
  • Which is the world’s largest hydroelectric project? 
    The Three Gorges dam on Yangtze River in China is the world’s largest hydroelectric project in terms of total capacity. The total capacity of the Three Gorges dam upon full completion would be 22500 MW with 32 turbines. Its length is 2335m and height is 101m. The second largest is the Itaipu dam on the Parana River in the border of Brazil and Paraguay. Its length is 7700m and height is 196m with a capacity of 14GW in 20 turbines.
  • Explain soil analysis. 
    Soil testing is a qualitative analysis to determine the nutritional and elemental composition of soil. Soil is mostly tested for elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. It is also tested for acidity, moisture, organic contents and contaminants.
  • What are the points in the stress strain curve for mild steel? 
    The points in the stress strain curve for mild steel are Proportional limit, elastic limit or yield point, ultimate stress and stress at failure.
  • What are building codes? 
    Building codes are a set of specifications regarding minimum safety conditions that any building should take in account during construction. Building codes deal with the height, spacing, installations of a building. These codes lay huge emphasis on safety and ease to evacuate the building in case of an emergency.
  • What is fire resistance rating? 
    It is a measure of time up to which a system could resist the fire resistance test. It is generally depicted by a time-temperature graph.
  • What are tectonic plates? 
    Tectonic plates are the pieces of the Earth’s lithosphere. The lithosphere lies over the asthenophere, which has a higher density and makes the tectonic plates on the lithosphere to move. The movement of the tectonic plates is said to be the cause of earthquakes. Ocean trenches, volcanoes and mountains exist at the meeting points of two tectonic plates.
  • What is the Richter scale? 
    The Richter scale, a base 10 logarithmic scale, is a measure to quantify the seismic energy from an earthquake.

What are the main reasons of building collapse?

There are several reasons for building collapse. Passage of time is the main reason. Also, weak foundations, natural calamities like earthquakes, hurricanes, etc., are the major reasons for building collapse. Bombing and destruction is also another major reason.

State the applications of modulus of elasticity.

Modulus of elasticity is related to the flexibility of the material. The value of modulus of elasticity is pretty important in case of deflection of different materials used in building construction.

How are the freeway bridges built?

The traffic that is likely to go over the bridge at a time is estimated and the cement, rocked with rebar stanchions is placed over the freeway to build a bridge. Off-ramp from freeway to the bridge and on-ramp from the bridge to the freeway are constructed. Cement slabs are used to build a platform.

What is the basic difference in absorption, adsorption, and sorption?

Absorption refers to the phenomenon where an atom, molecule or ions enter any bulk phase like gas, solid or liquid. Absorption refers to the phenomenon where energy of photon is transferred to other entity.

Adsorption is similar to absorption. It refers to the surface rather than a volume. Adsorption takes place when the gas or liquid solute accumulates on the surface of solid. A substance diffuses in liquid or solid to form a solution.

Difference between routine maintenance and major maintenance for school facilities:  

Routine maintenance is handling the minor repairs of the school campus. Major maintenance can be total reconstruction or renovation of the school.

What is soil analysis?

Soil analysis is the testing of soil to determine the nutritional and elemental composition of soil. It is generally tested for knowing the contents of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous.

State the building codes.

These codes are the set of specifications to ensure the safety associated with any building construction. These codes are associated with the height, spacing, and installation of the building. These codes play an important role in vacating the building in case of any emergency situations.

From these interview questions, you will get an idea of the questions interviewer can ask you in the civil engineering position interview. Refer to some more sample questions here and revise all the answers carefully.

• General Questions for Civil Engineers

Q: According to you, what is the best design for building bridges?
Q: What are all the new civil construction materials and concepts?
Q: What is softsoil?
Q: Explain your project management?
Q: What are the CAD software versions you have used?
Q: What are some of the different ways to lay a foundation?
Q: Why is a manhole round?
Q: What is earth?

Q: Explain Newton’s Laws.
Q: How is a factor of safety used in design?
Q: Interpret a Stress vs. Strain Curve.
Q: What types of equations or theories would be used in Static Failure?
Q: What types of equations would be used in Fatigue Failure?

Q: what is mant by point of conter of fracher(p.c.f)?

Q:What is the difference between load bearing and non load bearing walls? How to distinguish both?

Q: What is the unit weight of concrete?

Q:U are a civil engineering student?why do u want to enter into IT industry

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