1. What is Structural Engineering?
Common structures include buildings, bridges, dams, and towers. Structural engineers determine and design structural elements and systems - the columns, beams, walls, and floors �V that stand up to loads and stresses, ensuring that the structure has the strength to perform its function safely, while enhancing the quality of life around us.
Examples of this include the Empire State Building and the Sydney Opera House. With its important function in transportation, bridges often create a unique landscape, forming another type of urban landmark. The Golden Gate Bridge, declared one of the modern wonders of the world by the American Society of Civil Engineers, is an excellent example of this. Inseparable from issues of drinking water, irrigation, and flood prevention, dams are one of the most important water facilities, especially here in Taiwan, where reservoirs are not easily stored due to concentrated rainfall between April and October, as well as short and rapid river flow.
2. Structural Engineering and Architecture
Structural engineers focus on the design of "forces": the balance of opposing forces, the beauty of a well-designed system. Architects emphasize the design of ��function��, such as aesthetics, lighting, space. With different points of view, structural engineers and architects often have to work through conflicting opinions with close communication to achieve the most suitable design.
Structural engineering is the design of structural systems which withstand outside forces. Thus, the study of structures and mechanics is inseparable. Basic courses at the Department of Civil Engineering include Engineering Mechanics, and Mechanics of Materials, as well as Theory of Structures, Design of Reinforced Concrete, and Design of Steel Structures.
3. Structural Engineering at NCTU Civil Engineering
Structural engineering encompasses all structural elements and systems. Common structures include buildings, bridges, dams, and towers. Structural engineers determine and design structural elements and systems - the columns, beams, walls, and floors �V that stand up to loads and stresses, ensuring that the structure has the strength to perform its function safely, while enhancing the quality of life around us. Buildings, the structures that surround us, are often the major landmarks of cities. Examples of this include the Empire State Building and the Sydney Opera House. With its important function in transportation, bridges often create a unique landscape, forming another type of urban landscape. The Golden Gate Bridge, declared one of the modern wonders of the world by the American Society of Civil Engineers, is an excellent example of this.
Structural engineering is the design of structural systems which withstand outside forces. Thus, the study of structures and mechanics is inseparable. Basic courses at the Department of Civil Engineering include Engineering Mechanics, and Mechanics of Materials, as well as Theory of Structures, Design of Reinforced Concrete, and Design of Steel Structures. In addition, the graduate program offers courses in various fields, including Reinforced Concrete, Steel Structures, Structural Mechanics, Earthquake Engineering, Computer-Aided Design, Research and Development in Self-Compacting Concrete, and Structure Monitoring (including fiber optics). The first few courses explore the properties of reinforced concrete and steel structures as well as the behavior of linear and non-linear structures. In accordance with national research and development efforts, Earthquake Engineering studies earthquake characteristics, soil structure interaction, and structure dynamic behavior. Renowned for its modern computer technology, National Chiao Tung University��s computer-aided design applies computer graphics, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and parallel computing to assist engineers in structural analysis and design. A future focus in the research of reinforced concrete, self-compacting concrete combines the advantages of being environmentally friendly, creating better quality products, increasing cost effectiveness, and reducing a project��s construction time. Structure safety/health monitoring has become quite valued for its importance in evaluating a structure��s ability to withstand earthquakes.
4. Conclusion
As part of the Six-Year National Development Plan, the Metro Rapid Transit system and the many viaducts of the National Highway No. 2 are the results of sophisticated engineering. The elegant form of the Muzha MRT Station is derived from its structural system. Virtually a piece of art in and of itself, the Bitan Bridge enhances the beauty of the surrounding mountains and waters with its lovely arches, created by a box beam structure. So, who says that structural engineering is just a boring combination of concrete and steel?