Most Asked Civil Engineering Interview Questions and Their Answers

Civil engineering deals with long-storey buildings, and their design, construction, and maintenance over time. The construction of public works, such as sewage systems, roads, canals, and structural components, falls under this field.

Civil engineering is a challenging field where you have to execute your plans to construct buildings and structures within budget without compromising safety. To help you get employed, we have listed civil engineering interview questions that can be used as a guide for your interview preparation.

Most Common Civil Engineering Interview Questions and Answers in 2022

This list of frequently asked civil engineering technical interview questions will help you perform better and increase your chances of getting hired. Here is a list of widely asked interview questions for a civil site engineer:

 

1) What kind of software applications are utilised in civil engineering?

 

The two programmes most frequently used in civil engineering are AutoCAD and 3D Max. These are in handy when creating different high-tech presentations, reports, and billing purposes. With the aid of these two programmes, it is possible to successfully create all designs, models, architectural drawings, and Auto-desk 2D and 3D designs.

 

2) How is the unit weight of concrete determined?

 

The area that the concrete fills must be multiplied by its length, height, and width to get its weight. The concrete's location or volume to be utilised is then obtained. Add 143.38 pounds/feet to the cubic foot volume we have to get the weight of the concrete in pounds.

 

3) What all duties fall under the purview of a construction manager?

 

The duties of a construction manager include

• Performing cost projections
• Pre-purchasing particular materials
• Choosing bidders for the bidding stage
• Proposal analysis
• Contract negotiations for the construction
• Monitoring and planning for construction
• Construction cost management
• Mapping strategies for construction

 

4) List the primary foundation types, followed by a brief description of the hybrid foundation.

 

There are three primary foundation types:

Basement: In this, a basement is first prepared, and then a building is built on top of it.

Crawl space: A crawl space is a raised foundation constructed above the ground with only a small amount of crawl space.

Slab: Concrete is poured directly into the ground-made pit for this foundation type.

High-rise buildings typically use hybrid foundations, which combine soil-supported mats and piles. This kind of foundation aids in lowering the settlement sum.

 

5) What is included in building costs, and what is not?

 

Materials, labour, tools, services, the overhead and profit of the contractor, and other direct construction costs are all included in construction costs. However, it does not include the cost of the property or any additional costs that fall under the owner's ownership, such as compensation paid to the architect, consultant, or engineers.

 

6) What is the strength of cement, and how will you measure it?

 

The cubes of hardened cement-sand mortar, which are made of cement with the strength of 53 MPa, are used to evaluate the cement's strength. It is made from 53 Grade OPC Cement, which gives the cement a 28-day compressive strength. It is one of the most frequent inquiries in civil engineering interviews.

After the curing procedure has lasted for 7 or 28 days, the measurement is completed. The load should be applied gradually at 140 kg/cm2 per minute until the specimens fail. We obtain the specimen's area divided by the concrete or cement's compressive strength at the load failure.

 

7) Explain an architect-prepared contract

 

An agreement between the architect and the owner created internally by the architect and frequently reviewed by an attorney before execution is known as an "architect-prepared contract." It is a binding legal agreement that specifies all terms and conditions and sufficient legal protection for both parties.

 

8) What concrete tests are there?

 

Cement quality is frequently assessed by its compression and the proportion of water to cement. The two main concrete tests are the compression test and the slump test. The minimum density of concrete is tested for permeability and quick chloride ion penetration to prevent rust formation on the steel reinforcement and the consequent spalling and cracking of the concrete.

 

9) What do you mean by prestressing?

 

Concrete can increase its tensile strength even more than with regular RCC by using prestressing. Prestressing involves the following procedures:

• Using spalling reinforcement, stresses are kept from building up beneath the loaded area of anchor blocks.
• Equilibrium reinforcement is a method of prestressing using several anchorages for successive loads. It is used to manage loads on the load line that have concave trajectories.
• On prestressed concrete, we employ bursting reinforcement to address lateral tensile stresses.

 

10) Differentiate between pre-tensioning and post-tensioning.

 

There are two different techniques utilised in pre-stressing: pre-tensioning and post-tensioning. The fundamental idea is to use steel bars or tensioned wires as reinforcement in cured concrete. The wires or bars are fastened to metal support in the pre-tensioning procedure. Hydraulic jacks are then used to provide tension and fix side moulds. The tension framework is then surrounded by concrete to harden it and absorb the compressive force of the jacks.

In terms of how cables and concrete are placed, the post-tensioning approach is conceptually comparable. But after the concrete has dried and become rigid, tension is put on the wires or cables. This method performs well when concrete modular components must be joined to form a larger member on-site.

Conclusion

Civil engineering is one of the crucial and fundamental subfields of engineering. The tall structures, sky scrappers, dams and bridges that you witness today are the result of an eminent civil engineer.

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