Undergraduate Courses 2018-19

A compulsory, one year course for CIVL/CIEV/CIGBM students only. This course is designed to provide academic advising to students and/or to develop students' interpersonal skills in handling technical and non-technical issues in their professional careers. Graded P, PP or F.

Plane surveying fundamentals including preliminaries and planning, leveling, triangulation, traversing, detail survey and plotting by AutoCAD, least squares adjustments setting out; followed by one-week surveying camp in the Winter Session. Final grades issued after completion of the surveying camp.

Fluency in graphical communication skills using freehand sketching, draughting equipment and computer draughting. Drawing procedures and relevant civil engineering standards. Layout and development of multiple orthographic views, sectional views and dimensioning. Graded P or F.

A general overview of civil and environmental engineering, infrastructure development and engineering ethics is provided. The course includes both lectures and laboratory sessions, where the laboratory sessions are primarily directed to students who require the development of feasible conceptual solutions for the analysis and design of the basic problems in structural, geotechnical and environmental engineering. For first year engineering students under the four‐year degree curriculum only.

This course intends to facilitate student’s exploration in earthquake engineering through hands-on experiments. Students are grouped to design and build scaled building models using wood, glue, strings and rubber bands, which are loaded and tested on a shake table under simulated earthquake ground motion. Through the design, build and test process, students can observe the effect of different design variables and details on the test result. Students are then guided to interpret the observations, identify possible issues, explore relevant knowledge, and propose viable options for improvement. Students need to reflect what they have learned on a revised building model and contest other groups in a final competition.

Introduction to fundamental structural concepts; development and evolution of structural materials and structural forms; creative expression in the Built Environment; various kinds of monumental structures: temples and cathedrals, bridges, towers, stadiums, skyscrapers and other special buildings; outlook for the future.

Introduction to up-to-date environmental issues in both local and global scales; providing essential physical, chemical, biological and societal concepts required to understand the nature of pollution and environmental problems; applying science, engineering, management and social science approaches to solutions to environmental issues that affect our water, air, land, eco-systems, living environment, and sustainable development. The objective of this course is to equip our next generation leaders in different disciplines with enhanced environmental awareness and knowledge of tools and solutions to environmental issues. They will therefore be able to make responsible decisions and actions, with due consideration of the environment and sustainability. Each lesson is divided into two parts. The first part is the introduction and discussion of essential concepts and environmental issues and debates of these issues and will be delivered and guided by the instructor. The second part involves presentations of projects, focus studies, or service learning activities of new, emerging environmental issues selected by student groups, with emphases on solutions to the issues.

As the extreme weather events emerge as one of the most prominent global risks, climate change and the accompanying natural disasters are no longer a side agenda, but play a critical role in maintaining sustainable societies and economies. This course aims to inspire students to take a broader perspective on environmental issues, in addition to advancing the scientific knowledge of climate change and extreme weather. To effectively achieve this purpose, the course introduces the case studies that emphasize the huge implications of extreme events (e.g. drought, flood, heat waves, typhoon) and their linkage with the warming due to greenhouse gases. This course also assesses the potential impacts of climate changes and extremes on social, economic and environmental sustainability through a multidisciplinary approach.

An introduction to civil engineering practice and infrastructure development, with an emphasis on Hong Kong projects. The basic principles, materials and technology used in typical civil engineering works such as foundations, buildings, bridges, slopes and water supply systems, etc. Infrastructure management and maintenance issues; social-economic aspects of large-scale civil engineering projects such as environmental protection, urban planning and development, etc.

Big History as an emerging interdisciplinary framework, provides a long term perspective to see the world through reconstructing the history from the big bang all the way to the present. In such a longer time scale, overview of stars, planetary and species evolution, as well as concepts in climate change and how it is related to sustainability of the planet's environment for its current inhabitants, including humanity, will be discussed. The physical science basis, impacts, risk, mitigation and adaptation measures of climate change will also be investigated (including technical and social solutions). For local and regional vulnerabilities, such as extreme weather events, sea-levels rise, storm surge and coastal flooding, will be covered. The significance of collective learning under the big history framework, both as a driver for our exponentially growing impacts, as well as for better solutions, will be highlighted.

Continuation of CIVL 1010. Graded P, PP or F.

A practical training course in an industrial simulated environment. For students of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department only. Graded P, PP or F.

Application of Newton’s laws to engineering problems; statics of particles; rigid bodies; equivalent systems of forces; equilibrium of rigid bodies; distributed forces; centroids; moments of inertia; analysis of truss & frame structures; axial, shear and bending moment diagrams; friction.

Analysis of stress, strain and deformation; linear and non-linear material behavior; strain energy; bending of beams, deflection; stability and buckling of compression members; shear and torsional stresses.

Identification and modeling of non-deterministic problems in civil engineering, and the treatment thereof relative to engineering design and decision making. Development of stochastic concepts and simulation models, and their relevance to real design and decision problems in various areas of civil engineering.

This course will cover basic principles and techniques for analyzing engineering systems. It will entail an introduction to linear programs, network analysis, critical path method, benefit-cost and present value analyses of engineering projects.

Present current environmental issues and management concepts; apply essential chemical and physical principles required to understand pollution problems; integrate knowledge from science and engineering to solve and assess environmental problems affecting water, air, noise and waste; cover concepts, ordinances and case studies of environmental impact assessment of civil infrastructure projects.

An introduction to the mechanics of fluids, including fluid statics, kinematics and fundamental equations of fluid flow, laminar and turbulent flow, boundary layers and applications in the design of hydraulic structures.

Properties of engineering materials and their relation to the internal structure of materials; includes physical properties of construction materials like portland cement concrete, asphalt, polymers, ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals.

Continuation of CIVL 2010. Graded P, PP or F.

For students of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department only. Internship training provides students the opportunity to gain professional experience and to apply theories to real-life situations. Students are required to complete a minimum of six weeks on-the-job training in civil engineering consulting firms, contractors, developers or relevant government departments, or an equivalent of 5-week mock construction training under the supervision of professional practitioners. Graded P or F.

This course covers the basic knowledge, skills and techniques in construction management. It entails an introduction to the construction industry, initial and feasibility studies, impact assessment, tendering process, local statutory ordinances, contract strategy and management, cost estimation and control, project finance, resource allocation, and site safety. For CIVL and CIEV students only.

Structural forms and modeling, statically determinate structures, statically indeterminate structures, force and displacement methods, deflections of structures, influence lines, approximate analysis, energy methods.

Ultimate limit state design of reinforced concrete beams, slabs, columns, and beam-column joints; serviceability limit states of deflection and cracking.

Introduction to basic concepts of water quality, fundamentals of water and wastewater treatment processes, analysis of treatment process flowsheets, analysis of water quality management alternatives.

This course introduces basic and fundamental knowledge essential to the design and analysis of hydrosystems engineering problems (e,g., water supply, flood control, stormwater drainage, etc.). The course consists of two interrelated parts: hydrology and hydraulics. Hydrology covers various processes of water cycle (including precipitation, infiltration, rainfall-runoff modeling, and flow routings) that produce loads on hydrosystems. Hydraulics, on the other hand, applies fluid mechanics principles to the design and analysis the capacity of hydrosystems infrastructures such as pipe networks and channel networks as well as hydraulic machinery.

For students of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department only. Introduction to transportation systems; characteristics of transportation models; traffic flow fundamentals; geometric design of highways; travel demand analysis including trip generation, modal split and trip assignment.

This course will focus on the geotechnical mechanics and associated soil behavior, including basic engineering geology, characteristics of soils, soil compaction, the principle of effective stress, shear strength of soils, the concept of critical state modeling, permeability, seepage problems, ground settlement and consolidation. The laboratory section consists of five different experiments. For CIVL and CIEV students under the four-year degree only.

Introduction to geotechnical analysis and design including slope stability analysis, bearing capacity of soils, lateral earth pressures, design of retaining wall, shallow and piled foundations, geotechnical centrifuge modeling and field monitoring.

Selected topics in Civil Engineering of current interest to the Department and not covered by existing courses.

Continuation of CIVL 3220. Contract strategy, tender documents, methods of invitation of tenders, contract management, site supervision, financial control, site safety, variation order.

This course introduces the basic methods, tools and techniques in managing and financing a project. Management subjects cover project planning, cost management, time management, materials management, change management, construction labor, safety management, and communication management. Financial subjects cover debt and equity finance, project risk analysis, cost and benefits of political risk insurance, project funding and cash flow, option pricing, and credit scoring of project finance debt. Programming issues and Monte Carlo simulation for project management and finance models will also be discussed.

The course covers legal and contractual issues that may affect practicing engineers in their planning, design, construction and management of engineering projects. Topics include general principles of common and civil legal systems, the Hong Kong legal environment, contract laws, tort laws, company laws, laws on evidence and the building laws. The course also covers topics such as conflict of laws and international commercial arbitrations, engineers acting as expert witness in court and arbitral tribunals.

Limit state design of steel structures, stability analysis of thin-walled members, design of tension members, columns, beams, plate girders, beam-columns, structural connections, plastic analysis and design.

Single degree of freedom systems, multi-degree of freedom systems, continuous systems, random vibrations, dynamic behavior under wind loads and earthquakes.

Historical development; methods of prestressing, elastic analysis and design; flexural and shear capacity; losses of prestress; anchorage zones; composite members; design procedures and applications.

Structural systems for buildings, loads on structures, selection of structure schemes, preliminary analysis and design, computer-aided proportioning, special consideration in high-rise structures, composite design.

Matrix formulation of structural analysis using stiffness method, solution of linear equations, applications to civil engineering structures, modeling of large and complex structural systems.

Basic meteorology, structure of wind near the ground, wind induced vibrations, wind loading codes, wind tunnel test techniques.

This course describes relationship of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and environmental policy act; methods and procedures for environmental impact identification, prediction, evaluation and mitigation; contents in an EIA report.

This course introduces principles of systems analysis for the planning and management of the environment. The course aims to provide students with the ability to define environmental systems, evaluate alternatives for making optimal decisions, and develop sustainable solutions. Simple to complex case studies are used to present concepts of environmental modeling and single-objective optimization to identify best strategies for environmental quality control. Concepts of multi-objective optimization and Pareto efficiency are also presented for solving problems with conflicting economic and environmental goals. These key concepts are applied to a selection of environmental problems, including problems of water and air quality, solid waste management, and climate change.

This course aims to provide students with an understanding of the sources and impacts of climate change, national and international policies, Kyoto Protocol, carbon credits and offset concepts. As engineers to be, students will also be able to calculate organization's carbon footprint, identify suitable mitigation strategies and provide carbon reduction solutions.

Basic principles in the process design of environmental engineering facilities, such as water and wastewater treatment systems, pump station, as well as sanitary landfill disposal.

Historical and health impact studies related to air pollution. Atmospheric stability and its impact on the transport and dispersion of pollutants. Sources of major air pollutants. Comparison of urban, industrial and transport related air pollution issues, using Hong Kong and Pearl River Delta as examples. Control of stationary and mobile emission sources. Air quality management - framework, policy tools and comparison of different approaches.

Climate models are the complex mathematical representation of the major climate system components (e.g. atmosphere, ocean, land surface, etc) and their interactions. Climate models have proved to be the most valuable tools in understanding climate processes that determine the response of the climate system to anthropogenic forcings, such as increases in greenhouse gases concentrations and land use changes. This course provides an introduction to the physical principles of climate model as well as all procedures related to climate modeling. Some classes will be taught in the computer laboratory, where students will perform their own simulations using web-based climate model and analyze the results. In addition, this course explores the challenge of understanding and managing the risks of climate extremes.

The course integrates the knowledge of hydrology, hydraulics, statistics, economics, and optimization in the dealing with municipal hydrosystems engineering and management. In particular, focuses will be given to quantity aspect of water supplies and water excesses. The hydrosystems to be covered include water distribution, urban sewage and stormwater drainage, reservoirs/detention facilities, pumps, etc.

The course discusses waves and their applications in water supply, sewers, channels, lakes, and oceans.

Transportation economics, land use and transportation system, queuing theory and traffic flow analysis, intersection control and design, urban transit operations and management.

This course introduces fundamental knowledge in engineering geology and related engineering topics, including the earth system and tectonics, rock-forming minerals and clay minerals, igneous / sedimentary / metamorphic rocks, structural geology, earthquakes, surface processes and soil formation. It also includes field trips to Hong Kong GeoParks.

This course aims to teach students to apply the fundamental principles of saturated and unsaturated soil mechanics to the analysis and design of slope stability. The course covers slope failure mechanisms, transient seepage analysis, measurement and selection of shear strength parameters, historical and recent methods of slope stability analysis, designs of slope stabilization measures and instrumentation.

Use of specific and general-purpose computer software to solve common geotechnical problems associated with empirical relationships, seepage, consolidation, pile applications, excavations, and general soil behavior. Brief introductions to and applications of finite difference, finite element and other numerical solution techniques are included.

This course introduces basic concepts of rock mechanics applied to geotechnical engineering; topics includes: index properties and classification of rocks, rock strength and failure criteria, initial stresses in rocks, rock mass properties, underground openings in rocks, rock slopes, rock foundations and stabilization of rock mass.

Constituents of concrete; failure mechanisms and mechanical properties; advanced cementitious composites: high strength, fiber, polymer, high performance; fibrous composite materials: composition, anisotrophic behavior, engineering constant, failure criteria; non-destructive evaluation: wave, scan, ultrasonic, acoustic emission, infrared thermography.

Specialist courses where instruction is generally given on a one-to-one basis. Graded by letter or P/F subject to different offerings. May be graded PP.

The two-term Final Year Project involves applications of civil and environmental engineering principles to the design, planning, experimental or analytical investigation of current engineering design and research problems. The credit load will be spread over two terms. For CIVL and CIEV students in their final year of study only. May be graded PP.

The two-term Final Year Thesis is for the students of CIVL and CIEV Research Option who are interested in experiencing research at the undergraduate level. The Final Year Thesis involves applications of civil engineering principles to the design, planning, experimental or analytical investigation of current engineering design and research problems. The credit load will be spread over two terms. For CVL and CIEV students in their final year of study only. May be graded PP.

This course transforms engineering students into student engineers through execution of a full-scale authentic design project, under the direct guidance of a team of professional engineers. The capstone project involves the integration of prior design knowledge, teamwork and communication skills to make competent design decisions in civil engineering workplace. Design topics may include project planning, feasibility studies, environmental impact assessments, site development, foundation design, structural design, transportation engineering, cost estimating, contract document preparation, and construction project management. Students should have successfully completed the third year of undergraduate study.

A two-semester long final year project involves applications of civil engineering principles to the design, planning, experimental or analytical investigation of current engineering design and research problems. The credit load will be spread over two semesters. Students should have completed the second-year program.