Master of Civil Engineering Flashcards
7 cards from real ME or MEng Master of Engineering practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Master of Civil Engineering flashcards as text
In retaining wall design, what is the primary purpose of a drainage layer or weep holes?
Answer: To relieve hydrostatic pressure behind the wall
Drainage layers and weep holes relieve hydrostatic pressure that would otherwise add significant lateral force to the retained soil pressure.
The Hazen-Williams equation is used to calculate:
Answer: Head loss due to friction in pressurized pipe flow
The Hazen-Williams equation estimates friction head loss in full-flowing pressurized pipes using an empirical roughness coefficient C.
Which concrete mix property is measured by the slump test?
Answer: Workability
The slump test measures the workability (consistency) of fresh concrete by recording how much a concrete cone settles after the mold is removed.
A two-span continuous beam has a uniformly distributed load. Compared to a simply supported beam of the same span, the maximum positive bending moment in the continuous beam is:
Answer: Smaller because the interior support reduces midspan moment
Interior supports in continuous beams create negative moments that reduce positive midspan moments compared to simply supported beams.
In soil mechanics, the coefficient of consolidation (Cv) is used to predict:
Answer: Rate of settlement in saturated clay
Cv governs the rate at which excess pore water pressure dissipates and primary consolidation settlement occurs in saturated fine-grained soils.
What does the Thornthwaite method estimate in hydrology?
Answer: Potential evapotranspiration based on temperature and latitude
The Thornthwaite method estimates potential evapotranspiration using mean monthly temperature and day-length adjustments for latitude.
For a steel W-section beam in flexure, the plastic section modulus Z is always __________ the elastic section modulus S.
Answer: Greater than
The plastic modulus Z accounts for full yielding of the cross-section and is always larger than the elastic modulus S, giving a shape factor greater than 1.