Friday 27 April 2018

Civil Engineering Interview Questions

1. How do you measure concrete?

Cubic feet, Cubic yards, Cubic Meter

2. Which is stronger solid steel rod or hollow steel pipe?

On a per pound basis, steel pipe is stronger in bending and is less likely to buckle in axial compression.

3. What is the tallest man made structure in the world?

The tallest man made structure is the KVLY-TV mast which is 2063 feet tall. The worlds tallest man made structure is Burj Dubai which is 800 meter tall.
What is braced excavation all about?
Excavations are braced to prevent the cave-in of surrounding unstable soil.

4. What is the meaning of soil reinforcement?

Soil reinforcement is the act of improving soil strength to enable it support or carry more load.

Two common examples are:


  1. Mixing a soil amendment such as lime into weak clayey soil and re-comPActing to improve soil-bearing caPAcity (often done under the road base in highway construction)
  2. Installing plastic or composite webbing layers (called geo-grid material) alternating with comPActed soil to produce a stronger sloped soil structure (often done on steep roadway embankments to improve strength and stability)


5. What is aggregate?

Aggregate is the component of a composite material used to resist compressive stress.

6. What year was the keystone power plant in Indiana County constructed?

1967 began commercial operation on unit 1.

7. What is the force exerted by the Tacoma narrows bridge?

The force exerted to the Tacoma narrows bridge was initially the wind resistance. The wind resistance caused the whole bridge to act as a system with forced vibration with damping.

8. What are the uses of alloys in daily life and how are alloys made?

Alloying is not always done to produce a 'superior' material, but to produce materials having a desired requirement in the industry or elsewhere. A classic case is of lead solder (containing lead & tin), in which the melting point of the constituent elements are lowered, not necessarily a desirable property.

Alloying can be carried out using hot press method (a sheet of material is sandwiched with alloying material), rolling the heated base metal in a drum full of alloying metal powder, using hot spraying, galvanizing (dipping the base in a molten solution of alloying material) etc. Sometimes the alloying material is added in small proportions to the molten base metal (e.g., in production of different types of steel).

9. 10 What is the worlds largest concrete dam?

The Grand Coulee Dam is said to be the largest concrete dam. Currently the world's largest concrete dam is the Itaipu Dam, an accomplishment of two neighboring countries, Brazil and Paraguay in South America.

Though it is not finished yet, the Three Gorges (or Sandapong) Dam on the Yangtze River in China will take over as the largest upon its completion, which is slated for 2009.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. What are the steps involved in the concreting process, explain?

The major steps involved in the process of concreting are as follows:
1. Batching
2. Mixing
3. Transporting and placing of concrete
4. Compacting.

Batching: The process of measurement of the different materials for the making of concrete is known as batching. batching is usually done in two ways: volume batching and weight batching. In case of volume batching the measurement is done in the form of volume whereas in the case of weight batching it is done by the weight.
Mixing: In order to create good concrete the mixing of the materials should be first done in dry condition and after it wet condition. The two general methods of mixing are: hand mixing and machine mixing.
Transportation and placing of concrete: Once the concrete mixture is created it must be transported to its final location. The concrete is placed on form works and should always be dropped on its final location as closely as possible.
Compaction of concrete: When concrete is placed it can have air bubbles entrapped in it which can lead to the reduction of the strength by 30%. In order to reduce the air bubbles the process of compaction is performed. Compaction is generally performed in two ways: by hand or by the use of vibrators.

Describe briefly the various methods of concrete curing.

Curing is the process of maintaining the moisture and temperature conditions for freshly deployed concrete. This is done for small duration of time to allow the hardening of concrete. The methods that are involved in saving the shrinkage of the concrete includes:

  • Spraying of water: on walls, and columns can be cured by sprinkling water.
  • Wet covering of surface: can be cured by using the surface with wet gunny bags or straw
  • Ponding: the horizontal surfaces including the slab and floors can be cured by stagnating the water.
  • Steam curing: of pre-fabricated concrete units steam can be cured by passing it over the units that are under closed chambers. It allows faster curing process and results in faster recovery.
  • Application of curing compounds: compounds having calcium chloride can be applied on curing surface. This keeps the surface wet for a very long time.


15. What do you understand by “preset” during the installation process of bridge bearings?

During the installation of bridge bearings the size of the upper plates is reduced to save the material costs. This process is known as preset. Generally the upper bearing plate comprises of the following components:
Length of bearing
2 x irreversible movement.
2 x reversible movement.
The bearing initially is placed right in the middle point of the upper bearing plate. No directional effects of irreversible movement is considered. But since the irreversible movement usually takes place in one direction only the displaced direction is placed away from the midpoint. In such cases the length of the upper plate is equal to the length of the length of the bearing + irreversible movement + 2 x reversible movement.

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