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The following are common civil engineering terms broken down into their relative categories.
25 Common Civil & Structural Engineering Terms & Abbreviations
- BIM: Building Information Modelling – The process of modelling structures using computer software to model how structures behave to produce structural drawings
- CAD: Computer-Aided Design – Use of computer software to design, produce drawings, optimise and analyse structures and is also used to increase the designer productively and improve the design quality
- BOQ: Bill Of Quantity – A schedule that includes the materials used in construction and is also used for pricing and budgeting purposes
- D.W.G.: Drawings
- D.L.: Dead Load
- L.L.: Live Load
- W.L.: Wind Load
- U.T.S.: Ultimate Tensile Strenght – Is the maximum force a member can take before breaking
- USD: Ultimate Strength Design
- M.O.E.: Modules of Elasticity – The ratio between the object stress and strain which measures the object’s resistance to deformation
- B.M.: Bending Moment
- F.B.D: Free Body Diagram – This is the analysis of a member to determine the forces on the member and its supports
- B.M.D.: Bending Moment Diagram – Structural analysis to determine how the member is deforming when experiencing a bending moment
- S.F.D.: Shear Force Diagram – How structure deforms when experiencing a shear force
- L.O.S.: Level Of Service – Measure the capacity of a road, bridge or highway at a certain time during the day
- P.H.F.: Peak Hour Factor
- Dia: Diameter
- E.J.: Expansion Joints
- E.F.: Each Face
- E.E.: Each End
- E.S.: Each Side
- C.J.: Construction Joint
- C.R.W.: Concrete Retaining Wall
- P.V.C.: Polyvinyl Chloride – A plastic-type common in plastic pipes
- HAVC: Heat, Ventilation, And Air Conditioning
18 Common Concrete & Steel Design Terms & Abbreviations
- G.P.: General Purpose Cement
- CP: Cement Plaster
- Creep: Permanent deformation from consistent loading
- Shrinkage: Reduction in volume caused by water moving out of the concrete porous body
- CC: Concrete cover – This is the distance between the concrete surface and the embedded outer layer of reinforced steel
- Ast: Area of the steel in tension
- R.C.: Reinforced concrete
- R.C.C.: Reinforced Cement Concrete
- M.O.I.: Moment of inertia
- N.A.: Neutral Axis
- U.L.S.: Ultimate Limited State – A state where the design is loaded to its breaking point
- S.L.S.: Service Limit State – State of design at which the structure is expected to behave under normal conditions
- ERSB: Equivalent rectangular stress block – Is a method of designing concrete beams
- P.C.: Precast Concrete
- T.O.B.: Top Of Beam
- T.O.C.: Top Of Concrete
- TOW: Top Of Wall
- I-Beam: A steel beam that looks exactly like the letter I
9 Common Surveying Terms & Abbreviations
- Datum: A reference point with a known coordinate (such as sea level) used as a starting point to determine design level and distances
- R.L.: Reduced Level – A point below or above the datum found from surveying operations to determine the design level
- B.M.: Benchmark – Height above datum that is recorded by authoritative personnel and founded on places unlikely to move and serve as a reference point
- Change Point: A point at which two readings are taken on the staff; those readings reference the height before and after changing the level location
- B.S.: Backsight – This is the first reading taken by the surveyor after setting the level and is taken from a benchmark or change point
- I.S.: Intermediate sight – Intermediate point or points between the B.S. and F.S.
- F.S.: Foresight – This is the last reading taken by the surveyor
- Azimuth: This is a horizontal angle used as a reference angle for the theodolite and is always measured in a clockwise direction
- Chainage: Imaginary line the measure distances
15 Common Project Management Terms & Abbreviations
- PM: Project Manager
- PE: Project Engineer
- CM: Construction Manager
- CA: Contract Administrator
- B.D.: Business Development Engineer
- E.S.T.: Estimator Engineer
- MD: Managing Director
- AE: Assistant Engineer
- GE: Graduate Engineer
- ARCH: Architect
- P.O.: Purchase Order
- W.O.: Work Order
- L.O.A.: Letter of Award
- QC: Quality Control
- QS: Quality Surveyor
For more similar topics, see our Civil Engineering Library.
