“Structural engineers battle gravity, wind, snow and rain every day to provide the world with outstanding structures,” Kate Leighton, structural engineer.
In a nutshell, structural engineers are responsible for ensuring that buildings don’t fall down and bridges don’t collapse. Among one of the oldest types of engineering, dating back to the first time we lashed tree branches together to make a shelter, structural engineering has an integral place in history. With the specific expertise developed by professionals, we have been building increasingly larger and more sophisticated structures, from primitive huts to the International Space Station.
Structural engineering is closely related to civil engineering. The discipline deals with building processes, and the type of structures within the construction industry. The forces and loads on a structure are key to sound building principles and safety precautions because the stresses and strains on various materials must be understood and applied correctly. All structural elements such as framework, columns, beams, and slabs must be evaluated against the potential for bending and elasticity.
An exciting career challenge
- Structural engineers often work alongside civil engineers and architects as part of a construction team.
- When building, particularly bridges, designers must take into account the conditions of terrain, wind, water and traffic volume. Structural engineers consider all of these factors and provide technical advice on the project.
- Structural engineers become experts at solving problems, meeting challenges and providing creative solutions.
- Structural engineers are involved in a range of designs, including roof framing (beams, rafters, joists, trusses), floor framing (floor decks, joists, beams, trusses, girders), as well as arches, columns, braces, frames, foundations and walls.
- The materials they use include steel, concrete, wood, masonry, and aluminium. Engineers design structures that must resist the forces of gravity, earthquakes, high winds, water, soil erosion, collisions and blast explosions.
The job is highly technical and encompasses
- Designing and analysing gravity support and the lateral force resistance of buildings, bridges, power plants, electrical towers, dams, and other large structures that are part of our modern life. Gravity refers to vertical loads and lateral force to horizontal loads. A structure must be designed so that as a system, it can resist all loads intended to act upon it. A structural engineer will focus on frameworks, designing those structures to withstand the stresses and pressures of their environment and so that they remain safe, stable and secure throughout their use.
- Analysing blueprints, maps, reports, and topographical and geological data; estimating the cost and quantities of materials, equipment and labour; computing load and grade requirements, water flow rates, and material stress factors to determine design specifications; inspecting project sites to monitor progress and ensure the project is being constructed according to design specifications; conducting studies of traffic patterns or environmental conditions to identify potential problems and assess how they will affect the project.
Qualifications and skills
- Structural Engineering is considered a specialty within Civil Engineering. Structural Engineers create drawings and specifications, perform calculations, review the work of other engineers, write reports and evaluations, and observe construction sites.
- A Professional Engineer’s license is required in order to practice Structural Engineering. A license can be obtained only after completing a prescribed amount of education and work experience.
- Critical skills will incorporate an in-depth understanding of physics and mathematics, as well as CAD systems, and 3-D visualisation of finished parts and assemblies.
- Along with knowledge of the properties of various materials, such as density, hardness, tensile strength, bulk modulus and bending strength, structural engineers need to calculate how different materials will perform under stresses such as compression, tension, bending and twisting, as well as under various environmental conditions of temperature, pressure, corrosive gases and liquids, and even radiation.
- Equally important, will be knowing how these materials will perform over an extended period of time.
Get in Outsource Engineers to handle your project
Imagine you could take your pick from a dream stable of just about every kind of engineering resource available at a moment’s notice. OutEng offers just that. Comprising a network of trusted, experienced and highly skilled engineers, project managers and technical people, including ECSA registered engineers in almost every discipline, all our engineers are freelancers or contractors who are contracted in per job as their skill is required. Each operates as an independent Business Unit, therefore covering own overheads (working from home or over weekends or remotely).
OutEng is setting new trends and standards in an agile, trust-based business style that is taking the engineering environment by storm. Across a multitude of cost-effective engineering and project services, you can expect:
- solid expertise and experience
- a unique combination of design, project management and engineering capability
- well-informed professionals who are up to date with the latest research.
To find out more, visit: www.outeng.co.za
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