Impact of Infrastructural Development on the Economy of a Country

Introduction:

Civil engineering is the oldest branch of engineering which is growing right from the stone age of civilisation. American society of civil engineering defines civil engineering as the profession in which a knowledge of the mathematical and physical sciences gained by study, experience and practice is applied with judgement to develop ways to utilise economically the materials and forces of the nature for the progressive well being of man.

In this chapter various fields of civil engineering are listed and their scope is explained. Impact of infrastructural development on the economy of a country, the role of civil engineers in it is explained. Finally the importance of planning scheduling and construction management in civil engineering is emphasised.

Civil engineering may be divided into the following fields:

(i) Building materials
(ii) Building construction
(iii) Structural engineering
(iv) Geotechnical engineering
(v) Hydraulics, water resources and irrigation engineering
(vi) Water supply and sanitary engineering
(vii) Environmental engineering
(viii) Transportation engineering
(ix) Town planning and architecture
(x) Surveying
(xi) Drawing
(xii) Estimation and specification
(xiii) Management techniques
(xiv) Computer application.

i) Building Materials:

Shelter is the basic need of civilised society. Stones, bricks, timber and lime concrete are the traditional materials used for the construction of houses and other buildings. The invention of cement and concrete has prodivided durable buildings. Reinforced concrete which is composite construction of steel and concrete has helped in building large structurer. Steel, aluminium, glass, plastics, glazed tiles, plaster of paris, linoleum, paints and varnishes have improved the quality  of buildings. Improved versions of many building  materials keep on appearing in the market regularly. A civil engineer has to make use of all these materials judiciously.

(ii) Building Construction:'

Fast rate of urbanisation and increase in the cost of land has forced to go for the vertical growth of buildings. In metropolitan cities, 25 storey buildings are becoming common. Even in small towns 3 to 4 storey buildings have become common. This requirement has brought in new building technologies. Continuous research and development in construction technology is going on to see that huge investment in building is utilised at the earliest. Civil engineers have to look into the problems of rural areas and urban poor people also. There are 23 million Indians without home. Low cost housing is the need of the day to make poor people afford their own houses.

(iii) Structural Engineering:

Before building a structure, it should be analysed and designed to decide about its size to resist the possible forces coming on it. The structure should be safe and at the same time its components should be as small as possible. Up to mid sixties lot of improvements were seen in the classical methods of analysis. Need of tall structures and improvements in computers gave rise to matrix method and finite element method of analysis. Requirement of large column free structures gave rise to analysis and design of shell roofs (curved surfaces), geodetic towers and tension structures. Disasters due to earthquakes have made civil engineers to study earthquake forces and build earthquake resistant structures. It needs the knowledge of structural dynamics. A civil engineer has to not only give a safe structure but he has to give an economical structure also. Hence, there is need for studying mathematical optimisation techniques. All these aspects of analysis and design fall under structural engineering field.

(iv) Geotechnical Engineering:

All structures have to finally transfer the load acting on them to soil safely. Soil property changes from place to place. Even in the same place it may not be uniform at different depth and in different seasons. Hence, a civil engineer has to properly investigate soil and decide about the safe load that can be spread on the soil. This branch of study in civil engineering is known as geotechnical engineering. Apart from finding safe bearing capacity for foundation of buildings, geotechnical engineering involves various studies required for the design of pavements, tunnels, earthen dam, canals and earth retaining structures. It involves study of ground inprovement techniques also.

(v) Hydraulics, Water Resources and Irrigation Engineering:

Water is an important need for all living beings. Study of mechanics of water and its flow characteristics is another important field in
civil engineering and it is known as hydraulics. Requirement of water in cities for domestic purpose and for industries is continuously increasing. Rural areas need water for agricultural field also. Hence civil engineers have to look for new water resources and for storing them. This branch of civil engineering is known as water resources engineering. Water stored in reservoirs by building bunds and dams should be brought to agricultural fields through canals and distributories. Study connected with this aspect is known as irrigation engineering.

(vi) Water Supply and Sanitary Engineering:

When water is required for drinking purpose it should be purified and made potable. Purification of water and the technology involved in taking it to the houses is known as water supply engineering