HNC Civil Engineering

Science and material performance are intrinsically linked through the need to create structures and spaces that perform in both mechanical operation and in providing human comfort.  This unit aims to support you in making material choices to achieve the desired outcomes of a brief. This is approached from the perspective of materials being fit for purpose; as defined by testing standards and properties but also by consideration of the environmental impact and sustainability. You will consider health and safety alongside the need to meet legislative requirements.  

The topics covered in this unit include: health and safety; storage and use of materials; handling and problems associated with misuse and unprotected use; environmental and sustainable consideration in material choices; human comfort performance parameters. Material choice is developed through the understanding of testing procedures to establish conformity to standards and define performance properties. The performance of materials to satisfy regulations and provide appropriate comfort levels is addressed through design and calculations.  

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to make informed decisions regarding material choices, based on understanding the structural behaviour of materials established through recognised testing methods, sustainability, context of build and health and safety. You will be able to perform the calculations necessary to establish anticipated performance of the materials in use and therefore determine their compliance with regulations and suitability.

The aim of this unit is to develop your knowledge and understanding of the mathematical principles and theories that underpin many aspects of construction technology, structures and materials. You will be introduced to mathematical methods and statistical techniques so that they can analyse and solve problems in a construction engineering context.  Topics included in this unit are: trigonometry and algebraic mathematical techniques; matrices; statistical techniques; differential and integral calculus; binomial and normal distribution; dimensional analysis; arithmetic progressions; vector analysis.  On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to employ mathematical methods in a variety of contextualised examples; use analytical and computational methods to evaluate and solve engineering construction problems; interpret data using statistical techniques and apply calculus techniques. you will gain crucial employability skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, analysis, reasoning and data interpretation.

This unit explores the role of professional civil engineers, their essential involvement in the construction and maintenance of infrastructure, and the key technologies they apply. The technologies and processes of civil engineering in the development of highways, bridges and substructures are crucial in supporting contemporary societies.  Topics included in this unit are: earthwork activities; temporary and permanent dewatering procedures; methods and techniques used to create substructures, highways and superstructures and the common hazards; technical problems and solutions associated with modern civil engineering activities.  On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to describe, analyse and evaluate modern civil engineering procedures, apply their skill and knowledge to the design of infrastructure, and produce solutions to address hazards and problems encountered in civil engineering projects.

Buildings, bridges, roads and many other types of man-made structures are critical to the economic and social wellbeing of our society. We rely on these structures to provide us with suitable spaces and infrastructure to support our daily lives. In this unit, you will explore the fundamental principles of structural design, codes of practice and standards required to construct safe, effective static structures commonly used in today’s building and infrastructure projects.  Topics included in this unit are: methods and techniques used to determine bending moments and shear forces in simply supported steel and reinforced concrete beams; deflection in simply supported steel beams; axial load carrying capacity of steel and reinforced concrete columns.  On successful completion of this, unit you will be able to determine and analyse forces within fixed structures and understand the fundamental concepts of structural design.

This unit explores the essential relationship between the things we construct and the capacity of the ground to support these constructions. The ability to understand, analyse and develop solutions related to soil and rock is a key aspect of the design and construction of buildings and infrastructure. Topics included in this unit are: rock type; soil description and classification; methods and techniques used when undertaking site investigations and laboratory testing; determination of soil properties; the importance of these geotechnical procedures and resultant findings to civil engineers. On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to analyse and evaluate modern geotechnical methods and apply these skills and knowledge to the initial design of infrastructure.