Building Engineering

Structural Analysis I
This course provides an introduction to the nature of loads and restraints and types of structural elements, and then reviews the analysis of statically determinate structures. Shear and moment diagrams for beams and frames are considered, along with influence lines, cantilever structures, three-pin arches, cables and fatigue. Virtual work principles are viewed and applied to various structural systems. An introduction to the analysis of indeterminate structures is made, and the Portal method is applied to the analysis of building frames under lateral loads. Displacement methods of an analysis including moment distribution are also studied.

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Building Science
The fundamentals of the science of heat transfer, moisture diffusion, and air movement are presented. Using these fundamentals, the principles of more sustainable building enclosure design, including the design of walls and roofs are examined. Selected case studies together with laboratory investigations are used to illustrate how the required indoor temperature and moisture conditions can be maintained using more durable and more sustainable designs.

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Solid Mechanics II
This course provides a continuing study of the mechanics of deformable solids. Stress and equilibrium conditions, strain and compatibility conditions, stress-strain relations and yield/failure criteria are considered in the context of civil engineering materials. Two-and three-dimensional elasticity theory is developed, with an introduction to the use of tensor notation. Advanced topics in bending, shear and torsion of beams are also covered, as is elementary plate bending theory. The course concludes with a further development and application of energy methods including virtual work, potential energy, strain energy, and related approaches.

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Behaviour and Design of Steel Structures
The behaviour and design of trusses, frames, members and connections in steel building and bridge structures is presented and design methods are developed. Ultimate strength, stability, and postbuckling are emphasized in topical examples including: plate girders, composite steel/concrete girders, second-order frame behaviour, high-strength bolted and welded framing connections. Design applications considering metal fatigue and brittle fracture, and methods of plastic analysis are also introduced. Canadian design standards and the Limit States Design concepts are used.

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Studies in Building Science
This course examines the basic principles governing the control of heat, moisture and air movement in buildings and presents the fundamentals of building enclosure design. With this background, students are required to research advanced topics related to emerging areas of Building Science, and to write and present to the class an individual comprehensive paper related to their research. Lectures for this course will be jointly offered with those of CIV375H1.

Exclusion: CIV375H1.

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Infrastructure for Sustainable Cities
Developing infrastructure for sustainable cities entails understanding the connection between urban morphology and physiology. This course uses a systems approach to analyzing anthropogenic material flow and other components of urban metabolism, linking them to the design of urban infrastructure. Elements of sustainable transportation, green buildings, urban climatology, urban vegetation, water systems and local energy supply are integrated in the design of sustainable urban neighbourhoods.

Prerequisite: CIV340H1, [CIV375H1/CIV575H1], CIV531H1.

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Engineering and Management of Large Projects
This technical elective course will investigate the role of stakeholders in major civil engineering projects; the complexities of managing project stages, multiple stakeholders, and technical challenges, and, social and environmental factors.

Each week includes a different speaker who can address issues related to technical, social, and environmental challenges in the project and how they were overcome.
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Principles of Earthquake Engineering and Seismic Design
The objectives of the course are to acquaint graduate students and practicing engineers with the basics of earthquake engineering and seismic resistant design of structures. Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to interact with seismologists and understand the fundamentals behind seismic hazard maps contained in our codes, apply basic dynamics principles to seismic design, understand the seismic design philosophy that is implemented in all codes and apply the main steps that are involved in the seismic design of buildings made of steel or reinforced concrete. Special emphasis will be given to the real behavior of structures under seismic loading, more specifically the formation of ductile mechanisms, and the assessment of performance under different intensities of seismic input. Common pitfalls in seismic design will be extensively discussed, and the underlying assumptions and code requirements related to the detailing of a number of RC and steel lateral load resisting systems will be presented.

Building Performance Assessment
It is well known that significant performance gaps exist between the building design stage and building operation.  To ensure buildings achieve predicted performance in terms of resource use and occupant comfort, health and wellbeing, post-occupancy performance assessment is required. This course begins by introducing students to common building performance issues, the existing frameworks and rating systems designed to characterize these issues as well as the three performance gap types: prediction, expectation and outcomes.  Next, the relationship between occupants, the building envelope and mechanical systems is explored, including the influence of each of these elements on indoor environmental quality and resource use.  Through a field study in an occupied building, students will gain experience with the metrics, measurement methods and data analysis techniques used in the holistic assessment of building performance. 

Infrastructure Renewal
This course deals with the assessment maintenance and repair of concrete structures. Topics covered include: inspection and monitoring of concrete structures (including instrumentation and non-destructive testing); identification of material failure mechanisms; residual service life prediction; life cycle cost analysis; and methods of repair and rehabilitation. Case studies of problems in structures due to reinforcement corrosion, alkali-aggregate reaction and free-thaw cycling will be investigated in detail. Recent advances in inspection and repair techniques will be critically evaluated.
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Microscopy Applied to Building and Geomaterials
This laboratory course covers visible light, electron, and x-ray microscopic methods for the characterization of concrete and geo-materials, including methods of sample preparation. Topics include fluorescent dye impregnation to characterize cracks/grain boundaries/pores, chemical staining procedures, image and quantitative chemical analysis using free software packages (ImageJ, MultiSpec, and DTSA-II). After taking this course students will be able to take a geologic or concrete sample through the entire process of stabilization, preparation (cutting, grinding, polishing) and examination by microscopic methods.

Construction Contract Documents
This course examines various construction contract documents used by government and private bodies. Legal principles and relevant cases are discussed with a view to providing students with an understanding of the legal framework surrounding the documents. Contractual problems including the nature, causes, and quantification of construction claims are also examined. Emphasis is placed on how to avoid construction contract problems, as well as how disputes may be efficiently resolved once they arise. Issues of payment security, bankruptcy, liens and professional liability are also studied.

The Business of Knowledge in Civil Engineering

Building Energy Performance Simulation
Description:
Building performance simulation (BPS) is the process of imitating/predicting aspects of building performance with computational building models. The models draw heavily upon the disciplines of heat and mass transfer, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, light transmission, and occupant behaviour. BPS allows improving the design and operation of buildings through quantitative analyses. This course will provide students with theoretical knowledge and practical skills to effectively apply BPS tools in design and analysis contexts focusing on building heating and cooling loads, building energy systems, and whole-building energy performance
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Special studies courses are offered when a Professor is available to instruct on a new or unusual topic. Each topic offered constitutes one normal half-course. Special studies course codes may be taken more than once provided that the topic is different each time.

Special Studies in Civil Engineering - Building Information Modelling
Rationale:

Advanced practices in construction project management are enabled by several fundamental shifts. The course will explore the interplay between two of the most significant shifts. First, smart hardware (from virtual reality to robotics and IoT), which are transforming site technology and construction methods. Second, and probably more importantly, advanced data analytics and the use of machine learning are revolutionizing work processes and decision making.

The effective adoption and use of these advanced systems hinge on the use of equally advanced informatics systems. With BIM becoming a stable technology, we now have a more sizable and reliable data corpus. This is encouraging researchers and the industry to embrace advances in artificial intelligence such as data analytics and machine learning systems.

The interplay between these two domains is what enables the automation of work tasks and the deployment of business intelligence tools. Students will explore the state-of-the-art tools in both domains. They will study the fundamental assumptions, emerging technologies, and data models that enable the effective implementation of smart hardware and data analytics in construction. The students will examine the means to design and manage virtual construction systems in an effective way.

Ultimately, the course is designed to enable students to question normative thinking practices that have dominated research and technology in the construction industry. They will interactively develop their own synthesis of the fundamental paradigm shifts in knowledge modeling that enables the development and effective use of virtualization and analytics systems in design and construction.
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Special studies courses are offered when a Professor is available to instruct on a new or unusual topic. Each topic offered constitutes one normal half-course. Special studies course codes may be taken more than once provided that the topic is different each time.

Special Studies in Civil Engineering - Asset Management
This course presents a number of quantitative tools and analytical methods for the asset manger. Topics covered include data modeling and management, stochastic and deterministic models for asset deterioration, models for optimal asset repair/replacement decisions, tools for asset risk assessment, multi criteria decision making models in the context of asset management problems, infrastructure resiliency and adaptation for climate change. Two guest lecturers will be invited to present current practices and emerging trends. A course project will involve the application of tools and methods presented in class on actual infrastructure data sets.
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Special studies courses are offered when a Professor is available to instruct on a new or unusual topic. Each topic offered constitutes one normal half-course. Special studies course codes may be taken more than once provided that the topic is different each time.

Large Scale Infrastructure and Sustainability

The next 15 years will see major changes in the global infrastructure system. To meet local, national and international sustainability goals, this next generation of infrastructure must be planned, designed and built in new ways. Large scale infrastructure projects have impacts well beyond their stated primary purpose: they consume significant amounts of natural resources and, once built, change how we live, work and move. As key players in planning, designing, constructing and commissioning large infrastructure projects, engineers have a special responsibility to understand the myriad ways infrastructure interacts with our natural and social systems. This course will explore what sustainability means in the context of infrastructure development, examine infrastructure needs and sustainability at the global and project scale, and provide students with skills and techniques to have an impact on infrastructure sustainability in their future work. At the end of this course, students will be able to think critically about the wider impacts of large-scale infrastructure projects and use this knowledge alongside their technical engineering skills to develop better outcomes. Students will learn approaches and skills for analysing (and influencing) the sustainability of infrastructure systems at the project and system scale.

Alternative Energy Systems
This courses covers the basic principles and design of selected alternative energy systems. Systems discussed include solar thermal systems, solar photovoltaic, wind technology, fuel cells, and energy storage.

Pre-requisites: MIE210H, MIE312H and some knowledge of chemistry, or equivalent courses

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Statistical Models in Empirical Research
This course covers various statistical models used in empirical research, in particular human factors research, including linear regression, mixed linear models, non-parametric models, generalized linear models, time series modeling, and cluster analysis. For various observational and experimental data, students will be proficient in generating relevant hypotheses to answer research questions, selecting and building appropriate statistical models, and effectively communicating these results through interpretation and presentation of results. Basic knowledge in probability, statistics, and experimental design is required. The course will not focus on the design of experiments. In addition to homework assignments and exams, the students will review and critique journal articles and conference papers for the validity of the use of various statistical models. The students will work on a term long project of their choice and will be encouraged to relate this assignment to their current research projects. The examples used in class and the assignments will be drawn from human factors research. However, the students will not be required to use human factors data for their project. More Info