Soil Mechanics
8-11%of exam
Lateral PressureEffective StressBearing CapacitySlope Stability
Site Layout & Development
6-10%of exam
Staking & BenchmarksHorizontal CurvesVertical CurvesUtility Verification
Material Properties
6-10%of exam
Concrete MixSoil ClassificationSteel TypesWood Types
Estimating Quantities & Costs
8-11%of exam
Quantity TakeoffCost EstimatingEngineering EconomicsEarned Value
Project Planning & Scheduling
9-14%of exam
CPM NetworkFloatResource LevelingTime-Cost Tradeoff
Production & Quality Control
9-14%of exam
Material TestingConcrete PlacementWeld & Bolt QCCompaction
Structural Mechanics
9-14%of exam
LoadsStaticsStress & DeflectionStructural Systems
Hydraulics & Hydrology
5-8%of exam
Runoff MethodsOpen-Channel FlowDetention PondsCulverts
Construction Operations & Methods
11-18%of exam
Cranes & RiggingDewateringEquipment SelectionCut & Fill
Support of Construction Loads
12-19%of exam
FormworkFalseworkShoringBracing
Health & Safety
5-8%of exam
OSHA ThresholdsFall ProtectionExcavation SafetyWork Zone Safety
Quick Facts
- Exam
- PE Civil Construction
- Questions
- 80
- Time
- 8 hrs (9-hr appt)
- Pass Score
- Not published
- Format
- CBT, Pearson VUE
- Fee
- $400
- Level
- PE licensure depth exam
- Blueprint
- April 2024
Rankine Earth Pressure
Ka smallest, Kp largest, K0 in between
Ka: active minimumKp: passive maximumK0: at-rest value
Total Stress vs Effective Stress
Total stress
- Includes pore water pressure
- Full overburden weight
Effective stress
- Total minus pore pressure
- Controls soil shear strength
Total minus pore equals effective
Soil Mechanics Formulas
- Ka
- (1-sinφ)/(1+sinφ)Active
- Kp
- (1+sinφ)/(1-sinφ)Passive
- Effective stress
- Total stress minus pore pressure
- FS (slope)
- Resisting force over driving force
- Bearing capacity
- Ultimate soil support pressure
- Consolidation settlement
- Time-dependent clay compression
Layout & Curve Basics
- HI
- Elevation plus backsight reading
- New elevation
- HI minus foresight reading
- R
- 5729.58 divided by degreeArc def
- PC/PT
- Curve start and end
- Potholing
- Field-verify utility depth
- Benchmark
- Known reference elevation point
Material Properties
- Slump test
- Concrete workability measure
- W/C ratio
- Lower ratio, higher strength
- Air entrainment
- Freeze-thaw durability protection
- Atterberg limits
- Soil plasticity classification test
- USCS
- Unified soil classification system
- Prestressed steel
- Pre- or post-tensioned strand
Earned Value Formulas
CV=EV-AC, SV=EV-PV, CPI=EV/AC, SPI=EV/PV
CV: cost varianceSV: schedule varianceCPI: cost efficiencySPI: schedule efficiency
CPI vs SPI
CPI
- Cost performance measure
- EV divided by AC
SPI
- Schedule performance measure
- EV divided by PV
Cost efficiency vs schedule efficiency
Estimating & Economics
- Swell
- Loose volume exceeds bank
- Shrinkage
- Compacted volume below bank
- Load factor
- Bank volume over loose volume
- Mass haul diagram
- Cumulative cut minus fill
- NPV
- Discounted future cash flows
- Break-even point
- Cost equals revenue point
Earned Value Management
- PV
- Planned value, BCWS
- EV
- Earned value, BCWP
- AC
- Actual cost, ACWP
- CV
- EV minus AC
- SV
- EV minus PV
- CPI
- EV divided by AC
- SPI
- EV divided by PV
- EAC
- BAC divided by CPI
Total Float vs Free Float
Total float
- Delay without project delay
- Equals LS minus ES
Free float
- Delay without successor delay
- Local activity slack only
Project delay vs next activity
Schedule Analysis Selection
- Repetitive units like paving or piping→Line of balance
- Complex activity logic ties→CPM network analysis
- Need shorter overall duration→Crash the critical path
- Resource demand is overallocated→Level the resources
- Simple small straightforward project→Bar or Gantt chart
CPM Scheduling
- ES/EF
- Forward-pass activity times
- LS/LF
- Backward-pass activity times
- Total float
- LS minus ES
- Free float
- Delay without delaying successor
- Critical path
- Longest path, zero float
- Crashing
- Shorten duration, add cost
- FS/SS/FF/SF
- Precedence relationship types
Resource & Linear Scheduling
- Resource leveling
- Smooths peak resource demand
- Line of balance
- Repetitive-unit production scheduling
- Time-cost tradeoff
- Balances duration against cost
- Bar chart
- Simple activity-timeline display
- Precedence diagram
- Activity-on-node network method
QA/QC Field Control
- Proctor test
- Maximum density reference standard
- Nuclear density gauge
- Field compaction verification tool
- Concrete maturity
- Strength from temperature-time
- Cylinder break
- 28-day strength verification
- Bolt torque check
- Verifies clamping force
- Weld inspection
- NDT acceptance criteria check
Provided Design Standards
- ACI 347R
- Formwork design guide
- ACI SP-4
- Formwork for concrete
- AISC Manual
- Steel construction manual
- ASCE 37-14
- Construction loads standard
- PCA EB001
- Concrete mixtures guide
- CFR 1926
- OSHA construction safety rules
Structural Mechanics Basics
- Dead load
- Permanent structure weight
- Construction load
- Temporary erection-phase load
- Bending stress
- Mc divided by I
- Shear stress
- VQ divided by Ib
- Deflection check
- Serviceability limit state
- Combined stress
- Axial plus bending superposition
Hydraulics & Hydrology
- Rational method
- Q equals C, i, A
- Manning's equation
- Open-channel flow velocity
- Time of concentration
- Longest travel-time path
- Detention pond
- Temporarily stores peak runoff
- SCS/NRCS method
- Curve-number runoff estimate
- Culvert
- Cross-drainage conveyance structure
Swell vs Shrinkage
Swell
- Loose volume expands
- Excavated soil increases
Shrinkage
- Compacted volume decreases
- Falls below bank volume
Loose state vs compacted state
Earthwork Method Selection
- Cut volume exceeds fill need→Waste to spoil area
- Site needs additional fill material→Import from borrow pit
- Optimizing haul cost and distance→Build mass haul diagram
- Groundwater enters open excavation→Install dewatering system
- Deep small-diameter foundation needed→Drilled shaft or pile
Equipment & Earthwork Operations
- Cut/fill analysis
- Balances earthwork volumes
- Borrow pit
- Imported off-site fill source
- Crane capacity
- Read from load chart
- Outrigger load
- Ground-bearing pressure check
- Dewatering
- Wellpoint or sump control
- Deep foundation install
- Pile or drilled shaft
Temporary Works Sequence
Form, then Falsework, then Shore, then Reshore
Form: shapes concreteFalsework: supports structureShore: supports excavationReshore: after stripping
Formwork vs Falsework
Formwork
- Shapes fresh concrete
- Resists lateral pressure
Falsework
- Supports structure temporarily
- Used before strength gain
Concrete shape vs structure support
Temporary Structure Selection
- Support wet concrete→Formwork(Shapes fresh concrete)
- Support structure before strength gain→Falsework
- Support excavated soil face→Shoring
- Remove forms before full cure→Reshoring
- Resist lateral wind or seismic→Bracing
- Deep unstable-soil excavation wall→Trench box or sheeting
Temporary Structures
- Formwork
- Shapes and contains concrete
- Falsework
- Temporary structural support system
- Shoring
- Supports excavation or structure
- Reshoring
- Support after early stripping
- Bracing
- Provides lateral stability
- Support of excavation
- Retains adjacent soil face
- Form pressure
- Rises with pour rate
Shoring vs Bracing
Shoring
- Supports excavation walls
- Vertical or lateral loads
Bracing
- Provides lateral stability
- Resists wind or seismic
Soil support vs overall stability
OSHA Trigger Depths
5 ft dig, 6 ft fall, 20 ft engineer
5ft: excavation protection6ft: fall protection20ft: PE-designed system
OSHA Trigger Depth/Height
- Excavation reaches 5 feet deep→Protective system required
- Excavation exceeds 20 feet deep→PE-designed system required
- Working at 6 feet high→Fall protection required
- Scaffold platform 10 feet high→Fall protection required
- Ground movement risk exists→Protect regardless of depth
OSHA Construction Thresholds
- Fall protection
- Required at 6 feet
- Excavation protection
- Required at 5 feet
- PE-designed system
- Required beyond 20 feet
- Competent person
- Daily excavation inspections required
- Soil Type A/B/C
- Most to least stable
- Scaffold fall protection
- Required at 10 feet
- MUTCD Part 6
- Temporary traffic control rules
Common Traps
Swell ≠ Shrinkage
Swell: loose volume grows ≠ Shrinkage: compacted volume shrinks
Total Float ≠ Free Float
Total: whole-project delay slack ≠ Free: next-activity delay slack
Formwork ≠ Falsework
Formwork: shapes wet concrete ≠ Falsework: supports temporary structure
CPI ≠ SPI
CPI: measures cost efficiency ≠ SPI: measures schedule efficiency
Total Stress ≠ Effective Stress
Total: includes pore pressure ≠ Effective: controls soil strength
Active Pressure ≠ Passive Pressure
Active: soil moves away ≠ Passive: soil pushed inward
Equated Score ≠ Fixed Percentage
NCEES uses equated scoring ≠ No published cutoff percentage
Last Minute
- 1.80 questions, 8 exam hours
- 2.9-hour appointment includes tutorial and break
- 3.No fixed passing score published
- 4.Support of Loads weighs most
- 5.Operations and Methods rank second
- 6.Fall protection required at 6ft
- 7.Excavation protection required at 5ft
- 8.PE-designed system required beyond 20ft
- 9.Critical path equals zero float
- 10.CV equals EV minus AC
- 11.SPI equals EV over PV
- 12.Swell expands; shrinkage compacts volume
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