Loads and Applications
15-23%of exam
Forces and Load Effects
21-33%of exam
Temporary Structures + Other Topics
6-10%of exam
Materials and Properties
13-19%of exam
SoilsConcrete + SteelTimber + MasonryMaterial Conformance
Component Design and Detailing
33-49%of exam
Quick Facts
- Exam
- PE Civil: Structural
- Identity
- PE Civil discipline exam
- Questions
- 80
- Exam time
- 8 hours
- Appointment
- 9 hours
- Break
- 50 minutes
- Format
- CBT; year-round
- Item types
- MCQ + AIT
- Book status
- Closed book
- References
- Electronic only
- Units
- SI + USCS
- Fee
- $400
- Cut score
- Not published
- Weights
- Rounded question-range shares
Load Path Chain
Area -> line -> reaction -> foundation
q: area loadw: line loadR: support forceP: foundation load
Nominal vs Factored
Nominal
- Unfactored load
- Standard base value
- Classify first
Factored
- Factors applied
- Strength combination
- Ultimate demand
Classify before combining
Blueprint Map
- Loads
- 12-18 questions
- Effects
- 17-26 questions
- Temporary
- 5-8 questions
- Materials
- 10-15 questions
- Design
- 26-39 questions
- Total
- 80 questions
- Methods
- Design + analysis + application
- Standards
- Listed editions control
Gravity Loads
- Dead load
- Permanent components
- Live load
- Occupancy-related loading
- Construction load
- Stage-specific temporary loading
- Self-weight
- Include exactly once
- q = gamma t
- Volume-to-area load
- w = q b
- Area-to-line load
- Tributary area
- Geometry controls share
- Load path
- Roof through foundation
Environmental + Earth Loads
- Wind
- Exposure + geometry control
- Seismic
- Inertial mass response
- Snow
- Roof geometry matters
- Rain
- Drainage and ponding
- Ice
- Atmospheric icing load
- Moving load
- Critical placement matters
- Impact
- Dynamic amplification
- Surcharge
- Adds lateral pressure
- Hydrostatic
- Pressure increases with depth
- Active earth
- Wall moves away from backfill
- Passive earth
- Wall moves into backfill
Load Paths + Combinations
- Diaphragm
- Distributes lateral forces
- Collector
- Transfers diaphragm force
- Chord
- Carries diaphragm bending
- Strength combo
- Factored ultimate demand
- Service combo
- Usability demand
- Building loads
- ASCE 7-16
- Bridge loads
- AASHTO LRFD 8th
- Complete path
- Continuous resistance to ground
Diagram Chain
Load changes shear; shear changes moment
dV/dx = -wdM/dx = VZero shear: moment extreme
Strength vs Serviceability
Strength
- Failure limit states
- Factored demand
- Design resistance
Serviceability
- Deflection/drift/vibration
- Service demand
- Usability
Safety vs usability
Analysis Method Picker
- Axial shortening→PL/AE(Prismatic elastic)
- Beam normal stress→My/I(Elastic flexure)
- Beam shear stress→VQ/It(At selected depth)
- Built-up shear transfer→VQ/I(Shear flow)
- Simple beam deflection→Handbook formula(Match loading)
- General elastic deflection→Virtual work(Unit load)
- Elastic column buckling→Euler load(Use effective length)
- Moving-load response→Influence line(Place critical load)
- Principal stresses→Mohr circle(Stress transformation)
Statics + Stress
- Sum Fx = 0
- Horizontal equilibrium
- Sum Fy = 0
- Vertical equilibrium
- Sum M = 0
- Rotational equilibrium
- dV/dx = -w
- Load changes shear
- dM/dx = V
- Shear changes moment
- sigma = P/A
- Axial normal stress
- sigma = My/I
- Elastic flexural stress
- tau = VQ/It
- Beam shear stress
- q = VQ/I
- Shear flow
- delta = PL/AE
- Axial deformation
Stress Pair
Axial P/A; flexure My/I
P/A: uniform axialMy/I: linear flexureSigns follow convention
One-Way vs Punching Shear
One-way shear
- Beam-like action
- Section across width
- Near support
Punching shear
- Two-way action
- Perimeter around column
- Concentrated reaction
Strip section vs perimeter
Deflection + Stability
- Torsion
- Twisting shear response
- Progressive collapse
- Local failure spreads
- Bearing stress
- Force over contact area
- EI
- Flexural rigidity
- Moment-area
- Slope and deflection
- Virtual work
- General elastic deflection
- Euler load
- pi squared EI/(KL) squared
- KL/r
- Member slenderness
- P-Δ
- Global sway effect
- P-δ
- Member curvature effect
- Serviceability
- Deflection + drift + vibration
- Fatigue
- Stress range and cycles
- Thermal strain
- alpha Delta T
Local vs Global Buckling
Local
- Plate element buckles
- Width-thickness controls
- Section capacity affected
Global
- Whole member buckles
- KL/r controls
- Bracing matters
Element vs member
Shoring vs Reshoring
Shoring
- Initial temporary support
- Supports fresh construction
- Installed first
Reshoring
- Support after stripping
- Redistributes construction loads
- Sequence matters
Initial vs replacement support
Temporary Works
- Special inspection
- Verifies designated work
- Shop drawing
- Fabrication + installation details
- RFI
- Requests contract clarification
- Delegated design
- Assigned specialty design
- Formwork
- Shapes fresh concrete
- Falsework
- Supports unfinished construction
- Shoring
- Initial temporary support
- Reshoring
- Support after stripping
- Scaffold
- Worker access platform
- Bracing
- Controls temporary instability
- Temporary anchorage
- Resists erection loads
- Adjacent facilities
- Check construction impacts
- Construction safety
- Designated OSHA provisions
Effective Stress
Total minus pore equals effective
sigma: totalu: pore pressuresigma prime: effective
Pretension vs Post-Tension
Pretension
- Tendons stressed first
- Concrete cast afterward
- Bond transfers force
Post-tension
- Concrete cast first
- Tendons stressed later
- Anchors transfer force
Before cast vs after cure
Soil Behavior
- Effective stress
- Total minus pore pressure
- Saturation
- Water-filled void fraction
- Darcy flow
- q = k i A
- Consolidation
- Time-dependent settlement
- Friction angle
- Granular shear strength
- Cohesion
- Shear-strength intercept
- Permeability
- Fluid-flow ease
- Compressibility
- Volume-change tendency
- Soil classification
- Gradation plus plasticity
Material Properties + Conformance
- Concrete f'c
- Specified compression strength
- Steel Fy
- Specified yield strength
- Timber
- Orthotropic; exam uses ASD
- Masonry f'm
- Assembly compression strength
- Prestress
- Introduces precompression
- Pretension
- Bond transfers prestress
- Post-tension
- Anchors transfer prestress
- Slump
- Fresh concrete consistency
- Cylinder test
- Concrete compression check
- Mill certificate
- Steel property traceability
- Cold-formed steel
- Thin-walled member design
Retaining Stability
Slide, overturn, bear, then global
S: slidingO: overturningB: bearingG: global stability
Active vs Passive Pressure
Active
- Wall moves away
- Lower lateral pressure
- Driving action
Passive
- Wall moves into backfill
- Higher lateral resistance
- Requires movement
Away vs into soil
Design Check Picker
- Beam bending→Flexure strength
- Beam web demand→Shear strength
- Column compression→Stability + interaction
- Combined P and M→Interaction equation
- Slab near column→Punching shear
- Steel connection→Bolt/weld limit states
- Concrete anchor→Steel + concrete modes
- Footing eccentricity→Bearing pressure
- Retaining wall→All stability modes
- Service complaint→Deflection/drift/vibration
Members + Systems
- Beam
- Flexure + shear
- Column
- Axial + bending
- Slab
- One-way or two-way
- Diaphragm
- Horizontal lateral distributor
- Shear wall
- Vertical lateral member
- Braced frame
- Primarily axial action
- Moment frame
- Rigid-joint frame action
- Truss
- Idealized axial members
- Composite action
- Requires shear transfer
- Bridge distribution
- Follow AASHTO methods
- Strut
- Compression force path
- Bearing wall
- Supports gravity load
Bearing vs Slip-Critical Bolts
Bearing
- Bolt bears on hole
- Shear transfer
- Slip may occur
Slip-critical
- Pretensioned bolt
- Faying-surface friction
- Slip controlled
Bearing vs friction transfer
Reference Picker
- Building loads→ASCE 7-16
- Building code→IBC 2018
- Concrete design→ACI 318-14
- Steel design→AISC 15th
- Bridge design→AASHTO 8th
- Wood design→NDS 2018(ASD only)
- Wood wind or seismic→SDPWS 2015(ASD only)
- Masonry design→TMS 402/602-16
- Precast/prestress→PCI 7th
- Construction safety→CFR Title 29(Listed sections only)
- General mechanics→PE Civil Handbook
Connections
- Bearing bolt
- Load through bearing
- Slip-critical bolt
- Faying-surface friction
- Fillet weld
- Equal-leg throat = 0.707 leg
- Weld group
- Force plus eccentric moment
- Block shear
- Combined tension-shear path
- Anchor tension
- Steel + concrete modes
- Anchor shear
- Edge distance matters
- Development length
- Transfers reinforcing force
- Embed plate
- Transfers interface forces
- Connection ductility
- Preferred yielding sequence
Shallow vs Deep Foundations
Shallow
- Near-surface support
- Footings and mats
- Bearing + settlement checks
Deep
- Piles or shafts
- Shaft + tip resistance
- Group effects
Surface bearing vs depth transfer
Foundations + Retaining Structures
- Spread footing
- Single-column shallow support
- Combined footing
- Supports multiple columns
- Strap footing
- Beam balances eccentricity
- Mat
- Shared foundation slab
- Deep foundation
- Shaft and/or tip resistance
- Settlement
- Serviceability limit
- Bearing capacity
- Soil strength limit
- Sliding
- Horizontal stability
- Overturning
- Moment stability
- Global stability
- Deep failure surface
- Drainage
- Relieves water pressure
- MSE wall
- Reinforced soil mass
Common Traps
PE Civil vs PE Structural
Civil: 80-question discipline exam ≠ PE Structural: breadth/depth sections
Current vs Future Blueprint
April 2024 controls now ≠ April 2027 is future
Self-Weight vs Double Count
Include exactly once ≠ Check stated load scope
Building vs Bridge Loads
ASCE/IBC for buildings ≠ AASHTO for bridges
Nominal vs Factored
Nominal before factors ≠ Factored after combinations
Total vs Effective Stress
Total includes pore pressure ≠ Effective drives soil response
Active vs At-Rest
Active requires movement ≠ At-rest restrains movement
Stiffness vs Strength
Stiffness controls deformation ≠ Strength controls failure
Shop Drawing vs Design Duty
Submittal communicates details ≠ Responsibilities remain assigned
Local vs Global Stability
Elements buckle locally ≠ Members/systems buckle globally
Last Minute
- 1.Confirm PE Civil: Structural identity
- 2.Use April 2024 specification
- 3.Exclude April 2027 standards
- 4.Match problem unit system
- 5.Open listed reference first
- 6.Sketch complete load path
- 7.Track units every conversion
- 8.Include self-weight exactly once
- 9.Separate nominal and factored loads
- 10.Check strength and serviceability
- 11.Test every connection limit state
- 12.Check all foundation failure modes
- 13.Evaluate retaining water pressure separately
- 14.Verify equilibrium and sign convention
- 15.Check reactions against applied loads
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