| I took the Civil PE today with afternoon session in Structural. I'm pretty burned out now. I did very well on the problems I completed but time was an issue and had to guess at problems at ends of both sessions. I understudied morning subjects of environmental and water resources. I did not find the test difficult, just time consuming. I way overstudied indeterminate analysis and structural analysis in general. The test really emphasizes analysis of statically determinate systems and being able to model real world situations and knowing how quickly obtain allowables in the codes. A surprising number of simple look up questions too. The Newnan PE study book is good for some of the afternoon structural. The Lindeburgh book is outstanding for the morning and a lot of the steel and concrete and masonry for the afternoon. The damn required references are expensive. PCI design handbook (didnt use at all), ACI 318-99 code (Lindeburg easier), AISC Manual of Steel Construction (need this), AASHTO Bridge Specs (hardly anything on exam on this), ASCE 7-95--one surprising snow load question today right out of the book, ACI 530, Uniform Bldg. Code, NDS Wood are expensive. I spent nearly $700 on the codes and another $140 on the Lindeburg book and problem solutions. The Lindeburg book is outstanding but leaves out basic seismic which you need to know--be able to calculate tributary weights to floor and calculate seismic base shear using static lateral force method in UBC. There was another question involving distribution of base shear as I recall. Lindeburg should put this in his book. He should also include some wood design which is very similar to steel ASD method imo. He should also include a bit of AASHTO bridge design even if that meant doing influence lines for HS-20-44 and alt military loads and equivalent lane loads and distribution of these loads to long. girders/stringers--which seems to be what NCEES emphasizes, but not on today's test. A lot of earth pressure questions, but none with water tables and only one with a stratfied layer. Didn't have to use a buoyant weight of soil a single time. A couple problems for calculating calculating FS for overturning moments or sliding--all pure statics. There was some new rule about they provide mech pencils now with .07mm leads. This worried me, but they wrote dark on the paper, were easily erased, and wrote very small. I swear they were .05mm. I write small so was worried up front, but turned out not to be a problem. Oh, lots of footing problems, not design problems, but finding stresses under foundations, bearing pressures, allowables etc. If I passed the thing I plan to take the Structural I next fall. Maybe I can get an S.E. in additon to P.E.--and then not use it. lol. |
