500+ Civil Interview Questions For Civil Engineering

Civil engineering is the branch of engineering which deals with designing, planning, managing and executing structural works like roads, bridges, dams, canals, buildings, power plants, sewerage system, aqueducts and other infrastructures.

John Smeaton is the father of civil engineering in world.

Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, an Indian civil engineer, administrator and statesman is the “Father of Engineering” in India.

God Vishvakarma is the Indian god of civil engineering.

As an Indian citizen, this is a great opportunity to serve my country. Because, government sector is mostly for public services. So we can serve public indirectly through Govt. Also in government services, we can show our skills or ideas and help to make the country a developed nation by increasing the revenue of the government.

I want to put my skills and time to good use and work with other like-minded officers who all have the same objective and can do welfare work for the society.

Government job provides better work-life balance, medical benefits, less work pressure, pension plans, paid vacations, better salaries, long-term job security, guaranteed promotion which is not provided in private sectors so, government job is better than a private job.

Sulphate-resisting cement is best suitable for marine works or sea water.

Pozzolana cement is best suitable for underwater construction. Because It is extremely water resistant.

According to Indian practice the weight of a standard brick is between 3- 3.5 kg.

A truck can carry 4000 bricks in India.

Soil is a loose grainy material that covering the surface of the earth. It consists mixture of organic matters, weathered rocks, inorganic matters, minerals, liquids and gases. Soil is formed by weathering of rocks likes Chemical Weathering, Biological Weathering or Mechanical Weathering.

Sandy soil is a coarse grained cohesionless soil which particles size is greater than clay soil and silt. Sandy soil is formed due to weathering action of rocks like limestone, quartz and granite. The size of Sand particles are between 0.075 mm to 2 mm in diameter.

During an earthquake or other sudden change in stress condition, cohesionless saturated or partially saturated soil substantially loses strength and stiffness, this phenomenon is called soil liquefaction.

It most often observed in saturated, loose sandy soils. because a loose sand has a tendency to compress when a load is applied.

Liquefaction can cause severe damage, or even complete destruction of buildings and infrastructure.

Soil mechanics is the branch of civil engineering which deals with study of physical properties of soil, hydraulic properties of soil, utilization of soils, mechanical properties of soil, behavior of soil, stability of soil, influence of soil, performance of structures on soil etc.

Loam soil is a mixture of clay soil, silt and sandy soil. According to proportion of minerals, loam soil is divided into different types like clay loam, sandy loam, silty loam, sandy clay loam, silty clay loam etc. Generally It consists 40% silt minerals, 20% clay minerals and 40% sand minerals.

Coefficient of curvature represents the shape of the particle size distribution curve. The slope of the gradation curve of the soil gives the coefficient of curvature. It should lie between 1 and 3 for well-graded soil.

Clay soil is a fine-grained natural soil which contains more than 30 percent fine clay particles. It shows high shrinkage and swelling characteristics during dry and wet conditions. Size of clay particles are smaller than 0.002 mm in diameter. It has a high plasticity characteristics and it is very sticky.

It is used to distinguish between well-graded and poorly graded coarse-grained soil using results from laboratory tests of grain size distribution.

The higher the value of the coefficient of uniformity the larger the range of particle sizes. The smaller the coefficient of uniformity means smaller rang of particle size in the soil.

Silt is made up of mineral particles that are smaller than sand particles and larger than clay particles. It is a smooth and fine quality of soil which has medium plasticity characteristics and holds water better than sandy soils. The size of Silt particles are between 0.002 to 0.075 mm in diameter.

There are four types of soil like clay soil, silt, sandy soil and loam soil. Sandy soil is a coarse grain cohesionless soil while clay soil and silt soil is a fine grain cohesive soil. While loam soil is a mixture of clay soil, silt and sandy soil.

Various types of foundations are Shallow Foundations, Deep Foundations, Strip Footings, Individual Footings, Combined Footings, Pile Foundations etc.

In load bearing structure all loads taken by walls and transferred to the soil. While In framed structure all load taken by the beams and columns and transferred to the footing and foundation of the structure.

Steel has a various properties like toughness, hardness, yield strength, tensile strength, elongation, plasticity, fatigue strength, malleability, corrosion and creep.

There are various type of stairs like Straight Stairs, U Shaped Stairs, Spiral Stairs, Cantilever Stairs, L Shaped Stairs, Winder Stairs, Curved Stairs, Split Staircase (Bifurcated stair) etc.

When driver instantly see any objects, so he/she receives the sensations by the eyes or ears and transmits the message to the brain through the nervous system & spinal cord. This time is called perception time.

Various factors affecting total reaction time of driver are Travel speed, Type of Problems, Alcohol Consumption, Characteristics of drivers, Motive of the trip and Condition of drivers.

When brain receives the message, it understands the situation, comparing the different thoughts and registering new sensations. This time is called intellection time.

IRC recommended 1 in 30 for plain and rolling terrain, 1 in 20 for mountainous (hilly) terrain and 1 in 16.7 for steep terrain.

Emotion time of driver is the time elapsed during emotional feelings likes, fear, superstition, anger. Its depends on the drivers and problems.

PIEV means Perception, Intellection, Emotion and Volition respectively.

Volition time is the final decision time. In this case driver apply the brakes or avoid the situations depending on the situations.

Time taken between the instant object is visible to the driver and the instant brakes are effectively applied is called PIEV time or Total Reaction time of driver. for overtaking sight distance it is 2 sec and For stopping sight distance it is 2.5 sec.

Pier cap equally distribute the dead and live loads on the pier and abutments. If we not provide a pier cap it will affect the equal distribution of load which leads to bridge failure.

structural analysis is very important because, it deals with calculation of load coming on the structure, also analyzing loads, its determine the cause of a structural failure, it determine whether a structural design will be able to withstand internal stresses and external forces, its also determine the behaviour of a structure under the loads and combinations of loads.

When external bending moment or force is applied, the internal resistance generated within a body. This internal resistance due to bending moment is called bending stress.

Drinking water also known as Potable water. It is a water which meets Indian water quality standards. It should not contain undesirable Substances, Bacteria, Lead, harmful microbes, Toxic Substances, Pathogens, Radioactive Substances and other harmful Substances.

For drinking water, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) recommended 500 mg/l acceptable limit of TDS (Total Dissolved Solids). However, The BIS also recommended 2000 mg/l permissible limit in absence of alternate source for TDS for drinking water.

Indian Standard For Drinking Water was adopted by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) which was first published in 1983. This standard specifies the acceptable limit and the permissible limit in the absence of alternate source. This standard also prescribes the requirements and the methods of sampling and test for drinking water.

Indian Standard code For specifications of Drinking Water is IS 10500 : 2012

When river flows in a curvy, bendy path, like a snake or S-curve, it is called meandering river.

Hydrology deals with planning and management of water resources as well as water-related issues in civil engineering like water quantity, flood control, rainfall measurement, irrigation, mitigation of flood, evapotranspiration, precipitation, Infiltration, condensation, water cycle, groundwater flow, streamflow etc.

Surveying deal with plans, mapping, land survey, Cadastral Surveying, geology, topographic features, GIS, land boundaries, Cartography, determine the position of natural and man-made objects, Photogrammetry, Digital Mapping, levelling of lands, determining the relative position of different points related to others, remote sensing etc.

True bearing is the angle measured in clock wise direction from true meridian’s north. True bearing is an accurate way of measuring direction of any place in relation to another. It is more accurate than direction because it gives 360 degree points.

While magnetic bearing is the angle measured in clock wise direction from magnetic meridian’s north. its vary with time to time and place to place and Its depend on magnetic field of the earth.

Intersection method is mostly useful where it is not possible to measure the distances on ground like obstruction of a mountains or rivers . Hence, this method is used for locating inaccessible points.

Theodolite is a precision optical instrument which is used for measuring horizontal and vertical angles. While total station is a digital electronic instrument which consists a electronic display for readings, optical plummet for centering and EDM for distance measurement.

There are 4 methods in plane table surveying, Radiation method, Traversing method, Intersection method and Resection method.

Theodolite available in market are of different prices. Minimum price of one piece is 4500/- Rs. and maximum 170000/- Rs. Minimum price of one whole set is 13500/- Rs. and maximum 233000/- Rs.

Traversing method of plane table surveying is generally used to plot a traverse. In this method, first of all traverse stations are selected. Then by radiation method, all stations are plotted by taking a fore sight to the following station and back sight on the previous station.

True bearing is the angle measured in clock wise direction from true meridian’s north. It is a fixed angle and does not vary with time. It is more accurate than direction because it gives 360 degree points. While magnetic bearing is the angle measured in clock wise direction from magnetic meridian’s north. Its depend on magnetic field of the earth and its vary with time to time and place to place.

Main principle of plane table surveying is Parallelism. Parallelism means all the rays drawn during plotting of map should be always parallel to actual ground lines from object point to station point and all the rays should pass through the survey station.

Theodolite is used for measuring angles in the horizontal and vertical planes. It is mainly used for surveying applications. But it also used in other areas like metrology, rocket launch technology, for setting out grades, for tacheometric survey, for large scale survey areas, for setting out curves, for level difference etc.

Theodolite consists Tripod, Telescope, Eye piece, Object piece, Plate level, Upper plate, Lower plate, Magnetic compass, Levelling head, Horizontal circle, Vertical circle, Shifting head, Levelling screw, Trivet, Tripod head, Plumb bob, Index frame, The standards, Altitude bubble, Tripod leg,, Inner spindle, Outer spindle Tangent screw, Foot screw, Vernier etc. parts.

In the radiation method, instrument is set up at a single station point, from where all the object points should be clearly visible which are to be plotted. Then rays are drawn from the instrument station to the object points which are to be plotted.

Theodolite surveying is the branch of surveying in which theodolite instrument is used to measure the vertical and horizontal angles. By using compass we can only measure horizontal angles which gives less accuracy. But, by theodolite surveying we can measure both vertical and horizontal angles with greater accuracy.

Plane table, tripod, alidade, through compass, plumbing fork, drawing sheet, drawing accessories, clips etc. instruments are used in plane table surveying.

Transit theodolite includes transit mechanism that allow the telescope to rotate about 180° in vertical plane about horizontal axis and lock into place when the instrument is level. That means directing the telescope in exact opposite direction.

While non-transit theodolite not includes transit mechanism that allow the telescope to rotate about 180° in vertical plane about horizontal axis and lock into place when the instrument is level. That means we can not directing the telescope in exact opposite direction.

Main objectives of plane table surveying are To carry out small scale surveying very quickly, To locate the topographical features, To establish control points for future surveys, To measures distance and angles between different object points and then relative position of that object points can be determined etc.

Theodolite is a precision optical instrument which is used for measuring angles in the horizontal and vertical planes. It is used for various purposes likes for setting out curves, finding level difference and for other specialized works.

Theodolite is used for different purposes like For electronic distance measurement, For setting out of curves, For finding the difference in the level, For prolonging survey lines, For specialized purposes like meteorology and rocket launch technology, For tachometric surveying, For measuring horizontal angle as well as vertical angles, For setting out grades etc.

Resection method of plane table surveying is generally used to locate and plot the position of the plane table during surveying. This is also used for the orientation of the plane table.

CPM is a statistical technique of project management which is known as Critical Path Method in which planning, scheduling, organizing and controlling of well-defined activities are done. While PERT is a project management technique which is known as Program Evaluation and Review Technique, in which planning, scheduling, organizing and controlling of uncertain activities are done.

There are four types of earthquakes: tectonic, collapse, volcanic and explosion.