6.13	Civil Engineering

Acting Head: Dr. Peter Rasmussen, P.Eng. (204) 474-8212
Assoc. Head: Dr. James Blatz, P.Eng. (204) 474-9816
Admin. Assist: Donna Parkhurst (204) 474-8212
General Office: E3 - 386 Engineering
     (204) 474-8596
     (204) 474-7513 (fax)
Graduate Program Assistant: (204) 474-8596
Email: Civil_Eng@umanitoba.ca
Website: umanitoba.ca/civil

Academic Staff

Program Information
The Department of Civil Engineering offers programs of coursework and research leading to the Master of Science, Master of Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy in: environmental engineering; geotechnical engineering; structural engineering; theoretical and applied mechanics; transportation engineering and water resources engineering.

Research Facilities

Environmental Engineering Equipment and Facilities: The environmental engineering program and laboratory offer the latest in instruction and facilities for studying the physico-chemical and biological transformation of pollutants in water, wastewater and solid waste. In particular, the program aims at developing the principles of reactor and process engineering for the treatment of water, industrial and municipal wastewater and solid waste. State-of-the-art analytical equipment includes high performance liquid chromatographs with a variety of detectors, gas chromatographs, automated ion analysers, atomic absorption spectrophotometer, carbon analyser, microbial toxicity analyser and others. Spacious laboratories allow for bench scale testing of various process conditions in four controlled temperature environmental chambers. Present research interests include biological nutrient removal, volatile acids fermentation, solid stream processing through aerobic and anaerobic digestion, co-digestion and co-composting of municipal and industrial solid waste, biodegradation of hazardous pollutants, treatment in cold climates, pesticide waste treatment; surface and groundwater treatment processes, and upgrading of municipal and industrial treatment plants.

Geotechnical, Hydrogeology and Geoenvironmental Engineering Equipment and Facilities: Equipment in the geotechnical laboratories reflects the research interests of the department's staff in the engineering behaviour of a wide range of naturally occurring materials. In addition to the normal range of consolidation, direct shear and triaxial shear test facilities, specialized facilities have been provided for studies on swelling clays, at high pressures and temperatures, granular soils, and hard crystalline rocks.

The clay testing program involves stress-controlled tests to investigate the distinction between yielding and rupture in carefully sampled natural clays, and the effects of load duration and temperature on soil behaviour. Applications include estimating settlements of foundations, embankments, and tanks and the stability of slopes and excavation. Additional work involves the development of appropriate constitutive models for soil behaviour, and the measurement of hydraulic conductivities for retention structures.

An environmental chamber permits testing of soil samples under freezing conditions. A well-equipped geotechnical computing laboratory provides support for numerical analysis in soil mechanics, rock mechanics and hydrogeology. It also supports data presentation and report preparation in experimental programs. In rock mechanics, equipment is available for performing tests for Brazilian tension, flexure, uniaxial compression, triaxial compression, static fatigue, creep in both tension and compression, and the double torsion test used in fracture mechanics. Present research interests concentrate on the relationship between crack growth, stress level and time, with special emphasis on microstructural processes in the rock.

The geoenvironmental engineering laboratory has the equipment to characterize landfill construction materials, leachates, and hazardous wastes. Current research focuses on hazardous waste containment, soil bioremediation, and aerobic composting.

The focus of the hydrogeology research efforts is directed towards modelling and simulation of groundwater and contaminant transport. Resources are also directed at sustainable aquifer development within the Manitoba environs.

With current developments in computer technology and its associated impacts on geotechnical engineering, the University of Manitoba has kept up by providing graduate students in geotechnical engineering with state-of-the-art computer facilities. The geotechnology computer facility at the University of Manitoba has 8 personal computers, 3 SPARC workstations, all connected on a local area network with T1 Internet access 24 hours a day.

Structural Engineering Equipment and Facilities: The research facilities include concrete, structural, and materials laboratories covering approximately 7500 sq. ft. A Structural Engineering and Construction Research and Development Facility adds 2500 sq. ft. and includes a 23-ton overhead crane, as well as a 1,200,000-lb.-capacity MTS servo-controlled loading system. The new facilities enable the testing of full-scale specimens. Also in the structural laboratory are a 600,000-lb. Baldwin testing machine, a 60,000-lb. Riehle testing machine and a 30,000-lb. Baldwin testing machine. A number of jacks and loading frames are also available which can be attached to two strong floors and allow a wide range of loading assemblages to be set up easily. The laboratory also houses an MTS servo-controlled loading system, with a 220,000-lb. test frame and one fixed and one portable actuator, which can be used for programmed cyclic and fatigue testing. The materials laboratory contains an environmental cabinet and a freeze/thaw cabinet which are used to study the behaviour of materials under a wide range of temperatures and humidity. Three high-speed computer-controlled data acquisition systems are available for both laboratory and field testing.

Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Equipment and Facilities: Research Facilities in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics include several workstations and a variety of engineering analysis software. Current research is directed toward investigation of non-destructive evaluation of flaws in plate and shell structures, dynamics of electrical transmission lines and communication towers; finite and boundary element analysis, and mechanics of piezo ceramics, shape memory alloys and smart structures.

Water Resources Engineering Equipment and Facilities: The Hydraulics Research and Testing Facility (HRTF) has an area of 780 sq m and supports both physical and numerical modelling in hydraulics. The physical modelling laboratory houses a constant-head tank (500 l/s capacity), a 15 m variable slope flume, a 14 m hydraulic model flume, and a 34 m random wave flume. Floor space is available for the study of hydraulic structures and river models. The facility is also equipped with a range of modern instrumentation including acoustic Doppler velocimeters (3 component), hot-wire probes, servo-motor positioning systems, electronic discharge monitoring with inline volumetric tanks for calibration, and high speed data acquisition equipment. All of the computers in the physical modelling laboratory are networked to the facility's computer lab. A counter-rotating flume and cold room (to -30 C) are used to study hydraulics of frazil and anchor ice. A digital image acquisition and processing system complement the facility's ice research equipment. The HRTF computer laboratory has a number of high-end Pentium based PCs for numerical modelling. Software is available for 2D finite-element modelling of rivers and lakes, sediment transport modelling, and 2D modelling of wind generated wave fields.

The Hydrologic Processes Laboratory (HPL) supports research dealing with the management and analysis of spatially distributed in situ and remotely sensed data, for solving complex, large-scale problems of hydrology. The facility has several PC machines linked to a main UNIX workstation. A wide variety of software is available within HPL, including ARC/INFO, Arcview and other GIS, as well as ENVI software for processing remotely sensed data. The emphasis of research carried out in the facility is in distributed hydrological modelling, operational hydrology, and environmental monitoring using remotely sensed data.

M.Sc. in Civil Engineering

Admission
For admission into the Master of Science program, applicants are required to hold a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from a recognized university. Applicants with other engineering degrees or with honours degrees in related areas may also be accepted at the discretion of the department head and the dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. In certain cases acceptance may initially be limited to pre-Master's study. Please contact the Department for details.

Application Deadlines
Canadian/U.S. students should submit their application and supporting documentation to the Department of Civil Engineering at least 4 months prior to their intended start date. International students should submit their application and supporting documentation to the Department of Civil Engineering at least 7 months prior to their intended start date.

Program Requirements
The Master of Science degree is attainable only through coursework and thesis. Minimum Program requirements of the Faculty of Graduate Studies are found in the Graduate Studies Regulations Section of this calendar. M.Sc. students are required to spend at least one academic session in full-time resident graduate study. On recommendation of the department and the Faculty Graduate Committee, the residence requirement may be waived in special cases.

A minimum of 18 credit hours of coursework is required with at least 12 credit hours at the 7000 level. The coursework program would normally include 6 credit hours of ancillary courses from other than the candidate’s discipline. These ancillary courses could include courses from the department or courses from another department, normally at the 4000 level. Depending upon the student’s background, the student’s advisor may require the student to take 3000 level or additional 4000 level (and in exceptional circumstances, 2000 level) courses in major or ancillary fields of study which would not count towards the minimum 18-credit hour requirement. The candidate is required to make an oral presentation on the completed M.Sc. thesis to the Examining Committee, and to pass an oral examination.

The maximum time allowed for the completion of the Master's degree is 5 years.

Second language reading requirement: none

Expected time to graduate: two years

M.Eng. in Civil Engineering

The Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) program provides an industrially oriented program for practising engineers who wish to continue their studies on a broad base. The program also facilitates continuing education for credit.

Admission
Admission requirements are those of the Faculty of Graduate Studies found in the Graduate Studies Regulations Section of this Calendar.

Application Deadlines
Canadian/U.S. students should submit their application and supporting documentation to the Department of Civil Engineering at least 4 months prior to their intended start date. International students should submit their application and supporting documentation to the Department of Civil Engineering at least 7 months prior to their intended start date.

Program Requirements
It is desirable that full-time students have one or two years of engineering experience. The minimum requirement for the award of the Master of Engineering degree is 30 credit hours. The degree can be obtained through two different options:

Option 1
Coursework Alone/Comprehensive Examination

The minimum requirement of 30 credit hours can be met by coursework alone with at least 18 credit hours at the 7000 level. The program should include 6 credit hours of ancillary coursework from other than the candidate’s discipline. These ancillary courses could include courses from the department or courses from another department, normally at the 4000 level. Depending upon the student’s background, the student’s advisor may require the student to take 3000 level or additional 4000 level (and in exceptional circumstances, 2000 level) courses in his/her major or ancillary field of study which would not count towards the minimum 30-credit-hour requirement.

Students must pass a Comprehensive Examination ( GRAD 7010).


Option 2
Coursework and Project and Report

The minimum requirement of 30 credit hours can be met by a combination of coursework and an engineering report, with at least 12 credit hours at the 7000 level. Of the 30 credit hours, 6 credit hours will be assigned to an approved project and report. The program should include 6 credit hours of ancillary coursework from other than the candidate’s discipline.