Most frequently asked civil engineering interview questions

The most crucial aspect of interview preparation is being aware of the types of questions that may be asked and preparing for them. This allows you to be in the perfect position to make a mark on the recruiter and finally get hired. Check out the most frequently asked civil engineering interview questions and answers below.

What are the various sub-disciplines of civil engineering?

Civil engineering is the second-oldest engineering subject, after military engineering. It is typically divided into various sub-disciplines, such as the ones listed below:

• Coastal engineering
• Construction engineering
• Earthquake engineering
• Environmental engineering
• Forensic engineering
• Geotechnical engineering
• Materials science and engineering
• Site development and planning
• Structural engineering
• Transportation engineering
• Municipal or urban engineering
• Water resources engineering, etc.

What is cement and what are its different types?

Knowing about the basic elements of construction is crucial to being a competent civil engineer. Therefore this question is one of the most frequently asked civil engineering questions in the interview. Here’s how you should answer the question. 

Cement is a fine gray powder combined with water and other ingredients to form mortar or concrete. This is a crucial building material for any sort of construction.

Portland cement, high alumina cement, white cement, sulfate-resistant cement, and other cement varieties are some types of cement available. However, cement may primarily be divided into two types:

• Ordinary Portland cement: Available in 33, 43 & 53 grades.
• Blended cement: Available as PPC or slag cement.

Explain why concrete barriers have curved surface profiles

The concrete safety barrier is designed to keep cars in their carriageways as they move, reducing the risk of their rebounding onto the roadways and causing additional risks. Normal fencing gives away in the event of a car accident, absorbing as much energy as possible and therefore decreasing the impact on the vehicles.

On the other hand, concrete barriers are designed to retain rather than absorb the energy of cars colliding with them. They are curved to allow cars that collide with them to gently rise on the barrier but not topple. By rebounding, they also prevent the car from returning to the road. 

How are freeway bridges built?

Competent civil engineers must know how to build strong and reliable freeway bridges that stand the test of time. This makes the above question to be yet another most frequently asked civil engineering question. 

To accommodate the bridge, cement/reinforced-with-rebar stanchions are spaced across the freeway once the expected traffic is calculated. An ‘off-ramp’ from the highway to the bridge, as well as an ‘on-ramp’ to the next road, is built. To build the platform, cement/rebar slabs are erected and raised with cranes.

Although the bridge deck/roadway is nearly usually made of concrete, the structure that supports it might be made of reinforced concrete, structural steel, or a mix of the two. Freeway bridges make it one of the important civil engineering interview questions.

How can we correct the occurrence of mud waves during reclamation?   

Complete removal of all disturbed mud is one of the quickest approaches. After the disturbed mud has been removed, some filling material is utilized to replace it. However, as compared to other methods, this one can be costly.

Surcharging weights are put on top of the mud waves to speed up the consolidation of disturbed mud. Band drains are also built to help with the consolidation process. In comparison to the other ways, this one is rather sluggish.

How are alloys made and what are their uses in daily life?

Alloying isn’t necessarily done to make a ‘better’ material, but to make materials that meet a certain industrial or other demand. The melting temperature of the component elements is decreased in lead solder (which contains lead and tin), which is not always desirable.

Hot pressing, rolling the heated base metal in a drum full of alloying metal powder, hot spraying, galvanizing, and other methods of alloying can be used. The alloying ingredient is sometimes introduced in tiny amounts to the molten base metal.

What is the difference between absorption, adsorption, and sorption?

As a skilled civil engineer, you need to know the differences between widely used processes. This forms the gist of yet another most important civil engineering interview question.

Absorption is a term that encompasses two mostly unrelated processes. It can refer to when atoms, molecules, or ions enter a bulk phase such as a gas, liquid, or solid. When a sponge is dry, for example, it absorbs water.

Absorption also refers to the process of a photon’s energy being absorbed by another object, such as an atom whose valence electrons are transitioning between two electronic energy levels. In the process, the photon is annihilated. The absorbed energy can either be re-emitted as radiant energy or converted to thermal energy. Attenuation refers to the absorption of light during wave propagation. The absorption of photons by atoms and molecules is the basis for spectroscopy in chemistry.

Adsorption is a process in which a gas or liquid solute collects on the surface of a solid (adsorbent) or, more rarely, a liquid (adsorbent), generating a molecular or atomic film (the adsorbate). It’s not the same as absorption, which occurs when a material diffuses into a liquid or solid to produce a solution.

Absorption and adsorption vary primarily in which one is a bulk process and the other is a surface-level process. Sorption encompasses both absorption and adsorption processes.

Key takeaways

• The need for civil engineers and construction managers is increasing in tandem with the construction sector’s growth globally.
• If you want to work as a civil engineer, you must pass an interview in which you will have to respond to civil engineering interview questions correctly.
• You may also be asked basic or advanced level questions depending on your expertise and experience.

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FAQ’s

Q1. Who is the father of civil engineering?

Answer – John Smeaton is known as the father of civil engineering.

Q2. What are the most important skills for a civil engineer?

Answer – Some of the most important skills for a civil engineer include – 

• Creativity and flexibility
• Communications skills
• Technical skills
• Project management
• Critical thinking

Q3. What type of civil engineering is in demand?

Answer – One of the branches of civil engineering that is in more demand is Geotechnical Engineering.