Practical Concepts for Capstone Design Engineering

• Replicates the steps commonly used by practicing engineers to complete design projects, from site selection, investigation, and site planning, through the preliminary design calculations and drawing preparation
• Offers valuable insight and preparation for civil and construction engineering professional practice
• Transitions students from strictly academic work to solving real-world problems in the context of their capstone projects
• Offers an approach for integrating students, faculty, design professionals, clients, consultants and regulators—bridging the gap between the classroom and the profession
• Students will be well prepared for the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam upon graduation
• WAV™ offers a variety of professor materials including a capstone syllabus, final exam, and instructional slides reviewing concepts presented in the text —available from the Web Added Value™ Download Resource Center

Frederick Bloetscher, Ph.D., P.E., LEED-AP, is an associate professor at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, focusing on management of water resources from a holistic perspective.  Specific areas of concentration include: surface water, groundwater, stormwater, wastewater and reclaimed sources, and appropriate methods for disposal of wastewater products, including concentrate from membrane treatment plants, the fate of ocean outfall flows, and the concept of sustainable water supplies for communities.  Dr. Bloetscher teaches the two-semester capstone design course at FAU, and leads the second semester in which the conceptual design of green building construction is turned into preliminary plans, specifications and basis-of-design reports. In 2012, Dr. Bloetscher, serving as the LEED administrator for the project, along with fellow author and capstone design course professor Dr. Daniel Meeroff, received the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) Award for Connecting Professional Practice and Education. They were presented with this award in recognition for their work on the Dania Beach Nanofiltration Facility, the first LEED-Gold water treatment facility in the world. Prior to teaching at FAU, Dr. Bloetscher was an adjunct faculty member at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL. Throughout his years as a professor, Dr. Bloetscher has been nominated a number of times by his students for Teacher of the Year Award, and has received two University-wide leadership awards.

In addition to his role as an educator, Frederick Bloetscher, a LEED-AP with professional engineering licenses in 9 states, is the President of Public Utility Management and Planning Services, Inc. (PUMPS), a consulting firm dedicated to the comprehensive evaluation of utility systems. Previously he served as Chair for the Water Resource Division Trustees, Groundwater Resource Committee and Education Committee for the American Water Works Association (AWWA), wrote for them several manuals on water and wastewater, and was awarded two national leadership awards from the AWWA. In addition to his work with the AWWA, Mr. Bloetscher also served as the utility director and deputy director for several large water and sewer systems.

Dr. Bloetscher received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Cincinnati, his Master of Public Administration Degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Miami.

Daniel E. Meeroff, Ph.D., is associate chair and professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental & Geomatics Engineering at Florida Atlantic University (FAU).  Dr. Meeroff specializes in environmental engineering, with a focus on water and wastewater engineering, water chemistry, solid/hazardous waste management, sustainable building strategies, and pollution prevention.  Since joining the staff at FAU, Dr. Meeroff has won numerous awards recognizing his teaching abilities, and was also instrumental in developing their innovative and well recognized capstone design program.

Dr. Meeroff co-teaches the capstone design course at FAU, a two-semester, senior-level sequence focused on the planning and conceptual design of green building construction.  He also founded and serves as director of the Laboratories for Engineered Environmental Solutions at FAU. In 2014, the Engineer’s Council awarded Dr. Meeroff the Engineering Educator of the Year, and the student body at FAU selected him as the Distinguished Teacher of the Year, the highest teaching honor at the university.  In 2011, Dr. Meeroff was selected by the students for the Excellence and Innovation in Undergraduate Teaching Award at FAU, and has been nominated for the Teacher of the Year award numerous times by his students. Daniel Meeroff has also written several substantial laboratory manuals for engineering students on environmental engineering and science, as well as chemistry.

Dr. Meeroff earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Florida Institute of Technology and his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in civil/environmental engineering from the University of Miami.

Preface About the Authors Chapter 1:  Introduction to Capstone Design        1.1—The Capstone Design Process 1.2—Course Objectives 1.3—Project Selection 1.4—Cours Management Structure 1.5—Group Selection 1.6—Course Delivery Structure 1.7—Getting Started 1.8—Deliverables 1.9—Assessment 1.10—Last Words 1.11—References Chapter 2:  Career Opportunities and Leadership 2.1—Self-Assessment 2.2—Types of Job Opportunities 2.3—Branding 2.4—Create the Group Design Firm 2.5—Teaming Skills 2.6—References 2.7—Assignments Chapter 3:  The Profession and Ethical Conduct 3.1—Engineering Ethics 3.1.1—Where Do Ethics Come From? 3.1.2—The Philosophers Weigh In 3.1.3—Creeds, Codes and Canons 3.2—Ethical Issues in Engineering 3.2.1—Case Study 1: Licensure in Multiple States 3.2.2—Case Study 2: Practicing Without a License 3.2.3—Case Study 3: Design Defect 3.2.4—Case Study 4: Failing to Seal the Documents 3.2.5—Case Study 5: Sealing Documents That Are Not Final 3.2.6—Case Study 6: Misleading Testimony about a Design 3.3—Licensure 3.4—References 3.5—Assignments Chapter 4:  Getting the Design Contract 4.1—Building the Capital Project 4.2—What Owners (Should) Look For from Consulting Engineers 4.3—What Consultants Do Not Need 4.4—The Typical Public Sector Proposal Process 4.4.1—Scope of the Project 4.4.2—Requirements of Proposers 4.4.3—Evaluation of Proposals 4.5—The Typical Private Sector Proposal Process 4.6—Stages in the Design Process 4.6.1—Conceptual Design 4.6.2—Construction Documents 4.6.3—Scheduling and Project Delivery 4.7—References 4.8—Assignments Chapter 5: The Art of Communication Skills for Engineers 5.1—The Engineering Writing Style 5.2—Outlining 5.3—Good Grammar 5.4—Citing References 5.4.1—Journal References 5.4.2—Conference Proceedings and Symposiums 5.4.3—Books 5.4.4—Reports 5.4.5—Unpublished Material 5.4.6—Web Pages 5.4.7—Theses and Dissertations 5.5—Writing Persuasively 5.6—Engineering Graphics 5.6.1—Numerical Tables 5.6.2—Figures 5.7—Proofreading Strategies 5.8—Fonts 5.9—Margins 5.10—Typical Engineering Documents 5.10.1—Meeting Minutes 5.10.2—Emails and Informal Notes 5.10.3—Memos 5.10.4—Letters 5.11—Typical Engineering Deliverables 5.11.1—Progress Reports 5.11.2—The Basis of Design Report 5.11.3—Technical Memos 5.11.4—Interim and Final Technical Reports 5.12—Public Speaking 5.12.1—Visual Aids 5.12.2—Questions and Answers 5.12.3—Evaluating Presentations 5.13—References 5.14—Assignments 5.15—Appendix 5.15.1—Grammar 5.15.2—Punctuation 5.15.3—Capitalization 5.15.4—Common Spelling Errors 5.15.5—Misused Words 5.15.6—Abbreviations 5.15.7—Numbers 5.15.8—Figurative Language Use 5.15.9—Voice 5.15.10—Gender Issues 5.15.11—Writing Pitfalls to Avoid Chapter 6:  Alternative Analysis 6.1—Application to Design Projects 6.2—Selection Criteria 6.3—Scoring System 6.4—Alternative Selection Matrix 6.5—Sensitivity Analysis 6.6—References 6.7—Assignments Chapter 7:  High Performance Construction 7.1—Why Build Green? 7.2—Agencies That Valuate Green Building Performance 7.2.1—International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 7.2.2—United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) 7.2.3—United States Green Building Council (USGBC) 7.3—LEED^® Certification 7.3.1— Requirements 7.3.1.1—Sustainable Sites 7.3.1.2—Water Efficiency 7.3.1.3—Energy and Atmosphere 7.3.1.4—Materials and Resources 7.3.1.5—Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) 7.3.1.6—Innovation and Design Process 7.4—Triple Bottom Line 7.5—References 7.6—Assignments Chapter 8:  Environmental Site Assessment 8.1— Scope 8.2—The Environmental Professional 8.3—Site Reconnaissance 8.3.1—Exterior Reconnaissance 8.3.2—Interior Reconnaissance 8.4—Records Review 8.5—Interviews 8.6—Evaluation and Report 8.7—Non-Scope Considerations 8.8—Phase II and III 8.9—References 8.10—Assignments Chapter 9:  The Site Plan Development Process 9.1—Community Plans and Codes 9.2—Site Development 9.3—Easements, Rights of Way, and Setbacks 9.4—Utilities, Parking Requirements and Roadwork 9.5—Building Code Requirements and Functionality 9.6—Assignments Chapter 10:  The Floor Plan Development Process 10.1—Building Program 10.2—Floor Planning Chapter 11:  Engineering Economics 11.1—Interest Rates 11.2—Single Payment Present Worth 11.3—Future Value or Single Payment Compound Amount 11.4—Annual Worth 11.5—Future Worth Given an Annuity 11.6—Gradients 11.7—Shifted Annuities 11.8—More About Interest Rates 11.9—Dealing with More Complex Cash Flow Diagrams 11.10—Comparing Options 11.10.1—Break Even Analysis 11.10.2—Annual Worth Analysis 11.11— Inflation Adjustment 11.12—Depreciation 11.13—A Word of Caution 11.14—References 11.15—Assignments Chapter 12:  Preliminary Site Design and Non-Structural Concepts 12.1—Roof Systems 12.2—Onsite Stormwater Drainage 12.3—Potable Water Systems 12.4—Sanitary Sewer Systems 12.5—Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) 12.6—Parking Considerations 12.7—Landscaping 12.8—Transportation 12.9—References Chapter 13:  Structural Design Concepts 13.1—Load and Resistance Factor Design (LFRD) 13.2—Types of Loads 13.2.1—Dead Loads 13.2.2—Live Loads 13.2.3—Wind Loads 13.2.4—Roof Loads 13.2.5—Rain Loads 13.2.6—Snow Loads 13.2.7—Earthquake Loads 13.2.8—Other Loads 13.3—Structural Design Concepts 13.3.1—Concept of Tributary Area 13.3.2—One-Way and Two-Way Slabs Example 1: One-Way Slab Design of Flexure Reinforcement 13.3.3—Beams and Girders Example 2: Design of Continuous Steel Beam for Flexure by LRFD 13.3.4—Columns Example 3: Design of Steel Columns 13.3.5—Walls Example 4: Concrete shear wall design 13.3.6—Lateral Load Analysis 13.3.7—Serviceability 13.3.8—Structural Detailing 13.4—Foundation Design Concepts 13.4.1—Shallow Foundations 13.4.2—Strip Footer Foundations 13.4.3—Shallow Footer Foundations 13.4.4—Pile Foundations 13.5—References Chapter 14:  Cost Estimating 14.1—Purpose and Process 14.2—Stages of Cost Estimating 14.3—Bidding Process 14.4—Asset Management 14.5—Life Cycle Analysis 14.6—References 14.7—Assignments Chapter 15:  Conclusion

“Until now, there has not been a textbook for civil, construction, and environmental engineering capstone design courses that is as complete as Practical Concepts for Capstone Design Engineering. This book offers great value for professors and students.” —Sharon C. Long, Professor, University of Wisconsin

“Finding an acceptable design engineering textbook is an incredible challenge; Practical Concepts for Capstone Design Engineering is the text you have been looking for—it will provide students with the applied design knowledge required in today's civil and construction fields.”—Dr. Steven J. Duranceau, PE, Assoc Professor of Environmental Engineering; Dir. of Environmental Systems Engineering Institute, University of Central Florida