Practical Concepts for Capstone Design Engineering

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 comprehensiveevaluation 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.

PrefaceAbout the AuthorsChapter 1: Introduction to Capstone Design 1.1-The Capstone Design Process1.2-Course Objectives 1.3-Project Selection 1.4-Cours Management Structure 1.5-Group Selection1.6-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 Leadership2.1-Self-Assessment2.2-Types of Job Opportunities2.3-Branding2.4-Create the Group Design Firm2.5-Teaming Skills2.6-References2.7-AssignmentsChapter 3: The Profession and Ethical Conduct3.1-Engineering Ethics3.1.1-Where Do Ethics Come From?3.1.2-The Philosophers Weigh In3.1.3-Creeds, Codes and Canons3.2-Ethical Issues in Engineering3.2.1-Case Study 1: Licensure in Multiple States3.2.2-Case Study 2: Practicing Without a License3.2.3-Case Study 3: Design Defect3.2.4-Case Study 4: Failing to Seal the Documents3.2.5-Case Study 5: Sealing Documents That Are Not Final3.2.6-Case Study 6: Misleading Testimony about a Design3.3-Licensure3.4-References3.5-AssignmentsChapter 4: Getting the Design Contract4.1-Building the Capital Project4.2-What Owners (Should) Look For from Consulting Engineers4.3-What Consultants Do Not Need4.4-The Typical Public Sector Proposal Process4.4.1-Scope of the Project4.4.2-Requirements of Proposers4.4.3-Evaluation of Proposals4.5-The Typical Private Sector Proposal Process4.6-Stages in the Design Process4.6.1-Conceptual Design4.6.2-Construction Documents4.6.3-Scheduling and Project Delivery4.7-References4.8-AssignmentsChapter 5: The Art of Communication Skills for Engineers5.1-The Engineering Writing Style5.2-Outlining5.3-Good Grammar5.4-Citing References5.4.1-Journal References5.4.2-Conference Proceedings and Symposiums5.4.3-Books5.4.4-Reports5.4.5-Unpublished Material5.4.6-Web Pages5.4.7-Theses and Dissertations5.5-Writing Persuasively5.6-Engineering Graphics5.6.1-Numerical Tables5.6.2-Figures5.7-Proofreading Strategies5.8-Fonts5.9-Margins5.10-Typical Engineering Documents5.10.1-Meeting Minutes5.10.2-Emails and Informal Notes5.10.3-Memos5.10.4-Letters5.11-Typical Engineering Deliverables5.11.1-Progress Reports5.11.2-The Basis of Design Report5.11.3-Technical Memos5.11.4-Interim and Final Technical Reports5.12-Public Speaking5.12.1-Visual Aids5.12.2-Questions and Answers5.12.3-Evaluating Presentations5.13-References5.14-Assignments5.15-Appendix5.15.1-Grammar5.15.2-Punctuation5.15.3-Capitalization5.15.4-Common Spelling Errors5.15.5-Misused Words5.15.6-Abbreviations5.15.7-Numbers5.15.8-Figurative Language Use5.15.9-Voice5.15.10-Gender Issues5.15.11-Writing Pitfalls to AvoidChapter 6: Alternative Analysis6.1-Application to Design Projects6.2-Selection Criteria6.3-Scoring System6.4-Alternative Selection Matrix6.5-Sensitivity Analysis6.6-References6.7-AssignmentsChapter 7: High Performance Construction7.1-Why Build Green?7.2-Agencies That Valuate Green Building Performance7.2.1-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(R) Certification7.3.1- Requirements7.3.1.1-Sustainable Sites7.3.1.2-Water Efficiency7.3.1.3-Energy and Atmosphere7.3.1.4-Materials and Resources7.3.1.5-Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)7.3.1.6-Innovation and Design Process7.4-Triple Bottom Line7.5-References7.6-AssignmentsChapter 8: Environmental Site Assessment8.1- Scope8.2-The Environmental Professional8.3-Site Reconnaissance8.3.1-Exterior Reconnaissance8.3.2-Interior Reconnaissance8.4-Records Review8.5-Interviews8.6-Evaluation and Report8.7-Non-Scope Considerations8.8-Phase II and III8.9-References8.10-AssignmentsChapter 9: The Site Plan Development Process9.1-Community Plans and Codes9.2-Site Development9.3-Easements, Rights of Way, and Setbacks9.4-Utilities, Parking Requirements and Roadwork9.5-Building Code Requirements and Functionality9.6-AssignmentsChapter 10: The Floor Plan Development Process10.1-Building Program10.2-Floor PlanningChapter 11: Engineering Economics11.1-Interest Rates11.2-Single Payment Present Worth11.3-Future Value or Single Payment Compound Amount11.4-Annual Worth11.5-Future Worth Given an Annuity11.6-Gradients11.7-Shifted Annuities11.8-More About Interest Rates11.9-Dealing with More Complex Cash Flow Diagrams11.10-Comparing Options11.10.1-Break Even Analysis11.10.2-Annual Worth Analysis11.11- Inflation Adjustment11.12-Depreciation11.13-A Word of Caution11.14-References11.15-AssignmentsChapter 12: Preliminary Site Design and Non-Structural Concepts12.1-Roof Systems12.2-Onsite Stormwater Drainage12.3-Potable Water Systems12.4-Sanitary Sewer Systems12.5-Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC)12.6-Parking Considerations12.7-Landscaping12.8-Transportation12.9-ReferencesChapter 13: Structural Design Concepts13.1-Load and Resistance Factor Design (LFRD)13.2-Types of Loads13.2.1-Dead Loads13.2.2-Live Loads13.2.3-Wind Loads13.2.4-Roof Loads13.2.5-Rain Loads13.2.6-Snow Loads13.2.7-Earthquake Loads13.2.8-Other Loads13.3-Structural Design Concepts13.3.1-Concept of Tributary Area13.3.2-One-Way and Two-Way SlabsExample 1: One-Way Slab Design of Flexure Reinforcement13.3.3-Beams and GirdersExample 2: Design of Continuous Steel Beam for Flexure by LRFD13.3.4-ColumnsExample 3: Design of Steel Columns13.3.5-WallsExample 4: Concrete shear wall design13.3.6-Lateral Load Analysis13.3.7-Serviceability13.3.8-Structural Detailing13.4-Foundation Design Concepts13.4.1-Shallow Foundations13.4.2-Strip Footer Foundations13.4.3-Shallow Footer Foundations13.4.4-Pile Foundations13.5-ReferencesChapter 14: Cost Estimating14.1-Purpose and Process14.2-Stages of Cost Estimating14.3-Bidding Process14.4-Asset Management14.5-Life Cycle Analysis14.6-References14.7-AssignmentsChapter 15: Conclusion