I’m studying to be a civil engineer, and in this semester i have an architectural subject and i have to find characteristics of building materials (thermo, sound, hydro isolation). i’ve been searching it on the internet, in various books, but so far i’ve only found a few thermo-iso materials. the problem is that i need characteristics like speed of sound through the material, impendance, specific heat… which are quite hard to find.
i know there are some (civil) engineers on this board and if anyone knows of books or preferably internet sites on which i can find info it would be really great.
I hope you have a really big library at your school. Much of that information will be in specific trade books, trade magazines and possibly in course required text books.
If you need info on metal materials you can start with the Mechanical Engineering Handbook.
If you need info on wood or plastics check the school bookstore for texts on Non-Metallic Materials. Mechanical engineering colleges usually require 1 or 2 texts on the subject.
Go by your Dean’s office, in the waiting area/lobby there may be a few trade mags. They can point you to specific reference texts, web sites, past articles, etc… If you find an article related to your project then email the author. In my experience authors of trade mag article are thrilled that someone actually read their article and has an actual question for them. Just don’t let them talk your ear off. Some get really excited about the nuts and bolts of their trade.
Try a Thermodynamics, Mechanics of Materials Texts. I think you’ll need some conductivity coefficients and density numbers. Try a used book store. Good luck
[quote]Hrastnik wrote:
the problem is that i need characteristics like speed of sound through the material, impendance, specific heat… which are quite hard to find.
[/quote]
I’m a Civil/Structural Engineer and I fail so see what these properties have to do with the field of Civil Engineering. I must question if you are looking for the right things. I have yet to use these properties in my daily practice. I’m not saying you won’t, but I seriously doubt it. The only use for speed of sound through a material I have seen is for the calculation of a water hammer.
You might want to investigate the properties such as: Modulus of Elasticity, Yield Strength, Poisson’s Ratio, Resilience, Toughness, Hardness, Creep, Shear Strength…
I’m a Civil/Structural Engineer and I fail so see what these properties have to do with the field of Civil Engineering.
Wow! Where did you get your degree and what are you currently doing?
I am currently a Structural Engineer and I have 2 Engineering Degrees (Bachelor’s and Master’s).[/quote]
… and you have no idea how these properties could be important for civil engineers? I’m not sure if you’re trivializing something you don’t personally use on a day to day basis, or you actually believe they have no importance. I suspect it is the former, but am pretty disappointed if it is the latter (especially with the M.S.)
The OP mentioned that he needed the info for an Architecture course - not a CE course. If he needs the info, then lets help the kid out. Stop complaining.
I recall taking a bunch of crap courses that have done little to nothing for my professional career.
I’m a Civil/Structural Engineer and I fail so see what these properties have to do with the field of Civil Engineering.
Wow! Where did you get your degree and what are you currently doing?
I am currently a Structural Engineer and I have 2 Engineering Degrees (Bachelor’s and Master’s).
… and you have no idea how these properties could be important for civil engineers? I’m not sure if you’re trivializing something you don’t personally use on a day to day basis, or you actually believe they have no importance. I suspect it is the former, but am pretty disappointed if it is the latter (especially with the M.S.) [/quote]
Why would a structural engineer need to know the speed of sound through a material or impedance? Explain.
No, I’m not saying they are useless. I’m saying that I have never found those properties useful. I don’t know if other Civil Engineers use these properties, either. I haven’t heard of any.
[quote]makdaddy wrote:
The OP mentioned that he needed the info for an Architecture course - not a CE course. If he needs the info, then lets help the kid out. Stop complaining.
I recall taking a bunch of crap courses that have done little to nothing for my professional career.
Just my two cents-[/quote]
I’m not complaining. I was pointing out the fact that other material properties may be more useful. It may be worth his time to investigate the properties I mentioned above.
I am a Civil/Structural engineer, much like the resident Wookie, and agree that ASTM books are probably the only way to go for general properties. I work with bridge components, and have only seen use of these properties when working with sound barrier walls (those big walls by rich neighborhoods who bitch about consturction).
The method of construction is going to be hugely important here, and my thoughts would be that these properties will vary greatly between manufacturers and material, escpecially with a material that can vary so greatly in composition, like concrete.
Just start digging in reference manuals. The internet is a last resort for this type of stuff, all the official publications cost $$$ and are kept offline for that reason.
[quote]Chewie wrote:
Hrastnik wrote:
the problem is that i need characteristics like speed of sound through the material, impendance, specific heat… which are quite hard to find.
I’m a Civil/Structural Engineer and I fail so see what these properties have to do with the field of Civil Engineering. I must question if you are looking for the right things. I have yet to use these properties in my daily practice. I’m not saying you won’t, but I seriously doubt it. The only use for speed of sound through a material I have seen is for the calculation of a water hammer.
You might want to investigate the properties such as: Modulus of Elasticity, Yield Strength, Poisson’s Ratio, Resilience, Toughness, Hardness, Creep, Shear Strength…
Also, ASTM might be a good resource.
[/quote]
Chewie, i do realise, that info i’m looking for has very little to do with civil engineering. but like i said, it’s an architectural subject, and professors are architects, and if they demand that i look up that info, well fuck it, i have to do it to pass the class.