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Top seven Popular Civil Engineering Softwares

Civil Engineering Software

 

There are a variety of software programs which are available for the different specialized disciplines of Civil Engineering. Most civil engineers practice in specialized subsets of civil engineering, such as geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, hydraulic engineering, environmental engineering, project and construction management and land surveying.

 

The trend to implement software programs into the Civil Engineering industry began as educational concerns for the future as Civil Engineering prepared to enter the twenty-first century. Today, these concerns and trends are centered around the continuing education unitwhich have become required as part of maintaining the professional license. As a result of the expanding use and demand for these software programs, there was less of a necessity for occupations such as draftsman, because the engineer began to prepare and input the design parameters into the program, thus eliminating the need for manual drafting. Land Surveying, a specialized subset of Civil Engineering, relies heavily on the computerization of the industry. University textbooks have already since begun to include software applications for students to gain experience with some kind of software interface.

Another specific subset, infrastructure design, relies heavily on estimates of load, pressure, drainage and flow. Some software houses have attempted to provide design software catering for the variety of infrastructure design fields in an integrated manner. However, more commonly used software programs such as Microsoft Exceland CodeFormmay be utilized in the same manner at a fraction of the cost of design software . When planning the construction phase, various project management methods are used to estimate factors such as cost, schedule and resourcing. Different software packages rely on different formulas and theories as the basis for these calculations.

Another aspect of software programs utilized by civil engineers is not only for the use of designing site infrastructure, but also to maintain it. As recent as 2011, there are programs available which allow the engineer to to monitor bridges for cracks and settlements, as well as water distribution networks for failing subsurface pipes through the use of sensors installed. This has created the ability for the engineer to eliminate some of the costs and liabilities associated with human inspectors. AutoCADCivil 2012 offers the ability to streamline applications as well as other Autodesk programs, making it easier and cheaper for the engineer to work with others. As a result, these programs have become much faster than the versions released five years ago, with the ability to incorporate much more information.

Top seven Popular Civil Engineering Softwares

 

1) Primavera Project Planner:-

Primavera’s Project Management module is comprehensive, multiproject planning and control software, built on SQL, Oracle, and SQL Server Express server databases for organization-wide project management scalability. The module can stand alone for project and resource management, or it can be used with companion Primavera products to manage your project portfolios.

Primavera Video Tutorials

2) AutoCAD:-

Design and shape the world around you with the powerful, flexible features found in AutoCAD® software, one of the world’s leading 2D and 3D design applications. Autodesk has been bringing efficiencies to your design process for more than 26 years. Used by millions of people globally, AutoCAD offers robust 3D free-form design tools and powerful drafting and documentation capabilities.

AutoCAD Video Tutorials

Speed Documentation

Drive projects from concept to completion with the powerful documentation tools in AutoCAD. Automation, management, and editing tools minimize repetitive tasks and accelerate your workflow. No matter your project’s size or scope, easily meet its challenges with AutoCAD. AutoCAD offers a broad toolset that helps you drive efficiencies throughout the drafting and documentation process in every industry.

  • Parametric Drawing—Define relationships between objects.• Sheet Sets—Organize and manage your drawing sheets efficiently.
  • Dynamic Blocks—Save time when using standard, repetitive components.
  • Annotation Scaling—Spend less time sizing and resizing annotations. Don’t settle for second best. Rely on the drafting and documentation tools in AutoCAD to exceed expectations.

Explore Your Ideas

AutoCAD gives you the flexibility you need to explore design ideas in both 2D and 3D. A powerful set of intuitive tools help you visualize and shape your ideas, bringing innovative concepts to life.

  • 3D Free-Form Design—Use surface, mesh, and solid modeling tools to explore and refine your ideas.
  • Powerful Visualization Tools—Add impact to your designs.
  • 3D Navigation Tools—Walk or fly through a model.
  • Point Cloud Support—Bring 3D laser scans into AutoCAD, speeding renovation and restoration projects.

3) Vico Softwares:-

Vico Video Training

The Vico Office suite is a highly integrated solution designed specifically to bring the benefits of BIM to construction companies. The software synchronizes the 3D virtual construction model, estimating and scheduling data, and helps construction firms determine how best to construct buildings. The Vico Office suite covers project constructability, estimating, cost management, schedule planning, procurement, and the change management processes.

Using virtual construction allows you to improve project predictability, optimize schedules, reduce risk, and manage project cost.

We know that when the commercial construction market starts climbing again that BIM technologies will differentiate general contractors. What better time to get key members of your team ramped up and outfitted with best solution on the market?

Vico Office is the first integrated construction management solution for GCs that leverages the power of the 3D BIM model for 4D model-based scheduling and 5D model-based estimating. And the 3D models can come from multiple sources: architects, engineers, subs; and come in multiple flavors: Revit, Tekla, ArchiCAD, CAD-Duct.

Here are the commercially-available Vico Software products:

  • Vico Doc Set Manager: identifies changes in construction drawing sets with clouding, RFIs, and change orders
  • Vico Office Client: for viewing and combining models from different systems; viewing RFIs/Clouds/Change Orders; creating/reading reports
  • Vico Office Constructability Manager: integrated workflow for clash detection and coordination which impacts the quantities, schedule, and cost plan
  • Vico Office Takeoff Manager: for deriving construction-caliber quantities from BIM models
  • Vico Office Cost Planner: for taking those quantities and creating cost plans of the model and then updating each time the model is changed
  • Vico Office Cost Explorer: the first model-based budgeting application – allows the Owner to visually see which aspects of the project are contributing the change in cost
  • Vico Control: our flowline theory-based scheduling application leveraging resources, productivity rates, and locations and then managing to put-in-place work

The website contains many materials to help you learn more about the 5D BIM products and services.

4) SAP2000:

SAP2000 Video Learning

The SAP name has been synonymous with state-of-the-art analytical methods since its introduction over 30 years ago. SAP2000 follows in the same tradition featuring a very sophisticated, intuitive and versatile user interface powered by an unmatched analysis engine and design tools for engineers working on transportation, industrial, public works, sports, and other facilities.

From its 3D object based graphical modeling environment to the wide variety of analysis and design options completely integrated across one powerful user interface, SAP2000 has proven to be the most integrated, productive and practical general purpose structural program on the market today.

This intuitive interface allows you to create structural models rapidly and intuitively without long learning curve delays. Now you can harness the power of SAP2000 for all of your analysis and design tasks, including small day-to-day problems. Complex Models can be generated and meshed with powerful Templates built into the interface.

The Advanced Analytical Techniques allow for Step-by-Step Large Deformation Analysis, Multiple P-Delta, Eigen and Ritz Analyses, Cable Analysis, Tension or Compression Only Analysis, Buckling Analysis, Blast Analysis, Fast Nonlinear Analysis for Dampers, Base Isolators and Support Plasticity, Energy Methods for Drift Control and Segmental Construction Analysis.

Bridge Designers can use SAP2000 Bridge Templates for generating Bridge Models, Automated Bridge Live Load Analysis and Design, Bridge Base Isolation, Bridge Construction Sequence Analysis, Large Deformation Cable Supported Bridge Analysis and Pushover Analysis.

SAP2000 is for everyone! SAP2000 is for every project! From a simple small 2D static frame analysis to a large complex 3D nonlinear dynamic analysis, SAP2000 is the answer to all structural analysis and design needs.

5) RISA 3D:

Fast, Accurate, Productive – just a few ways engineers describe RISA-3D. Easily the most popular general 3D analysis/design software available, our intuitive interface and familiar spreadsheets help you solve your next problem in minutes, not hours.

Packed with the most current steel, concrete, cold-formed steel, and timber design codes, RISA-3D gives you the tools to tackle multi-material projects with confidence.

RISA-3D also integrates seamlessly with RISAFloor and RISAFoundation, including links to top detailing, drafting, and BIM packages for a complete building design solution.

6) Mathcad:

Today’s top engineers use Mathcad to perform, document and share calculation and design work. The unique Mathcad visual format and scratchpad interface integrate live, standard mathematical notation, text and graphs in a single worksheet – making Mathcad ideal for knowledge capture, calculation reuse, and engineering collaboration.

Mathcad is engineering calculation software that drives innovation and offers significant personal and process productivity advantages for product development and engineering design projects. Unlike proprietary calculating tools and spreadsheets, Mathcad lets engineers design and document engineering calculations simultaneously with comprehensive applied math functionality and dynamic, unit-aware calculations.

Features & Benefits

  • Easy to learn and use – no special programming skills required
  • Increases productivity, saving engineers time and reducing errors
  • Improves verification and validation of critical calculations
  • Captures intellectual property and promotes calculation best practices and reuse of calculation content
  • Enables secure, robust management of calculations when used with Windchill
  • Complete documentation of calculations supports standards compliance.

7) Pipe 2000:-

Hydraulic pipe distribution modeling software is often designed to operate within a GIS or CAD environment. These types of environments complicate and limit the use. Pipe2010 is a powerful hydraulic pipe distribution design software originally developed for the engineer needing accurate and efficient hydraulic calculations. It’s very simple Graphical User Interface (GUI) has been under development and widely used for more than 35 years. KYPipe has been utilized by nearly every major engineering consulting firm, most nuclear facilities and has passed numerous rigorous qualification requirements. Pioneered by two world renowned Hydraulic Engineers, KYPipe has always been first and foremost a powerful hydraulic analysis program for engineers.

 

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