Every topic on the exam, explained in depth: intuition, key equations, worked examples, and the traps to avoid. Organized by the NCEES PE Civil: Structural exam specification and cross-referenced to the PE Civil Reference Handbook + ACI 318, AISC, ASCE 7, IBC, AASHTO LRFD, NDS, TMS.
14 exam areas
Dead, live, and construction loads; tributary areas and vertical and lateral load paths; live-load reduction; earth pressure and surcharge; and ASCE 7 strength and allowable-stress load combinations.
Wind pressures and forces, seismic base shear and vertical distribution of lateral force, snow, rain, and ice loads, impact and moving (vehicular and crane) loads, and their delivery to the lateral system.
Reactions and determinacy, shear and moment diagrams, axial force, internal forces in beams and frames, combined normal and shear stresses, and the behavior of statically indeterminate members.
Beam and frame deflections by double integration, moment-area, conjugate-beam, and virtual-work methods; standard deflection formulas for common loadings; and serviceability deflection limits.
Euler and inelastic column buckling, effective length, torsion of shafts and members, fatigue, thermal deformation, bearing, and progressive-collapse considerations.
Engineering properties of concrete, steel, timber, and masonry; stress-strain behavior and modulus; concrete strength and mix; and material test methods (compression, tension, slump) and specification conformance.
Phase relationships and index properties, USCS and AASHTO classification, shear strength, permeability, compressibility and consolidation, lateral earth-pressure coefficients, and bearing-capacity parameters.
ACI flexural and shear strength of beams and one-way slabs, reinforcement ratio limits and development length, short-column axial capacity, and prestressed-concrete service stresses and prestress losses.
AISC tension, compression, flexure, and shear member strength by LRFD and ASD, block shear, lateral-torsional buckling, beam-column interaction, and composite-beam behavior.
NDS allowable-stress design of sawn-lumber and glulam beams and columns, adjustment factors, bending and horizontal shear, bearing, stability, and combined bending and axial loads.
TMS allowable-stress design of reinforced and unreinforced CMU and brick: flexure, shear, axial and slender-wall capacity, reinforcement, and brick-veneer anchorage.
Bolted and welded steel connections, bearing and slip-critical bolts, weld strength, block shear, and embedded, anchored, and post-installed anchors in concrete.
Bearing capacity and settlement of spread footings, combined footings and mats, pile and drilled-shaft capacity, and retaining-wall stability against sliding, overturning, and bearing.
Formwork and falsework lateral pressures, shoring and reshoring, scaffolding and bracing, anchorage, special inspections and submittals, construction impact on adjacent facilities, and OSHA construction safety.