Project 4 (in Civil Engineering) [ LFSAB1510 ]

• Bibliographic study and understanding of the problem as posed ; setting up specifications
• Development of a methodology appropriately addressing the posed problem
• Development of a model (analytic, numerical, physical, etc.)
• Running simulations and performance evaluation
• Writing up a final report and verbal presentation

Examples of applications (the accent will be rotated through the years between hydraulics, soil mechanics and structures to sustain projects interest):

• Port facilities development
• Structural rehabilitation
• Seismic risk
• Onshore or offshore windmill'

The skills addressed by « projects 4 » include on one hand transverse skills, common to all projects 4, and on the other hand disciplinary, technical skills that are specific to each engineering specialty.

Transverse skills :
Projects 4 aim at having students acquire transverse skills close to the engineering professionnal practice within a diverse disciplinary environment :

• Analyze an existing system and perfect it ;
• Analyze and critique experimental data ;
• Place models in perspective with the reality that they aim to reproduce and simulate ;
• Grasp the notion of uncertainty within the management of a project, its implementation, and its outcome.

The project will allow for a trial-and-error approach, typically adopted by young engineers at the beginning of their carrers.

Technical disciplinary skills :

• Understand (as a group of students) a civil and environmental engineering problem, assess project objectives as identified by man facing natural variability within socio-economic constraints
• Mobilize within a pluridisciplinary context the skills acquired through the civil and environmental curriculum (e.g. in hydraulics, soil mechanics, or structures) to devise a model simulating the analyzed observations
• Acquire and apply additional and advanced skills pertaining to civil and environmental engineering (review of scientific literature and textbooks, consulting contractors and design offices, etc.)
• Implement a creative process aiming at testing the performance of considered modifications via the simulation of hypothetical scenarios
• Communicate technical issues, verbally and/or in writing, in English

The students present and defend their project in front of a jury consisting of the appointed professors and supplemented by the tutors having supervised the project.

 Bibliographic study and understanding of the problem as posed ; setting up specifications
Development of a methodology appropriately addressing the posed problem
Development of a model (analytic, numerical, physical, etc.)
Running simulations and performance evaluation
Writing up a final report and verbal presentation

Examples of applications (the accent will be rotated through the years between hydraulics, soil mechanics and structures to sustain projects interest):
' Port facilities development
' Structural rehabilitation
' Seismic risk
' Onshore or offshore windmill'

This course belongs to the set of courses « Project 4 » of the baccalaureate curriculum for civil engineers.  Projects 4 share common transverse objectives but are offered under different versions to address disciplinary objectives specific to each major/minor branch of the programme. Each student chooses either the project offered by its Major, or that offered by its Minor, if elected.