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Module

CEG3004 : Sustainable Engineering Systems Design Project

  • Offered for Year: 2024/25
  • Module Leader(s): Professor Stefano Utili
  • Lecturer: Dr Agostino Bruno, Professor Chris Kilsby, Professor Elisabetta Cherchi, Professor Sean Wilkinson, Dr Anke Neumann
  • Owning School: Engineering
  • Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Semester 2 Credit Value: 20
ECTS Credits: 10.0
European Credit Transfer System

Aims

To introduce the students to aspects of the preparation and decision making in a major multi-disciplinary design project.
To develop skills needed to operate as project leaders in the gathering, analysis and comparison of relevant data from diverse sources.
To be able to define alternative solutions to a problem, select a preferred solution objectively, and cost their solution; be able to present and defend that decision using a variety of techniques.
To learn how to operate and communicate within a multi-disciplinary technical team.

This is a project which introduces the students to hypothetical aspects of a real project that they could encounter soon after graduation. The tasks are typical of the ones that will be faced in a multi-disciplinary Civil Engineering project. The project will integrate the knowledge students have gained in other parts of the course (environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transport engineering, fluid mechanics, engineering materials and integrated design 2) a single design project. Students will also appreciate the compromises that are made between engineering and sustainability related decisions.

Outline Of Syllabus

The syllabus is based on supporting students to develop detailed engineering designs for a number specific of elements, taken from the masterplan produced in CEG3001. For example:
• Structures – Building Design and architectural design Water and Environmental – design of SUDS including treatment
• Transport – A green transport plan which delivers to a brief of e.g. reducing car trips whilst improving air quality
• Geotechnical - Foundations (and retaining wall) for the structure
• Sustainability – each design should be related back to the sustainability statement and carbon footprint appraisal and state how sustainability is addressed/carbon footprint reduced.
• Costing - costings will be produced for each design element.

There is a ‘Visualisation and BIM’ thread through the Civil Engineering programmes and Design of Sustainable Engineering Systems (DSES) project modules in particular. Students will continue to make use of manual drawings in developing and communicating their design, and make use of AutoCAD and SketchUp (or similar software) to produce professional 2D and 3D technical drawings and 3D imagery for their final reports and presentations. There will be an industrial guest speaker session on Building Information Modelling (BIM) in practice for a real design and construction project closely related to the current student project. Having introduced the students to the concepts of BIM in previous years’ DSES modules (CEG1001, CEG2001), and introduced Revit in the DSES module last Semester (CEG3001), the students will be encouraged to explore the use of Revit for collaborative data handling between their specialist teams in the small scale context of this design project and for visualization in their final reports and presentations. In Stage 4, students will go on to Construction Project Management module (CEG8002), which goes on to broaden and deepen the students’ awareness of the latest requirements and opportunities for BIM in the context of full scale construction projects.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities
Category Activity Number Length Student Hours Comment
Structured Guided LearningLecture materials100:305:00Online via Canvas - Module introduction/recap. Non- Synchronous online
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion115:0015:00Individual reflective report
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion115:0015:00Client presentation
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesLecture62:0012:00PiP
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion118:0018:00Detailed design
Guided Independent StudyDirected research and reading115:0015:00Online - module lecturer will give students relevant reading for module topics throughout the semest
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesSmall group teaching62:0012:00PiP small group tutorials to receive practical information, discussion/feedback
Structured Guided LearningStructured research and reading activities17:007:00Online - info on what student what expect
Guided Independent StudyStudent-led group activity63:0018:00Organised appropriately by students
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesDrop-in/surgery111:0011:00Synchronous-online
Guided Independent StudyIndependent study170:0070:00N/A
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesModule talk12:002:00PiP A short online session given by a lecturer introducing topics
Total200:00
Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Each lecture is linked to a small group teaching activity and an exercise; both are linked to each design element as described in the syllabus. These are supplemented by practical computer classes for instruction on the use of appropriate design software.

The student-led group work exercises are designed to help students develop detailed briefs for the design elements and to provide feedback and support to the design groups as things progress. They will also help resolve issues associated with information flow between groups.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment
Description Semester When Set Percentage Comment
Report2M40Subgroup contribution to design report
Report2M20Group mark for the design report
Prof skill assessmnt2M20Group presentation on design. Marks to be peer assessed.
Report2M20Individual Reflective Report - Individual report focussing on growing professional competence
Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Groups will be organised into design teams. - 3 winning masterplans will be selected from the CEG3001 submissions, which will form the basis of the designs and the teams for Semester 2.

Teams will consist of:
•       Structures
•       Architecture
•       Geotechnics
•       Transport
•       Water
•       Environmental

Each student will have a major design role, a secondary support role and a checking role so that you get experience of more than one discipline. Each group will be asked to produce clear statements which assign roles and responsibilities and develop reporting and communication protocols for production and flow of design information, making the link with Construction Management (CEG3002) from Semester 1.

Detailed technical design reports and drawings will be produced by each design team with individual sections attributed to individual students.

An oral presentation to a simulated Client group (form of presentation to be decided by the groups) will be used to assess the students’ ability to present a design orally and to defend that design in a formal and pressurised setting.

Each student will be required to submit a Peer assessment form to peer assess their team members.

Reading Lists

Timetable