CEE 3684 Civil Engineering Materials

Spring 2023

LECTURE SYLLABUS

Lecture: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 10:10 – 11:00 AM, Robeson – Room 210

Laboratory: Norris 129

Monday, 2:30-4:30 PM (CRN 12280)
Monday, 4:45-6:45 PM (CRN 12276)
Tuesday, 2:00-4:00 PM (CRN 12283)
Tuesday, 4:15-6:15 PM (CRN 12281)
Wednesday, 2:30-4:30 PM (CRN 12282)
Thursday, 2:00-4:00 PM (CRN 12278)
Thursday, 4:15-6:15 PM (CRN 12279)
Friday, 8:00-10:00 AM (CRN 12274)

Final Exam: Friday, May 5, 2023, 1:05-3:05 PM

Instructor: Dr. David W. Mokarem

Office Hours: Wednesday, 9:00-10:00 AM, Norris 129
(540) 231-2385, dmokarem@vt.edu

Textbook: M.S. Mamlouk and J.P. Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, 4th
Ed., Pearson, 2017. (Required)

Additional Resources Available Through the Library as eBooks:

• Forde, M., ICE Manual of Construction Materials, Volume 1, ICE Publishing, 2009.
https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/toc/id:kpICEMCMV3/ice-manual-construction/ice-manual-
construction
• Forde, M., ICE Manual of Construction Materials, Volume 2, ICE Publishing, 2009.
https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/toc/id:kpICEMCM01/ice-manual-construction/ice-manual-
construction
• Soutsos, M., and Domone, P., Construction Materials: Their Nature and Behaviour, 5th Ed., CRC
Press, 2018. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vt/detail.action?docID=5475737
• Ashby, M.F., Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Ed., Pearson, 2011.
https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/toc/id:kpMSMDE022/materials-selection-in-2/materials-selection-in-2
Course Objectives:
1. Recognize the importance of appropriate material selection in the design phase and in the
sustainability, durability and life-cycle cost of engineering facilities.
2. Recognize the importance of variability in measured material properties as illustrated by the
compressive strength of portland cement concrete and yield strength of metals, and how those
variations are treated within the design process.
3. Describe the strength, stiffness, and deformation capacity, as exhibited by stress-strain curves, for
steel, aluminum, portland cement concrete, polymers, fiber reinforced polymers, wood and hot-mix
asphalt.
4. Recognize the basic pavement performance parameters used in proportioning portland cement
concrete mixtures according to ACI and hot-mix asphalt mixtures according to the SuperPave
design procedure.
5. Describe field quality control procedures in the manufacturing and placing of portland cement
concrete and hot-mix asphalt.
6. Work as a member of an integrated team to complete laboratory tests and reports.
7. Understand experimental design principle as illustrated by developing an ASTM-type procedure
utilizing simple principles and commonly available tools and devices.

Prerequisites: CHEM 1035, CHEM 1045, ESM 2204, CEE 2814 and GEOS 2104 or GEOS 1004. You
must have obtained a grade of C- or better in the prerequisite courses.

Special Needs: Students are encouraged to address any special needs or accommodations with me during
the first two weeks of the semester, or as soon as you become aware of your needs. Those seeking
accommodations based on disabilities should obtain a Faculty Letter from Services for Students with
Disabilities Office (231-0858 or http://www.ssd.vt.edu/ ).

Grading Policy: Grading will reflect performance on two exams, laboratory reports, homeworks, quizzes,
and the final exam.
Homework and Quizzes 15%
Laboratory Memos/Reports 25%
Exam 1 (Nature of Materials, Metals) 20% (Wednesday, February 22, 2023)
Exam 2 (Wood, Polymers, Concrete) 20% (Monday, April 10, 2023)
Final Exam (Asphalt, NDT, Sustainability) 20% (Friday, May 5, 2023, 1:05-3:05 PM)
100%
• All laboratory memos/reports must be turned in to obtain a passing grade.
• Dates and exam content are subject to change based on progress of lectures and labs.
• The final exam will occur at the date and time assigned by the university, which will be May 5,
2023, from 1:05-3:05 PM. The final exam will not be cumulative, and will only be available during
this scheduled time and you will have the full 2 hours to complete the exam. It is your responsibility
to inform me of any conflicts with the exam times.
• All homework and other assignments can be submitted in-person or through Canvas. It is your
responsibility to confirm that the assignment gets submitted on time. Let me know as soon as
possible of any uploading or submitting issues, since this does sometimes happen with Canvas.

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Public Health Expectations: Please stay home if you are feeling sick. You can refer to
https://ready.vt.edu/public-health-guidelines.html for additional recommendations and information. If you
must miss a lab, then please inform your Lab TAs by email prior to the beginning of the lab session. You
should also notify your group members as soon as possible to keep them informed. Even for a missed lab,
the lab memos/reports are still due on time, unless otherwise arranged with Dr. Mokarem or the Lab TAs.

Policies and Procedures: The course outline will serve as a general guide for the order of work. However,
it is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor at any time during the semester and changes will be
announced in class. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of any changes in class activities. Course
notes and lectures will be regularly posted on Canvas. It is the student’s responsibility to regularly visit this
site to keep up to date.

All submitted work shall be graded work unless otherwise noted. The assignments shall be completed
neatly; it is recommended, though not required, that your homework assignments be typed rather than hand-
written. All assignments shall include the student’s name, course number, submittal date or assignment
number, and page numbers. All solutions must include the problem statement, show all work, include all
units, and have all the final answers boxed. Failure to comply with these guidelines will result in loss of
points. The homeworks are individual, not group, assignments (see Honor Code discussion below).

All homework assignments must be turned in with a signed Honor Code statement: “I have neither given
nor received unauthorized assistance on this assignment.” The pledge is to be written out on all graded
assignments (homeworks and lab reports). The honor pledge represents both an expression of the student’s
support of the honor code and an unambiguous acknowledgment that the student has, on the assignment in
question, abided by the obligation that the Honor Code entails. In the absence of a written honor pledge,
the Honor Code still applies to an assignment. Failure to include this signed statement will result in an
automatic grade deduction of 5%.

Any unexcused late homework assignments will receive a 10% grade reduction for every day that it is late,
starting after the due date.

Homework assignments will cover topics that are discussed in lecture as well as concepts or problems that
are involved in the laboratory assignments. The homeworks are intended to bring together the concepts
covered in lecture and in lab.

Laboratory memos/reports must be prepared according to guidelines provided to you. All lab
memos/reports must be turned in to obtain a passing grade.

Honor Code: Both the ASCE Code of Ethics and the Virginia Tech Honor Code applies to all work in this
class, including (but not limited to) homework, quizzes, exams, laboratory projects and reports, and
examinations. You need to include in the title page for every assignment a signed statement that your
submission complies with the requirements of both of these codes. The Virginia Tech honor pledge for
assignments is as follows: “I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance on this assignment;”
an acceptable parallel statement for ASCE is “This work complies with the ASCE Code of Ethics.”
The Undergraduate Honor Code pledge that each member of the university community agrees to abide by
states: “As a Hokie, I will conduct myself with honor and integrity at all times. I will not lie, cheat, or steal,
nor will I accept the actions of those who do.” According to the Constitution of the Virginia Tech Honor

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System: “The fundamental beliefs underlying and reflected in the Honor Code are: (1) that trust in a person
is a positive force in making that person worthy of trust, (2) that every student has the right to live in an
academic environment that is free from the injustices caused by any form of intellectual dishonesty, and (3)
that the honesty and integrity of all members of the university community contribute to its quest for Truth.”
Students enrolled in this course are responsible for abiding by the Honor Code. A student who has doubts
about how the Honor Code applies to any assignment is responsible for obtaining specific guidance from
the course instructor before submitting the assignment for evaluation. Ignorance of the rules does not
exclude any member of the University community from the requirements and expectations of the Honor
Code.

When written work is submitted for grading, it is implied that the work is the sole effort of the person, or
persons, whose name(s) appears on the title page. You may seek help on the principles and applications
involved in the assignment, and you may talk to each other about these principles and applications, but you
are not to simply copy the work of another person or allow another person to work a problem for you. There
are numerous copies of lab reports from previous years available but be aware that your submissions will
be electronically checked for any type of plagiarism. Note also that if someone in your group commits
plagiarism, it is the responsibility of the group as a whole and not just the single individual that committed
the offense.

Suspected violations of the Honor Code will be immediately referred to the Undergraduate Honor System
for adjudication. Some examples of violations include:

1. CHEATING: Cheating includes the intentional use of unauthorized materials, information, notes, study
aids or other devices or materials in any academic exercise, or attempts thereof.
2. PLAGIARISM: Plagiarism includes the copying of the language, structure, programming, computer
code, ideas, and/or thoughts of another and passing off the same as one's own original work, or attempts
thereof.
3. FALSIFICATION: Falsification includes the statement of any untruth, either verbally or in writing,
4. FABRICATION: Fabrication includes making up data and results, and recording or reporting them, or
submitting fabricated documents, or attempts thereof.
5. MULTIPLE SUBMISSION: Multiple submission involves the submission for credit—without
authorization of the instructor receiving the work—of substantial portions of any work (including oral
reports) previously submitted for credit at any academic institution, or attempts thereof.
6. COMPLICITY: Complicity includes intentionally helping another to engage in an act of academic
misconduct, or attempts thereof.
7. VIOLATION OF UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE, DEPARTMENTAL, PROGRAM, COURSE, OR
FACULTY RULES: The violation of any University, College, Departmental, Program, Course, or
Faculty Rules relating to academic matters that may lead to an unfair academic advantage by the student
violating the rule(s).

For additional information on the Honor Code, visit: https://www.honorsystem.vt.edu/

If you have questions or are unclear about what constitutes academic misconduct on an assignment, please
speak with me. I take the Honor Code very seriously in this course. The normal sanction I recommend for
a violation of the Honor Code is an F* sanction as your final course grade, which means that the student
failed the course because of an Honor Code violation. A student who receives a sanction of F* as their final
course grade shall have it documented on their transcript with the notation “FAILURE DUE TO

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ACADEMIC HONOR CODE VIOLATION.” You would be required to complete an education program
administered by the Honor System in order to have the “*” and notation “FAILURE DUE TO ACADEMIC
HONOR CODE VIOLATION” removed from your transcript. The “F” however would be permanently on
your transcript.

The ASCE Code of Ethics governs the behavior of the civil engineering profession and familiarity and
adherence to this code is a fundamental part of the profession; thus, I will assume that in everything you do
in this class, you will abide by those rules. For additional information: http://www.asce.org/code-of-ethics/

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 CEE 3684 – Spring 2023 –Tentative Class Schedule
Week Lecture Topic M&Z Chapter
01/16/23 No Class - Martin Luther King Holiday
1 01/18/23 1. Syllabus and Introduction
01/20/23 2. Engineering Design/Materials Selection
01/23/23 3. Nature of Materials 2.1-2.3
2 01/25/23 4. Nature of Materials 2.1-2.3
01/27/23 5. Mechanical Properties of Elastic Materials 1.2-1.3
01/31/23 6. Mechanical Properties of Elastic Materials 1.2-1.3, 1.8
3 02/01/23 7. Stress-Strain Curves for Metals 3.9
02/03/23 8. Hardness, Fatigue and Fracture 3.9
02/06/23 9. Steel 3.1-3.7
4 02/08/23 10. Steel 3.1-3.7
02/10/23 11. Phase Diagrams 3.1-3.7
02/13/23 12. Metal Processing 3.1-3.7
5 02/15/23 13. Aluminum 4.1-4.5
02/17/23 14. Welding and Corrosion 3.10-3.11
02/20/23 15. Welding and Corrosion 3.10-3.11
6 02/22/23 16. Exam #1
02/24/23 17. Polymers 2.4
02/27/23 18. Composites 11.1-11.3
7 03/01/23 19. Composites 11.1-11.3
03/03/23 20. Wood 10.1-10.13
03/06/23 Spring Break
8 03/08/23 Spring Break
03/10/23 Spring Break
03/13/23 21. Wood 10.1-10.13
9 03/15/23 22. Aggregate 5.1-5.6
03/17/23 23. Concrete 6.1
03/20/23 24. Concrete 7.2
10 03/22/23 25. Concrete 6.1-6.9
03/24/23 26. Concrete 6.1-6.9
03/27/23 27. Concrete 6.11-6.12
11 03/29/23 28. Concrete 7.3
03/31/23 29. Concrete 7.4
04/03/23 30. Concrete 7.1
12 04/05/23 31. Concrete
04/07/23 32. Concrete
04/10/23 33. Exam #2
13 04/12/23 34. Non-Destructive Testing 7.5
04/14/23 35. Asphalt 9.1-9.4
04/17/23 36. Asphalt 9.1-9.4
14 04/19/23 37. Asphalt 9.11
04/21/23 38. Asphalt 9.5-9.7
04/24/23 39. Asphalt 9.8-9.10
15 04/26/23 40. Asphalt 9.8-9.10
04/28/23 41. Sustainability
05/01/23 42. Summary
16 05/03/23 43. Review
05/05/23 Final Exam: 1:05 - 3:05 PM