Lateral SE Exam References

[cancmm]

Just gearing up to study for the lateral component (bridge focus) of the SE exam this fall. I failed the morning component of test by two questions last year and I therefore intend to overprepare myself so I can put this godforsaken test behind me. My experience is in bridges and I'm therefore quite unfamiliar with the AISC Seismic Design Manual (among other building-related references). Are there any suggestions from the group on appropriate textbooks covering seismic design in steel? Most references I've found do not cover this adequately, if at all.

Thanks!

 

[fegenbush]

I have found the Seismic Design Manual published by the Structural Engineers Association of California to be a valuable resource. Volume 3 covers steel, concrete, and cladding.

 

[kylesito]

I took several books in with me but pretty much used the Kaplan Seismic book for most of the morning stuff on Saturday. It's part of what they call their learning system but I highly recommend this for the lateral portion of the test. I did buildings but I would think it breaks down many concepts well enough that it could be useful for a bridge guy who wasn't as familiar even. Just a good, easy to read reference with practical examples.

http://www.kaplanaecengineering.com...e_type``from`product_list`product_detail.aspx

PE, SE
Eastern United States

"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi

 

[CURVEB]

Just out of curiosity, how are you able to tell how close you were to passing? NCEES does not publish passing scores, correct?

 

[kylesito]

I believe they publish failing scores. Unfortunately, I found this out several times trying to get through the SE1.

PE, SE
Eastern United States

"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi

 

[cancmm]

Thanks everyone for the input.

KB4894 - If you fail, NCEES gives you a "diagnostic" which breaks down the topics and how many you got right in each. As expected, I passed with flying colors on the bridge portions but failed miserably on building topics like steel, wood and cold formed. Lesson learned... study more!

 

[RFreund]

kylesto or others - couple of questions:

Did you have/like the kaplan learning system?
Do you want to sell your books?
Do you want to sell them to me for a discount? I could see this last question getting flagged and understandably so, but I'm taking my chances.



EIT

http://www.HowToEngineer.com

 

[kylesito]

Yes....and definitely recommend it.

No. I actually reference all three in practice because I found some of their explanations / examples so well written that it's still a good reference when I need to brush up on something.

PE, SE
Eastern United States

"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi

 

[RFreund]

Understandable.

While were on the subject, whats your advice on AASHTO...
Probably better get that reference?

EIT

http://www.HowToEngineer.com

 

[kylesito]

My philosophy was that I wasn't going to let the few questions they ask about bridge stuff in the morning be what kept me from passing the exam. I had many friends who blew it off because they were only likely to see a few questions at most. Most of them failed the exam. If you figure that you need a 30/40 to "pass" the morning, why handicap yourself half of your allowable error just because you don't have a reference book?!

I had to buy all my own books...so I understand the pain...but at $500 a piece, retaking the exam can be just as expensive. I have never designed a bridge in my life and didn't find the morning questions at all difficult once I had spent a little time invested in learning it.

My opinion is that it can only help you pass.



PE, SE
Eastern United States

"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi

 

[fegenbush]

Thoughts on AASHTO questions in the morning:

Buy (or borrow) the books. While you may classify a question as a bridge question, the writers of the exam may classify it as a concrete, steel, foundation, etc. question. The published percentage of bridge questions is based on the test writers definition of what a bridge question is.

A bonus I found studying the AASHTO code is that it made me think critically on other areas of my work even though I don't design bridges.

 

[RFreund]

I think that's sound advice.
Thanks again

EIT

http://www.HowToEngineer.com

 

[jdgengineer]

I took and passed the SE exam this last April (buildings). In my humble opinion, the bridge AM questions were the easiest questions on the test. I'd never taken a bridge design class before, but just by studying the Structural Engineering Reference Manual, flipping through the AASHTO, and taking the PPI/NCEES practice exams I felt confident that I most likely didn't miss a single bridge AM question.

Point being -- definitely bring the AASHTO. NCEES says that 25% of the AM questions are bridge related. It seemed that the majority of any bridge questions I saw in the practice exams (I won't discuss actual exam) were just flip to the right page in the AASHTO and read out the answer. They all seemed fairly simplistic, but without the AASHTO you would have been lost on most of them.

I'd suggest also leaving the bridge questions to the end. It's a pain to pull out the AASHTO back and forth so its nice to just plow through them all at once.

 

[WiSEiwish]

I'm aiming for the April 2014 exam and am relatively new to much of the content. I have found that AISC "Facts for Steel Buildings" Earthquakes and Seismic Design has a lot of good basic definitions and explanations of the seismic design criteria.