Pipe Design? 1

[CivilTom]

I am about to begin my new career that focuses on the design of distribution pipe lines. These pipe lines carry natural gas throughout urban areas. Does anyone have anyone have any experience with this type of work? My favorite class while studying for my BSCE was fluid mechanics, so I'm hoping the work will be somewhat simliar.

 

[cvg]

you might post on the following forum to find more interest in this subject. not a lot of civil engineers doing this type of work.
Pipelines, Piping and Fluid Mechanics engineering

 

[BigInch]

There are some I know.

"People will work for you with blood and sweat and tears if they work for what they believe in......" - Simon Sinek

 

[CivilTom]

is this type of work geared more toward petroleum engineering?

 

[BigInch]

No. There are many civils that have "crossed over". A ChemE from time to time and a few mechanicals too. However it is my considered opinion that civils are actually better at pipeline design, especially outside of pump and compressor stations, but I work inside and out. Almost everything you do outside of a pump station is directly related to civil engineering. Erosion control, road and river crossings, slope stability, fault crossings, cadastral and geotechnical surveys, pavement replacements, access roads, fence installations, concrete support pads for block valve stations, UTM to Lat,Long conversions, Township and Ranges, property boundry determination, reading side-scan sonar plots, routing, point of intersections, vertical curves, estimating how long it's going to take and what are the best machine to use to cut a slope, drainage culvert design, how plastic the clay is, bending stress for a pipe on an semi-infinite support, pipe support design, specing a prefab meter building. I don't know any mechanical engineers that are any good at any of that. And not a one of them I know can tell me when the aligators are hungry and I shouldn't go near the water!

"People will work for you with blood and sweat and tears if they work for what they believe in......" - Simon Sinek

 

[BigInch]

I always want a mechanical type to design the office HVAC though.

"People will work for you with blood and sweat and tears if they work for what they believe in......" - Simon Sinek

 

[stanier]

CivilTom,

Suggest you join ASME for they have a virtual library. Once a member you can review the books electronically. If you join IMechE they have three technical libraries that you can download. About 1500 books.

Another benefit of membership is get to go to technical presentations, meet people in industry and even serve on committees. The latter may be later in your career but certainly gets you to the cutting edge of standards.

“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”
---B.B. King

http://waterhammer.hopout.com.au/