On August 1, 2006 an inadequate berm failed at the location of maximum shear stress - exactly as described in textbooks. The failure allowed arroyo waters to enter the streets. Once on the streets the waters traveled about a half mile from the failure location and caused the damage shown. We, the taxpayers of El Paso, are paying for many similar engineering failures. In this class you will learn how situations such as this can be eliminated through proper engineering design.

We will also look at modern low impact hydraulic designs.

 

University of Texas at El Paso
Civil Engineering 3456 Laboratory

 

Grading: Attendance and participation 30%, laboratory reports 70%.

CE 4456 Hydraulics Laboratory

There are certain characteristics essential to a good report and various items necessary for inclusion. It is expected that the actual writing of a technical or laboratory report will be preceded by adequate study of the textbook and handouts in order to provide the proper background material. An effective report contains direct, brief, and lucid words; correct spelling, clarity of expression, coherence and accurate statements. Technical writing is almost always in the third person, avoiding personal pronouns.

Laboratories are generally performed in groups of 3 or 4 students. Each group will write a single laboratory report.. It is expected that each student will attend and actively participate in all the laboratory activities. Attendance is required. Missing a laboratory session will cause an automatic loss of 50% in the grade for that session.

Format of a Laboratory Report

The report must be either typed or neatly written in ink on 8.5" × 11" paper, include a cover sheet, and be stapled or bound. Laboratory reports are expected to be less than 5 pages and may be as short as 3 pages including title page.

Title Page

a) Name of experiment.

b) Name of student and group members.

c) Course title.

d) Date of experiment and date report is submitted.

e) Summary of participation in laboratory and lab report write-up by each person in the group.

Introduction and Objectives

Clearly state the objective of the experiment.

Methods

Briefly explain how the experiment was conducted and the equipment used.

Results

Provide a table of the raw data collected in the experiment. Explain any calculations used to analyze the data, including equations. Present calculation results in tabular or graphical format. Clearly show units.

Discussion

Explain the results obtained and the implications of the results, if any. Discuss any problems with the experiment including equipment problems. Suggest how the laboratory could be improved in the future. Answer any questions posed in the laboratory handout in a discussion format.