CIV5170 Bridge design and assessment
Faculty of Engineering
CIV5170 Bridge design and assessment is a level 5, 6-credit-point, postgraduate unit from the Faculty of Engineering, offered in 2026 in Semester 1 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2026
- Semester 1
- Clayton
- Assessment
- Exam 50%
- and 2 other tasks
- Workload
- 144 hours
- per semester
This is the 2026 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before CIV5170
Prohibitions
You can't enrol if you have passed any of these.
After CIV5170
No unit lists CIV5170 as a prerequisite in the 2026 handbook.
Enrolment rules
You must be currently enrolled in a master’s course in engineering or related STEM and in a related discipline. The unit assumes that you have the necessary foundational knowledge.
Equivalent units
The same content under another code. Only one of them counts.
Overview
Essential aspects of highway bridge design, assessment and rehabilitation. Criteria for selection of bridge types, which are most prevalent. Examine structure as a whole, and implement the analysis and design of the bridge deck and the supporting members. Relevant strength and serviceability limit states applied to the design of the bridge, life-cycle performance and risk assessment, material degradation, corrosion, fatigue and time-dependent deformations of reinforced and prestressed concrete elements of the bridge, structural rehabilitation and repair techniques.
Offerings in 2026
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| First semester | Clayton | On campus |
Assessment
- Bridge design projectProjectThreshold hurdle25%
- Project deliverable submissionsProjectThreshold hurdle25%
- Final assessmentExaminationThreshold hurdle50%
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Formulate a conceptual design for a bridge considering various types of bridges, their components, and methods of construction.
- 2
Identify and calculate the loads to which a bridge is subjected, according to first principles and relevant codes of practice.
- 3
Determine the structural behaviour of various bridge types quantitatively and qualitatively using relevant hand- and computer-based methods.
- 4
Design prestressed concrete beams for service and strength requirements.
- 5
Assess the reliability basis for limit state design and its use in bridge assessment, including descriptions of the basic variables.
- 6
Appraise bridge inspection and management procedures, including levels of assessment and condition rating approaches.
- 7
Work effectively in a bridge design team and communicate professional decisions to specialist and/or non-specialist audiences.
Workload and teaching
- Workshops24 hours
- Practical activities24 hours
- Teaching approachProblem-based learning
The minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of 3-6 hours of scheduled learning activities and 6-9 hours independent study per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher-directed learning, peer-directed learning and online engagement. Independent study may include associated readings, assessment and preparation for scheduled activities.
This unit is delivered in a flipped-learning mode, in which content is delivered prior to the lecture using videos, quizzes, and a unit textbook. The lecture is an active session in which the learning for the week is applied to a real bridge problem, and this forms the basis for the project in which you design your own bridge. Throughout the unit, practice classes are used to ensure your design is proceeding well, and peer-support and plenary discussions ensure that your cohort learns from the combined experiences.
Learning resources
Required resources
Computer program SPACE GASS/LUSAS (on Moodle or on laboratory computers)
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Associate Professor Colin Caprani
- Unit Coordinators
- Associate Professor Colin Caprani
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for CIV5170?
CIV5170 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is CIV5170 offered?
In 2026, CIV5170 runs in Semester 1 at Clayton.
How much work is CIV5170?
The handbook expects about 144 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does CIV5170 have an exam?
Yes. The exam is worth 50% of the final mark, alongside 2 other tasks.