Civil Engineering

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course focuses on designing wastewater treatment plants and other sanitary engineering works. The course requires a good understanding of Hydraulic and Chemistry base subjects as a prerequisite. The course exercises focus on analysis and discussion of treatment plants and natural treatment systems in their preliminary, definitive, and executive projects. Students are encouraged to design their own treatment system. The course consists of three parts. Part one of the course discusses a general introduction to the following treatment techniques: Activated sludge provided of denitrification with internal carbon source. Submerged aerated biofiltration. Granular settling. Mass settling. Lamellar settling. Oxynitrification by pure oxygen, by micro bubbles and by high efficiency air diffusers. SBR plants. Chemical and UV disinfection. Anaerobic sludge digestion. Composting of sludge and urban waste organic fraction Mitigation of olfactory emissions by biofiltration. Part two of the course discusses a detailed analysis of all text and drawings elaborates of the following projects: Preliminary project of a large-activated sludge urban wastewater treatment plant working in steady state and provided of predentrification phases. Definitive project of a medium urban wastewater treatment plant based on submerged aerated biofilters. Executive project of a small wastewater treatment plant using bio disk techniques. Price list. Metric-Calculation. Amount calculation. Special tender dossier. Contract. Works direction. Accounting. Part three of the course discusses a detailed analysis of the following preliminary and definitive full-scale projects for natural treatment and finishing systems: Aerobic lagoon system. Optional lagoon system. FWS phytotreatment with or without recirculation. Onsite SFS phytotreatment systems applied to small communities. Biofilter applied to mitigate emissions from solid waste pre-treatment plants.

This course introduces environmental engineering and sustainability, covering the hydrological cycle, how to assess the quantity of water available for use (potable water supply, irrigation, etc.), how to ensure the required water quantity is sustainably met and what challenges are currently faced by engineers. Furthermore, transport contamination in water is covered through transport phenomena principles. Environmental sustainability is examined in an engineering context, including basic concepts such as life cycle analysis and environmental impact assessment. 

The aim of the course is achieved by a combination of theoretical studies of measuring principles, planning and execution of field investigations, writing of a technical report, and oral presentation at a seminar. The course is dominated by a major compulsory project work which is carried out in groups of three students. The field investigation project consists of establishing a conceptual model, numerical pre-modeling for the design of investigation strategy, field investigation, data processing, inverse modeling, interpretation, and also written and oral presentation of results. The field investigation comprises three days and consists of geological field reconnaissance, and measurements with a couple of geophysical methods in combination with other field investigation methods such as drilling, penetration testing, and digging of test pits. Two of the days are carried out in small groups of about three-four students with one teacher per group.

This course gives in-depth knowledge on the interest and need of using biobased building materials such as wood, wood-based materials, and materials based on plant fibers these materials' properties as well as strengths and weaknesses for different areas of usage. The course covers the following topics: Makro and microstructure of biobased materials; moisture sorption and moisture properties; durability; modification techniques and how these affect the material properties; thermal and mechanical properties; biobased materials in a life cycle perspective; and usage of biobased materials in buildings/structures.