1. Intro to Engineering and Standards
Dr. Theodore Cleveland
University of Houston
CIVE 1331 – Computing for Engineers
Week 3A
NEXT LECTURE: Powerpoint, EXCLE

2. Documentation of Work Engineering Reports Exercise Reports
Graphics Standards

3. Engineering Reports
Most engineering studies result in a report and/or drawing.
Formats vary depending on client, audience, etc.
Notes:
While the format may vary from job to job/client to client, it is important to be able to adhere to a specific format.

4. Typical Engineering Report Layout (1/2)
Title Page – title, author and date
Introduction – background, general approach, summarize conclusion Written Last!
Materials and Methods – Describes in detail what tools are used and how you obtain a solution
INTRODUCTION
The introduction is not detailed, but it should contain enough explanation so that if it is the only section that the reader sees, the reader can describe the problem and findings of the exercise.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Clearly state the problem to be solved. Include description of data supplied with the problem and data that that are estimated (as opposed to measured).

5. Typical Engineering Report Layout (2/2)
Results – Results of the solution method
Discussion/Conclusion – Synthesize results and make conclusions
References – List all works explicitly cited in the report
Appendix – Contains supporting material, data, so reader could reproduce results
MODEL TESTING
You test the model against known solutions to convince the reader that the model is capable of solving problems similar to the stated problem.
RESULTS
Tables Graphs Map and Drawings. - We will discuss the proper format later
CONCLUSION

6. A Note on References (1/2)
The “call-out” in the text body to a reference will typically be by last name and date. For example:
“...respect to the use of the commons for grazing livestock (Hardin, 1968).”
Which has the corresponding reference entry:
Hardin, G., “The tragedy of the commons.” Science, 162, pp

7. A Note of References (2/2)
A typical format for textbook references
Masters, G.M., Introduction to Environmental Engineering and Science, 2nd Ed., Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 651p.
Note that:
Publication is underlined
Article Name is in “quotations”
The actual pages of the article are shown in the first reference, while the total number of pages of the book is shown in the second reference.
A printed copy of the web page must accompany references to Internet URLs. This requirement is because web sites change hosts (the server where the data are stored) frequently and the URLs become obsolete quickly.

8. Standards for Presenting Data in Tables
Tables should
Be used to show collected data or calculations
Not be hand-drawn
Include column headers with units
Include a descriptive caption above the table
Be introduced with text before the table is presented
Be inserted into the document reasonable soon after it is discussed
Be numbered sequentially (e.g. Table 1, Table 2 or Table 1.1, Table 1.2)
Notes are optional but often useful
Should be organized in a meaningful/useful manner

9. Table 1. Flow meter calibration data
Tables
Date W
(ft) D
(feet)
Q (cfs)
V (ft/sec)
v (counts)
VM (ft/sec)
1/3/96
3.28
1.100
0.646
0.179
127
0.173
147
0.190
1.120
0.847
0.231
230
0.259
0.560
0.667
0.363
397
0.399
0.360
0.523
0.443
515
0.498
0.720
1.252
0.530
654
0.614
1/4/96
0.340
2.000
1.793
2280
1.977
0.280
1.710
1.862
2189
1.901
0.120
1.695
1430
1.265
0.570
0.471
0.252
185
0.221
0.490
0.489
0.304
246
0.273
0.400
0.710
0.541
561
0.536
0.840
1.030
0.374
420
0.418
1.320
0.818
0.189
172
0.211
Text before the table is introduced should explain the meaning of the data presented.
Notes help to describe the data being presented.
However the organization of this table provides little insight to any sort of conclusion.
Notes:
W = Channel width in feet. Measured with tape.
D = Depth of flow in feet. Measured with staff gage.
Q = Discharge in cubic feet per second. Measure with Parshall Flume
V = Flow velocity calculated from Q,D and channel width in rectangular channel.
v = Flow reading on MJP flow meter (counts/minute)
q = Discharge calculated from v,D and channel width in rectangular channel
VM = Velocity calculated from flow meter reading (using calibration formula)

10. Table 1. Flow meter calibration data
Tables
Date W
(ft) D
(feet)
Q (cfs)
V (ft/sec)
v (counts)
VM (ft/sec)
1/3/96
3.28
1.100
0.646
0.179
127
0.173
147
0.190
1/4/96
1.320
0.818
0.189
172
0.211
1.120
0.847
0.231
230
0.259
0.570
0.471
0.252
185
0.221
0.490
0.489
0.304
246
0.273
0.560
0.667
0.363
397
0.399
0.840
1.030
0.374
420
0.418
0.360
0.523
0.443
515
0.498
0.720
1.252
0.530
654
0.614
0.400
0.710
0.541
561
0.536
0.120
1.695
1430
1.265
0.340
2.000
1.793
2280
1.977
0.280
1.710
1.862
2189
1.901
Sorting data by velocity a meaningful relationship can be seen between the velocity and “counts”
Note that the “Caption” of the graph appears above the table
Notes:
W = Channel width in feet. Measured with tape.
D = Depth of flow in feet. Measured with staff gage.
Q = Discharge in cubic feet per second. Measure with Parshall Flume
V = Flow velocity calculated from Q,D and channel width in rectangular channel.
v = Flow reading on MJP flow meter (counts/minute)
q = Discharge calculated from v,D and channel width in rectangular channel
VM = Velocity calculated from flow meter reading (using calibration formula)

11. Graphics Standards for Drawings
Drawings should
“visually explain to the reader spatial relationships of items involved in the analysis.”
Not be hand-drawn.
Be properly scaled or indicate lack thereof.
Include coordinate systems.
Include a descriptive caption below the figure.
Be introduced with text before the Drawing is presented.
Be inserted into the document reasonable soon after it is discussed.
Be numbered sequentially (e.g. Figure 1, Figure 2 or Figure 1.1, Figure 1.2).
A NOTE ON HAVING TOO MANY/ USELESS DRAWINGS
Engineering-for-profit reports usually contain a lot of drawing information that is not appropriate for academic-type work.
Drawings that are not relevant to the problem should not be included. Again it takes some experience to determine relevance – it is best to err on the side of too few drawings than too many (my opinion).

12. Graphics Standards for Charts/Graphs
Graphs Should
“present data that are too extensive to make sense if they are presented in a table.”
Be accompanied by a table that contains the data necessary to create the graph.
Have axis labeled with UNITS!
Have real data plotted as markers.
Have model data plotted as curves.
Have predictor values on the horizontal axis.
Include a descriptive captions and legends below the figure.
Be introduced with text before the chart/graph is presented.
Be inserted into the document reasonable soon after it is discussed.
Be numbered sequentially (e.g. Figure 1, Figure 2 or Figure 1.1, Figure 1.2).
2 TABLE
May not be necessary to include data but should be able to be presented in a table.
#Q. NOT QUALITIATIVE?
In technical reports one usually presents the tabular results in an appendix and the graphical representation in the report body.
4 REAL DATA
Real data should never be joined with lines unless there is a very good reason. Most plotting programs default to drawing lines, so the analyst needs to override this default.
4,5 DEVIATION
If one deviates from this convention, the plot legend should clearly indicate which markers are data and which are model results

13. Graphs This graph provides a spatial description of collected data.
Note that the “Title” of the graph appears below the actual figure.

14. Graphs
One can improve the graph by adding the regression equation into the caption.

15. Maps
Maps should
Be numbered sequentially (e.g. Figure 1, Figure 2 or Figure 1.1, Figure 1.2).
Include a distance scale with units.
North should be oriented to the top of the page or a direction should be indicated on the map itself (with the north arrow).
If the map has distortion (e.g. the vertical axis is compressed with regard to the horizontal) it should be clearly indicated.
For contour maps, the contour interval should be included in the map.
Vector plots should be treated as maps and should include a reference vector.
Tools: SURFER is an excellent contouring tool. It is not free, but it is worth its cost. EXCEL has limited contouring capability and is not very useful. There are some public domain tools available – check the web.

16. Requirements and Standards
Guidelines for graphs, charts and tables are of course dependent on your professor, supervisor or employer.
In this class you are expected to use the aforementioned standards.
The important thing is to be able to adhere to a given standard.

17. Standards Generalized
Regardless all graphs should have:
Caption (Figure ##.## What is this a graph of?).
Axis are labeled – units of measure are in labels.
Different relationships use different markers/lines.
Lines must be labeled or appear in a legend.
Data are shown with markers (always).
Models/calculations are usually shown with lines, but markers are OK.
Predictor variables are almost always plotted on the horizontal axis.

18. Using Equations
All equations should be typeset with a tool such as Equation Editor
Handwritten
Old-fashioned typeset
Expected typeset (using Equation Editor)
You can clearly see that the Typeset equation using a tool such as Microsoft Equation editor is higly preferable to handwritten and even conventional typesetting.
0 = 0 + w t + 0.5kt^2
o o

19. Plagiarism
Copies of other peoples drawings and sketches should contain a citation to the original author and reference.