Civil Engineering Undergraduate Thesis Guide · Tunnel and Underground Engineering Sub-series

Author: Zhang Qinghe et al.
Editor-in-Chief: Wang Zhaoyu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-04-01
Features:
Content Summary
This book is part of the "Graduation Design Guide for University Students" series, specifically titled "Civil Engineering Graduation Design Guide · Tunnel and Underground Engineering Sub-series." It is written exclusively for fresh graduates in civil engineering major to conduct graduation design in tunnel and underground engineering, while also catering to the practical needs of working engineering technicians. The book consists of six chapters.
Chapter 1 introduces the selection of graduation design (thesis) topics and professional theoretical knowledge.
Chapter 2 covers the history, current status, policies, and future prospects of tunnel and underground engineering development both domestically and internationally.
Chapter 3 focuses on the principles and methods of tunnel and underground engineering design and construction, as well as the applicable scope, existing issues, and development trends of various construction techniques for underground projects.
Chapter 4 briefly outlines the content, steps, and requirements of graduation design (thesis).
Chapter 5 provides design examples of residential building basements, mountainous highway tunnels, subway station tunnels, and circular underground tunnels, along with comments on each case.
Chapter 6 introduces the organizational procedures for graduation design (thesis) defense.
This book is suitable for undergraduate students (including diploma and "Five Major" students) in civil, water conservancy, and transportation majors in universities, as well as engineers engaged in surveying, design, construction, supervision, monitoring, and scientific research in tunnel and underground engineering for reference.
Excerpt:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Section: Principles and Methods of Topic Selection
Graduation design (thesis) is the final teaching component of undergraduate education and one of the most important. After three and a half years of study, students have generally mastered theoretical knowledge from general foundational courses, specialized foundational courses, and professional courses. However, applying this knowledge to solve practical engineering problems is often limited. The graduation design (thesis) phase serves as both a process for consolidating and deepening theoretical knowledge and a bridge between theory and practice. It is a crucial stage for cultivating students' ability to comprehensively apply fundamental theories and skills to address real-world problems, as well as enhancing their proficiency in calculations, drafting, and using technical materials. Through this rigorous training, students gain the comprehensive skills required of an engineer, including research, theoretical analysis, design calculations, drafting, experimental research, technical and economic analysis, organization, and writing theses and technical documents. It also fosters a scientific attitude and spirit of pragmatism, modesty, diligence, and innovation.
After completing graduation design (thesis) training, students can adapt quickly to their jobs upon entering the workforce. To achieve the teaching objectives of graduation design (thesis), in addition to instructors with extensive teaching experience, the selection of topics is also crucial. Graduation design (thesis) topics should be closely tied to practical engineering construction and research projects. The chosen topics should be representative, scientifically sound, appropriately challenging, and conducive to consolidating classroom knowledge, improving language and computer skills, and meeting the demands of civil engineering talent as defined by national infrastructure development. This approach aims to shift from the narrow focus of traditional undergraduate education, which emphasized single-discipline training, to cultivating well-rounded professionals with broad foundational knowledge. Graduates should be prepared for the future talent market and the challenges of the global market.
I. Practicality
Graduation design (thesis) is highly practical and should be based on real-world engineering, design, construction, research, and experimental projects. Whenever possible, students should work on actual projects. For students in tunnel and underground engineering, topics should ideally align with major urban infrastructure projects such as subway and light rail systems, river-crossing tunnels, mountainous tunnels, underground shopping malls, and underground parking garages. If such projects are unavailable, alternatives like high-rise building foundation engineering, large caisson projects, frame-structured factories, and other public buildings can be selected. The key is that the topic must be real and grounded in engineering practice, avoiding theoretical exercises with no practical application. Only real-world projects can fully engage students in the dynamic complexities of engineering, providing hands-on learning beyond textbook knowledge.
In 1990, the author and two other teachers from the Underground Building Research Office guided 10 students in a graduation design project based on the design of a five-story frame-structured factory for Shanghai Solvent Factory. Students began by collecting process flow diagrams, geological data, and architectural window and door component libraries from the site, then progressed through preliminary design, structural calculations, construction drawing preparation, and budgeting, covering the entire design process. Each student completed 2 architectural drawings and 3 structural construction drawings, while others handled staircases, frames, beam-column systems, and foundation calculations, compiling them into a unified design document. Over three and a half months of effort, the design for an 8,000 m2 multi-story factory was fully completed. The project has since been in operation for many years, receiving praise from the client. Due to the nature of the project, instructors maintained strict standards, requiring multiple revisions for some drawings before they met requirements. Students were highly motivated, actively seeking resources and helping each other, resulting in significant learning outcomes. Both graduates from this cohort, who later joined Zhejiang Architectural Design and Research Institute, adapted quickly to their jobs and became key personnel. In letters, they mentioned that the three-month graduation design project provided more practical knowledge than their entire previous year of study.
In recent years, we have selected graduation design (thesis) topics based on large-scale projects such as the Shanghai Metro Line 1 and Line 2 stations and tunnels, the Huangpu River river-crossing tunnel, the primary and secondary combined sewer tunnel and pipe jacking projects, the Hongqiao Shanghai City, the Jin Guang Building on the Bund, the Shanghai Yas Electric Factory, and research on civil defense engineering’s wartime and peacetime functions, as well as scientific research and experiments on the anchor blocks of the Yangtze River’s Jiangyin Bridge, slope stability analysis in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, and the planning and development of Shanghai’s underground space. Through these projects, students have gained practical experience, significantly improving their comprehensive abilities and professional skills.
II. Specificity
Topic selection for graduation design (thesis) should also be specific, aligning with teaching curricula and student development goals. To meet market demands, broaden foundational knowledge, and cultivate well-rounded civil engineering professionals, recent teaching plans have made substantial adjustments to foundational and specialized courses. This is essential because talent market demands vary across regions and sectors. Specificity refers to addressing the needs of the socialist market economy for civil engineering talent, promptly supplying professionals prepared for modernization and the 21st century. Graduation design topics should be tailored to individual students, considering their future career paths and the knowledge required in their new roles. This targeted approach can fully motivate students.
In the first half of 1993, a Hunan student, who had secured a position in the provincial civil defense science and technology department, participated in a research project on the wartime and peacetime functional conversion of civil defense engineering entrances. Highly motivated, he actively researched materials and proposed various entrance designs and simplified structural calculation methods. Although his foundational course performance was average, his graduation design defense was recognized as outstanding. Today, he is a technical backbone and excellent project manager at the provincial civil defense research institute.
In 1996, a Shanghai student in the underground building major, who had secured a construction management position with a real estate company, had his graduation design adjusted to a high-rise building project in Shanghai, focusing on construction supervision. The requirements included designing a construction management network, site layout, supervision framework, and quality, schedule, and cost control plans. The student immersed himself in the construction site for three and a half months, gaining a deep understanding of project management. After graduation, he quickly became a valuable asset to the real estate company.