Program access information

Objectives

The main objective of the PhD Program in Construction Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de València is to train PhDs in the field of construction (civil engineering, building and industrial constructions). The aim is to train highly qualified researchers and professionals in the following areas:

• The sustainability of buildings through the development of new materials and waste valorization
• Monitoring and maintenance of buildings, including analysis of their pathologies.
• Analysis of the safety of structures against earthquake and fire.
• The development of new methods for the design and calculation of constructions.
• The design of structures using optimization techniques and the development of predictive models applied to structural concrete.
• Innovation and health and safety management in the construction industry

Entry Profile

The usual admission profile is a graduate in the field of construction or industrial engineering who has completed at least 60 credits of a master’s degree. However, the Academic Committee assesses other profiles whose admission is subject to the possible completion of a variable number of complementary training courses.

Profile of graduates

Doctor by the Universitat Politècnica de València specialized in one of the areas indicated in the objectives. This is a doctor who, although he has deepened in very specific aspects, has acquired a broad training in the area of construction. This professional has used different techniques to research, innovate and transfer knowledge in the construction sector. In addition, he has had the opportunity to spend time with other national or foreign research groups that have allowed him to observe different points of view to address a problem. He has acquired skills related to the interpretation and analysis of results and their dissemination through the writing and presentation of different works (communications to congresses, articles in specialized journals, books or book chapters, patents…).

In order to access the Doctoral Program, previous knowledge similar to that obtained in Spanish university degrees related to the area of materials (such as Materials Engineer or Bachelor of Chemical Sciences) or to construction engineering and architecture (such as Architect, Technical Architect or Civil Engineer) in one of the following areas is required:

• Analysis and design of structures.
• Rehabilitation of structures.
• Design and optimization of building system structures.
• Construction management systems.
• Chemistry of construction materials.

In addition, it is necessary to have the level of knowledge and skills obtained by studying one of the following university master’s degrees offered at the Universitat Politècnica de València:

• Master’s Degree in Concrete Engineering.
  A detailed list of the competencies acquired in this master’s degree can be seen in the following link.
• Master’s Degree in Planning and Management in Civil Engineering
  A detailed list of the competencies acquired in this master’s degree can be seen in the following link.

In the event that the student comes from other Official Postgraduate Programs or from other studies with a level of training equivalent to that of the official Spanish Master’s Degree, the Doctoral Academic Committee will evaluate the affinity of the credits obtained with the credits offered in the Master’s Degrees of the Construction Engineering Program and the lines of research of the Doctoral Program. In these cases, the Doctoral Academic Committee will make a report based on the:

• Postgraduate academic transcript of the applicant student.
• Personal résumé of the student applicant.
• Professional and research merits in the field of Construction Engineering of the applicant student.

This report will reflect, when necessary, the need for the student to take some subjects of the Masters of the Graduate Program. It will also list all the research lines of the Program in which the doctoral student will be able to participate. It is emphasized that, given the great variety of profiles of the students applying for admission to the Program, it is not possible to give general information on the possible complementary training required, and these should be defined by the Academic Committee of the Program in each specific case.

The number of ECTS, contents, evaluation systems and learning outcomes of each of the subjects of the masters associated with the doctoral program are included in their respective teaching guides, which are available on the program’s website.

The languages used in the Program are mainly two: Spanish and English. The recommended levels of these languages, according to the “Common European Framework of Reference for Languages”, are C-1 for Spanish and B-1 for English.

Admission of students to the Program will be made by the Academic Committee of the Program and will be based on the following criteria:

• Academic record, in which both the grades obtained and the affinity of the subjects studied with the lines of research of the Doctoral Program will be evaluated. This section will be evaluated with a maximum of 8 points out of 10.
• Professional and research merits in the field of Construction Engineering. This section will be valued with a maximum of 1 point out of 10.
• Knowledge of foreign languages (mainly English) duly accredited. This section will be valued with a maximum of 1 point out of 10.

In order to be admitted to the Program, the minimum score obtained must be 5 points.

The Academic Committee of the program, after studying the curriculum of the doctoral student, will decide whether it is appropriate for him/her to take complementary training courses. Where appropriate, it will define the list of subjects to be taken from the university’s postgraduate academic offer, considering the specific training required by the doctoral student for the proper development of his or her research work. In the case in question, referring to the Doctorate Program in Construction Engineering, there is a Master’s Degree especially related to the aforementioned program, which is the Official Master’s Degree in Concrete Engineering, of which a description of the contents of the subjects is included below.

Brief description of the contents of the subjects

Subject: Science and Technology of binders and additions

5 credits

Descriptors: Inorganic binder materials. Cement chemistry. Hydration of cement. Microscopic and macroscopic properties of concrete. Interpretation of cement regulations. Nature of mineral additions. Hydraulic activity. Pozzolanic activity. Cementitious efficiency. Blast furnace slag. Fly ash. Silica fume. Interpretation of the regulations on additions. Physical-chemical and technological techniques for the characterization and study of reactivity.

Subject: Special concretes

4.5 credits

Descriptors: Advanced concrete batching criteria. Pumped and sprayed concretes. Self-compacting concretes. Concretes with metallic fibers. Concretes with synthetic fibers. Alkali resistant fibers and GRC. High resistance concretes. Very high strength concretes. Mineral additions for high resistance. Recycled concretes. Polymeric concretes. Aesthetics in concrete. Compacted dry concrete. Nano additions. Chemical additives

Subject: Concrete and sustainability

3.5 credits

Description: Life Cycle Analysis of concrete works: design, execution, operation, demolition and recovery. Ecological footprint of concrete works. Systems of indicators of sustainable management of processes related to the works. Environmental Management Systems (process analysis). Demolition material recovery techniques. Use of alternative materials: waste from water treatment, thermal power plants, polymeric and ceramic waste. Environmental impact studies and application of quality assessment procedures.

Subject: Durability of concrete constructions

5 credits

Descriptors: Microstructure of concrete. Transport mechanisms. Corrosion of reinforcement. Classification of environmental aggressiveness. Strategies for durability. Measures against specific mechanisms. Measures in specific environments. Types of etalic corrosion. Corrosion intensity. Chloride diffusion. Chemical, physical and biological processes of concrete deterioration. Dissolution. Carbonation. Sulfate attack. Acid attacks. Aggregate-alkali reactions. Relationships between microstructure and durability. Dosages and materials to improve durability. Durability regulations.

Subject: Non-linear analysis of concrete structures

3.5 credits

Description: Fundamentals of nonlinear analysis. Material and geometric nonlinearity. Constitutive equations. Cracking. Deferred effects. Sectional calculations. Non-linear analysis of concrete structures. Plastic analysis. Plastic hinges. Stress redistribution.

Subject: Numerical modeling of concrete structures by means of finite elements.

5 credits

Description: Basic concepts. Solving systems of nonlinear equations. Numerical modeling of materials behavior. Structures of bars, slabs and sheets. Reinforcement modeling. Treatment of cracking. Adherence. Prestressing.

Subject: Experimental analysis of concrete structures

3.5 credits

Description: Typology of tests. Design of a structural test: reaction and assembly systems, loading systems, measurement and recording systems (loads, deformations). Static tests. Dynamic tests. Fundamentals of electronics applied to instrumentation. Statistical analysis: design of a test program and analysis of results.

Subject:Prestressed Concrete Structures

4.5 credits

Descriptors: Basis of design. Technological properties and design characteristics of active reinforcement. Effect of prestressing on structural analysis. Section design. Prestressing losses. Cracking. Deformations. Sizing of active reinforcement. Cable routing. Ultimate Limit States.

Subject: Design of concrete structural elements

6 credits

Descriptors: Mass concrete. The method of connecting rods and tie rods. Strength capacity of connecting rods and tie rods and nodal zones. Anchorage design and reinforcement splices. Short brackets. Large depth beams. Active reinforcement anchorage zones. Plates. Sills.

Subject: Analysis and design of building structures

3.5 credits

Description: Design, project and execution of building structures. Applicable building regulations. Technical Building Code. Urban environment. Cantilever walls and basement walls. Superficial and deep foundations. Building structures: trusses and bidirectional systems. Unidirectional building slabs. Bidirectional floor slabs: Solid and lightened slabs.

Subject: Concrete construction technology

4.5 credits

Descriptors: Details and reinforcement criteria. Representation of reinforcement. Reinforcement splices: sleeves and welding. Spacers. Prestressing systems. Prestressing force activation. Precast concrete construction. Prefabrication systems. Design principles. System components. Fabrication, transport and erection. Design and construction of precast reinforced concrete elements. Prefabrication plants. Assembly of precast concrete structures. Construction details of prefabricated construction.

Subject: Execution of concrete structures and bridges

5 credits

Descriptors: Concrete plants, transportation, falsework and formwork, formwork and special formwork, placement, curing, finishing, safety in the construction of concrete structures, quality assurance. Prestressed bridges. Overpasses, prefabricated beam bridges, successive span bridges, pushed bridges, decoupled evolutionary bridges, successive cantilever bridges.

Subject: Extraordinary actions in concrete structures: earthquake and fire.

5 credits

Description: Dynamics of structures. Specific materials. Structural models based on finite elements. Passive control elements and their models. Seismic action models. Seismic calculation of buildings. NCSR-02 and EUROCODE 8 standards. Project criteria and construction details. Fire models. Heat transmission models. Passive protection. Behavior of materials at high temperatures: thermal properties and constitutive equations. General calculation methods. Approximate methods of EC2-1-2 and EC4-1-2 for the design of columns, beams and slabs. Fire behavior of concrete-filled tubular columns: design models. Design models based on finite elements.

Subject: Heuristic optimization of concrete structures

3.5 credits

Descriptors: Approximate optimization. Multiobjective optimization. Heuristics and metaheuristics. Local maximum gradient search, simulated crystallization, tabu search, ant colony, GRASP, genetic algorithms, neural networks. Application of optimization to reinforced and prestressed concrete structures: walls, road frames, building frames, prestressed bridges, vaults, bridge abutments and piers, etc.

Subject: Pathology and rehabilitation of concrete structures

4.5 credits

Description: Types of damage in concrete structures. Symptomatology of damage in concrete elements. Preliminary diagnosis of the condition of a concrete structure. Information tests. Load tests. Resistant evaluation -Definitive diagnosis of concrete structures. Choice, design, calculation and execution of repair and reinforcement methods of concrete elements.

Subject: Low-cost construction for developing countries

2.5 credits

Descriptors: Underdevelopment. Appropriate development building technologies. Development cooperation. Low cost materials. Valorization of agricultural and industrial waste. Self-construction. Corporate Social Responsibility.

Basics

• Systematic understanding of a field of study and mastery of research skills and methods related to that field.
• Ability to conceive, design or create, implement and adopt a substantial process of research or creation.
• Ability to contribute to the expansion of the frontiers of knowledge through original research.
• Ability to critically analyze, evaluate and synthesize new and complex ideas.
• Ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community and with society in general about their fields of knowledge in the modes and languages commonly used in their international scientific community.
• Ability to promote, in academic and professional contexts, scientific, technological, social, artistic or cultural progress within a knowledge-based society.

Personal skills and abilities

• To develop in contexts where there is little specific information.
• Find the key questions to be answered to solve a complex problem.
• Design, create, develop and undertake novel and innovative projects in their field of knowledge.
• Work both in a team and autonomously in an international or multidisciplinary context.
• Integrate knowledge, deal with complexity and make judgments with limited information.
• Intellectual criticism and defense of solutions.

Other competencies

• Ability to plan, design and carry out experimental tests on concrete structures.
• Acquisition of the knowledge and skills that will allow them a deep understanding of the aspects related to concrete engineering and the practical application of such knowledge.
• Interrelate the durability of concrete, its composition and the aggressive environment, so that its deterioration can be prevented and solved by appropriate techniques.
• Develop and analyze systems of indicators of sustainable management of processes related to the works.
• Formulate and give opinions on the optimal design of concrete structures under economic, ecological and energy efficiency objectives.
• Distinguish and evaluate the different types of damage that can affect a concrete structure, according to its symptoms, diagnosing its condition.
• Develop and contrast numerical models of sectional and structural behavior that reproduce the structural behavior of concrete under complex stresses, considering the different causes of nonlinearity.
• To have an in-depth knowledge of the management of consulting, construction and development companies, mainly in aspects related to planning, organization, management, control and marketing within the legal framework and social responsibility of civil engineering.
• Identify and assess the most important risks in civil engineering, as well as the appropriate preventive measures for their elimination or reduction within the legal framework and the social responsibility of the engineer.
• To know in depth the methodologies of multi-criteria and cost-benefit analysis, both financial and economic, within the legal framework and the social responsibility of civil engineering.
• Analyze scientific papers related to planning and management in civil engineering.
• Write scientific papers and academic theses, in the context of planning and management in civil engineering.