Civil Engineering – Building Construction

Civil Engineering – Building Construction

Course Type:
Master’s Programme

Programme Introduction

Thies programme ains to give a specialization of professional nature, allowing a sequence of studies to the holders of the degree in civil engineering, and similar areas, enabling the improvement of the knowledge acquired that ends in developments/original applications originated by the completion of a project/training.

Programme Coordinator

Reference

2093

School

City

Language

English, Portuguese

Type

Evening

Length

4 Semesters

Vacancies

General and International student contingent: 30

Notice

Edital 2026 (PT Doc retf)
Edital 2026 (retf)

DGES certification

Objectives

Programme

The graduate students of the study cycle should be able to:

  1. Apply the knowledge and the capabilities to understand and to solve problems in new and non-familiar situations, in a broad and multidisciplinary context;
  2. Combine knowledge, to deal with complex problems, to developed solutions and to make judgments in situations of limited or incomplete information; 
  3. To communicate the conclusions, the knowledge and foundations related, to specialists and non-specialists, in a direct and non-ambiguous way; 
  4. To develop a life-learning process in an autonomous mode.
1st Year
ID Name Semester ECTS Length
1st Semester 6 45 h
  1. Globalization of the engineering and construction industry
  2. Urban development and its impact on the environment.
  3. Environmental factors and organisations.
  4. New materials, processes and technologies for sustainability.
  5. Energy efficiency in buildings.
  6. Recycling and reuse of construction and demolition waste
  7. Assessment of sustainability in construction
1st Semester 6 45 h
  1. BIM (Building Information Modeling) – Introduction, standardization, interoperability, functionalities, applications in modular construction.
  2. Modular Construction – Concept, history, types, advantages.
    1. Light Steel Frame (LSF) System Description, materials used, production, manufacturing, execution stages, the prescriptive method.
    2. Modular wooden construction systems Wood, derivatives and their properties, components (structure, connections, supports, insulation, frames, installations, finishes), design, production, existing construction systems
    3. Precast Concrete Systems Concepts (terminology, planning, design, production, transport, and assembly); Technologies (construction technologies, connections, and assembling); Solutions (sustainable solutions, concepts, and execution techniques).
1nd Semester 6 60 h
  1. Material behavior and structural design
  2. Concept of prestress and its advantages and limitations
  3. Pre-sizing and cable layout
  4. Prestressing force. Immediate and time-dependent losses
  5. Design of isostatic beams
  6. Hyperstatic beams
  7. ULS safety check – bending and shear
  8. Safety check in concentrated loaded areas
  9. Prefabricated concrete construction – sustainability, overview, scope, and examples
  10. Prefabricated structures – prefabricated structural elements, equipment, connections, construction details
  11. Prefabrication – conceptual principles, transportation, assembly, lifting statics, accessories
1st Semester 6 45 h
  1. Water supply systems and sewerage
    1. Definitions and legislation
    2. Overview of the sector
    3. Strategic plan for water supply systems and sewerage
    4. Mathematical modelling of water supply systems and sewerage
  2. Water treatments
    1. Definitions and legislation
    2. Process for treatment of drinking water
    3. Process wastewater treatment
  3. Solid waste
    1. Definitions and legislation
    2. Overview of the sector
    3. Collection, transport, treatment and recycling of solid waste
    4. Structure of landfills
1st Semester 6 60 h
  1. Basic concepts on Continuum mechanics: Stress, strain and constitutive law.
  2. The Finite Element Method (FEM): concepts and definitions; general formulation of the method; error and convergence analysis;
  3. Implementation of FEM in elementary problems of computational mechanics: post-processing of results: computation of deformations,stresses and internal forces; comparison with results given by commercial softwares;
  4. Modelling of Structures: use of FEM to compare modeling solutions in real problems;
  5. Elementary concepts of nonlinear analysis of structures: basic modeling problems aiming the generation of the capacity curves required in seismic pushover analysis.
2nd Semester 6 60 h
  1. PART I: INTRODUCTION
    1. Fundamentals of structural dynamics
  2. PART II: SINGLE-DEGREE-OF-FREEDON SYSTEMS
    1. Equation of motion
      1. General solution of the equation of motion
      2. Undamped and dumped free vibrations
    2. Harmonic response to actions
      1. Undamped and damped systems
      2. Resonance response
    3. Response to periodic loads
    4. Response to a general dynamic load
    5. Nonlinear response of structures
  3. PART III: MULTIPLEDEGREE-OF-FREEDOM SYSTEMS
    1. Formulation of equations of motion in a multiple-degree-of-freedom
    2. Natural frequencies and vibration modes
    3. Modal superposition method
    4. Iterative Methods
    5. Energy methods
  4. PART IV: SEISMIC ENGINEERING
    1. Seismicity and seismic hazard
    2. Regulatory issues related to the seismic action (Eurocode 8)
2nd Semester 6 45 h
  1. Principles of thermodynamics. Heat and Mass Transfer;
  2. Psychrometrics and air conditioning processes;
  3. Concept, evaluation and control of thermal comfort in buildings;
  4. Indoor environment and health. Control of indoor air pollution;
  5. Ventilation and infiltration. Air diffusion in buildings;
  6. Cooling and heating systems. Heat recovery;
  7. Determination of thermal loads in residential buildings and services;
  8. Bioclimatic architecture and sustainable construction. Renewable Energies;
  9. Standards and regulation. The national system of environmental and energy certification of buildings
2nd Semester 6 45 h
  1. TIMBER STRUCTURES
    1. General
      1. Structure and chemical composition
      2. Physical and mechanical properties
      3. Wood products
      4. Durability
    2. Design
      1. Eurocode 5 – general
      2. Ultimate limit states
      3. Serviceability limit states
      4. Joints
  2. MASONRY STRUCTURES
    1. General
      1. Characterization of masonry
      2. Structural conception
    2. Design of masonry structures (Eurocode 6)
      1. Unreinforced masonry walls
      2. Reinforced masonry members
    3. Detailing
2nd Semester 6 60 h
  1. Structural design of steel structures
    1. Structural concepts of steel buildings
    2. Metal Roof with large spans;
  2. Light steel structures
    1. Introduction, structural behavior and standards, advantages and disadvantages, types of structural collapse and your relevance on design, web crippling, brief description of the Eurocode 3 part 1-3
    2. Design and security check
  3. Steel Connections
    1. Hot-rolled profiles connections
    2. Cold formed profiles connections
  4. Mixed Structures
    1. Concept of mixed structures
    2. Plastic and elastic analysis of cross sections of mixed beams; determination of forces
    3. Structural design of mixed beams and columns
    4. Structural design of composite slabs with profiled steel decking
2nd Semester 6 45 h
  1. Integration of the Transport System in the Urban Environment
  2. Transport planning. Four stages model
  3. Sustainable Mobility. Basic principles and applicability. Sustainable mobility plans
  4. Road hierarchization. Hierarchy of principles. Influence of the spatial organization of cities.
  5. Types of Intersections. Priority junctions, Roundabouts, Traffic light controlled intersections
  6. Pedestrian and Cyclist Infrastructure: Integration of pedestrian and bike spaces in the urban environment and with other modes of transport.
  7. Traffic Calming Measures: types, objectives and applicability
  8. Public Transportation: Management and integration in urban space.
  9. Parking: management policies.
  10. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).
2nd Year
ID Name Semester ECTS Length
1st Semester 6 60 h
  1. Geotechnical Site Characterization
    1. Geotechnical investigation
    2. Geophysical survey
    3. Methods of exploration: Soil Boring and sampling; Laboratory and field tests
    4. Ground investigation report
  2. Gravity Retaining Walls
    1. At rest state of stress
    2. Rankine and Coulomb earth pressure theory
    3. Type of retaining walls and failure modes
    4. Retaining wall design: global factor design and partial factor design (Eurocode7)
    5. Security check under seismic actions
  3. Flexible Retaining Walls
    1. Earth Retaining walls
    2. Cantilevered and mono-anchored sheet-pile walls
    3. Brace excavation and multi-anchored walls
  4. Ground improvement techniques
    1. Preloading; Vertical drains
    2. Geosynthetics types and applications
    3. Grouting methods: permeation grouting, compaction grouting, fracture and compensation grouting, and jet-grouting
    4. Injected and helical micropiles.
1st Semester 6 45 h
  1. Introduction – Life cycle. Inspection and monitoring of structures. Symptoms, causes, and mechanisms of deterioration
  2. Inspection and evaluation of structures – diagnosis, pathologies and structural rehabilitation
  3. Inspection and Assessment of Structures through non-destructive or partially destructive in situ tests
  4. Safety assessment of existing structures
  5. Assessment of Reinforced Concrete structures
  6. Strengthening techniques for reinforced concrete structures
  7. Strengthening techniques masonry structures
  8. Strengthening techniques for timber structures
  9. Case studies
1st Semester 6 45

Choose from the following Couse Units:

Water Treatment Systems

  1. Strategy for water management: Prevention, Treatment, Reuse. Integrated systems for water and wastewater (WW) management.
  2. Criteria for the design of water and WW treatment systems. Water Quality Principles. Typical sequences in WTP and WWTP.
  3. Physical and chemical treatments: Basis and application. Equipment and operating conditions.
  4. Biological treatments: Biochemical environment and design (attached and suspended growth). Basis and application. Equipment and operating conditions.
  5. Sludge treatment: Thickening, Conditioning, Stabilization, Dehydration and Final disposal.

Construction and Maintenance of Road Pavements

  1. General principles
  2. Hot bituminous mixtures
  3. Cold Bituminous Mixtures
  4. Surface Treatments
  5. Road pavements
  6. Structural deterioration of pavements
  7. Design of Flexible Pavements
  8. Paving Technology
  9. Assessment of Flexible Pavements
  10. Techniques for Pavement Maintenance
  11. Techniques for Pavement Recycling
  12. Characterization of airport pavements

Safety and Quality in Construction and Projects

  1. .Introduction to Safety and Health at Work
    1. Fundamental Concepts
    2. General Principles of Prevention
    3. Legislation
    4. The Shipyards Directive
  1. Work Accidents
    1. Types of work accidents
    2. Statistics and costs of Accidents at Work
  2. Professional Risk Prevention
    1. Types of risks
    2. Identification, assessment and prevention
  3. Safety Coordination
    1. Safety coordination in the design and construction phase
    2. Health and safety plan
  4. Introduction to Quality
    1. Quality concept
    2. Quality management e. ISO 9000 standards
  5. Marking and Certification
    1. The Portuguese quality system
    2. Housing technical sheet
  6. Quality in Construction
    1. Methods for evaluating and controlling the quality of housing projects.
    2. Quality in execution: quality control

Coatings and Finishes

  1. Finishing solutions for walls
  2. Floor coatings
  3. Industrial floors
  4. Roof coverings for pitched roofs
  5. Roof coverings at terraces
  6. Grouting and sealants in façades
  7. Coatings based on paintings

Fire Safety

  1. Part 1 – Fire safety in buildings
    1. The phenomenon of fire
      1. The fire
      2. Combustion and fuels
      3. Types of fires
      4. Products of combustion
    2. Fire in a compartment
      1. Evolution of the fire
      2. Fire load
      3. Development models
      4. Propagation
    3. Behavior of materials and elements of construction
      1. Properties of materials at high temperatures
      2. Reaction to materials fire
      3. Fire resistance rating system
      4. General behavior of the building elements
    4. Fire and safety hazards
      1. Gretener method
      2. Regulation
  2. Part 2 – Structural calculation of fire
    1. Actions of structures exposed to fire.
    2. Safety check of the various structural elements under the action of fire.
      1. Metallic and composite structure
      2. Concrete structure
      3. Wood structure
      4. Masonry structure
    3. Assessment and rehabilitation of structures after fire
1st Semester and 2nd Semester 42 1134 h

Internship in Civil Engineering – Development of the intenship works with the elaboration of the final document.

Dissertation in Civil Engineering – Development of the dissertation works with the elaboration of the final document.

Project in Civil Engineering – Development of the project works with the elaboration of the final document.


Entry Requirements

May apply to the study cycle, leading to master’s degree:

  1. Holders of a graduation degree or legal equivalent in the field of Civil Engineering and other related technological areas.
  2. Holders of a foreign academic degree obtained in a 1st. study cycleorganized according to the principles of the Bologna Process by a state acceding to this process, in the field of Civil Engineering and other related technological areas. 
  3. Holders of a foreign academic degree that is recognized as satisfying the objectives of a degree by the Technical and Scientific Council of the School of Technology and Management in the field of Civil Engineering and other related technology areas. 
  4. Holders of an academic, scientific or professional curriculum recognized by the Technical and Scientific Council of the School of Technology and Management as attesting the capacity to complete this study cycle.
  • International Student
    All information related to the  international student application should be consulted on our International Students webpage.

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Accreditation

State: Accredited
Number of years of accreditation: 6
Publication date: 16-12-2024
A3ES Accreditation

EUR-ACE® Quality Label, international accreditation: until 2030

More Information

International Student
All information related to the  international student application should be consulted on our International Students webpage.

Contacts
E-mail: studywithus@ipleiria.pt

Application Fee

60€

Enrolment Fee

General contingent:50€
International student contingent: 100€

Tuition Fee

General contingent: 697 €
International student contingent: 3000€


Online Application

Use the button bellow to start your application.