Research Topics for PhD in Civil Engineering

Everybody who knows about engineering is of the knowledge that Civil Engineering is that field of technology where its aspirants and experts deal with mega infrastructures and construction. This branch of learning has vast scope for the aspirants who are graduating or even doing their doctorate. Some top university Uttarakhand offers sub-specialisation in civil engineering branch whereas the rest can be explored during the PhD.

In this article, we will discuss the research topics you can take up during your doctorate programme and publish relevant papers with your latest findings. Let’s get started with the list of topics.

1. Environmental Engineering 

It is that professional engineering discipline where you will learn everything about environmental science and implement the ways to make construction, sustainable and eco-friendly. Under this branch of learning, you will get to know about the innovative construction methods that are meant to make construction, a sustainable matter. You will be exploring ways to make the ever-going process of building and construction, a matter of the environment, which is the need of the hour.

2. Building Material

From clay and sand to rock and wood, every type of building material serves a different purpose. But with evolving times, they are being used keeping their environmental impact in mind. Recently we have witnessed a new type of material that has less environmental effect and more utility. Their low cost is yet another bonus that is making the world adopt it at a faster rate. During your PhD in civil engineering, you will be studying about analysing the impact of such and such material and identifying their intensity of effect.

3. Water Treatment Optimisation

You can also do your research and development in such a field where you will be identifying the ways to optimise wastewater treatment plants and their functioning. And you will also have to analyse the long-term and short-term effects of water shortage on not just infrastructure but also the environment. Other sub-topics under this research field will be setting up remote sensing applications to assist in sustainable enterprise development. Others include the likes of urban stormwater management and green infrastructure.

4. Streamlined Transportation Systems

Transportation network involves the roads and highways along with routes. So, the civil engineering experts have to sort things out and make them more efficient while organising them for the same. A 6-lane highway or an expressway resolves the traffic flow issue to a great extent. This is the reason why every nation needs an intelligent public transport system to better optimise the routes and public crowd. It will help save time and energy by speeding things up on the road. Any top university Uttarakhand would love to guide you through this field.

5. Earthquake Engineering

As the name suggests, you can do your research and figure out more ways of designing and building earthquake-resisting infrastructure. One of the brilliant examples is Antilia, the Ambani’s House that can withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake. You will have to pay special attention to the safe construction of bridges and canals, the lifelines of any nation. As Japan is the epicentre of many natural disasters, its universities offer engineering courses in the fields of earthquakes and tsunamis.

6. Geotechnical Engineering

You might have heard its alternate name, which is geotechnics. This topic will give you more freedom to be creative with your analytical skills so you can take notice of ways of using every building material. You will be focusing on the engineering behaviour of earth materials that vary from soil and sand to clay and rock. But this categorisation is not limited to these four only. By making the most of soil and rock mechanics, you will be overcoming a lot of engineering problems during your PhD in civil engineering.

Conclusion

Any doctorate degree needs dedicated time for research papers. And without publishing something unique, you cannot become more than an average civil engineer. So make sure you keep your interests aligned with your diligence and achieve your career aspirations.