CEA Study 200+

ABET

The recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology.

Aesthetics

The quality of an object that deals with art, beauty, and taste.

Allowable Strength

Nominal strength divided by the safety factor.

AIA

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is the professional society representing the field of architecture and others working in the architecture field.

Air Handling Unit (AHU)

A device used to condition and circulate air as part of a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system.

Arch

A curved structure for spanning an opening, designed to support a vertical load primarily by axial compression.

Architect

An individual trained in the art and science of designing and constructing buildings.

Architectural Programming

Research and decision making process that identifies the scope of work for a design project.

Architectural Program

Written statement setting forth design objectives, constraints, and criteria for a project, including special requirements and systems, and site requirements. The program is usually prepared by the architect with input from the owner regarding the goals, needs, and function of the project, design expectations, available budget, and pertinent building code and zoning regulations.

ASCE

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is the professional engineering society representing the field of civil engineering and others working in the civil engineering field.

ASD

Allowable Strength Design. A method of designing structural elements such that the allowable strength is greater than or equal to the strength necessary to support the required load combinations.

Axial Force

A force that acts along the longitudinal axis of a structural member. Axial tension causes elongation of the member. Axial compression causes shortening of the member.

Balance

The pleasing or harmonious arrangement or proportion of parts or elements in a design or composition.

Ballast

A heavy material installed over a roof membrane to prevent wind uplift and shield the membrane from sunlight.

Baseline

A parallel of latitude running through an arbitrary point chosen as the starting point for all sectionalized land within a given area.

Beam

A structural member, usually horizontal, that carries a load that is applied transverse to its length.

Beam Analysis

The use of physical laws and mathematics to compute internal forces, stresses, and deformations.

Bearing

A horizontal direction indicated by an angle from either due north or due south toward either the east or west.

Bearing Walls

Solid walls that provide support for each other and for the roof of a structure.

Berm

A horizontal ledge cut between the foot and top of an embankment to stabilize the slope by intercepting sliding earth.

Brownfield

Real property of which the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

Building Code

Legal requirements designed to protect the public by providing guidelines for structural, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical areas of a structure.

Building Envelope

The portion of a building that encloses the treated environment, including the walls, ceiling or roof, and floor.

Built-up Roof (BUR)

A roof membrane laminated from layers of asphalt-saturated felt or other fabric, bonded together with bitumen or pitch.

Caisson

A long cylindrical reinforced concrete foundation element formed by drilling into firm soil and pouring concrete into the hole.

Cast-in-Place Concrete

Concrete that is poured in its final location.

Charrette

An intensive workshop in which various stakeholders and experts are brought together to address a particular design issue.

Circuit

The various conductors, connections, and devices found along the path of electric flow from the source through the components and back to the source.

Circuit Breaker

An electric safety switch that automatically opens a circuit when excessive amperage occurs.

Civil Engineer

An engineer trained in the design and construction of public works, such as bridges or dams, and other large facilities.

Cleanout

A fitting with a removable plug that is placed in plumbing drainage pipe lines to allow access for cleaning out the pipe.

Color

The aspect of the appearance of objects and light sources that may be described in terms of hue, lightness, and saturation for objects and hue, brightness, and saturation for light sources.

Column

An upright structural member acting primarily in compression.

Compression Strength

The maximum compressive stress a material can withstand without failure.

Concrete

A solid, hard material produced by combining Portland cement, aggregates, sand, water and sometimes additional mixtures.

Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU)

A block of hardened concrete, with or without hollow cores, designed to be laid in the same manner as brick and stone.

Coniferous

Cone-bearing trees with year-round leaves that are long, thin, and needle-like.

Construction Documents

Drawings, plans, specifications, etc. associated with a construction project.

Construction Type

Five broad categories of construction found in the International Building Code that are based on the fire-resistive capabilities of the materials used.

Continuous Beam

A single beam that is supported by more than two supports such that it has at least two distinct spans.

Contrast

A visual principle associated with change made in size, shape, color, or tone of graphic elements.

Curtain Wall

An exterior building wall that is supported entirely by the frame of the building, rather than being self-supporting or load bearing.

Dead Load

The weight of the building or building components.

Decking

A material used to span across beams or joists to create a floor or roof surface.

Deciduous

Broad-leafed trees that seasonally shed their leaves.

Deep Foundation

A foundation that transfers building loads into the earth well below the building structure.

Deflection

The distance a beam or structure deforms under loading, typically due to bending in a beam.

Deformation

A change in the shape of a structure or structural member caused by a load or force acting on the structure.

Design Load

The applied load determined by the required load combinations.

Design Principles

The rules that describe how designers might put together various design elements to create an aesthetic finished product.

Design Temperature Differential

The difference between the indoor temperature in winter and the outdoor design temperature in winter. The design temperature differential or design range is used in calculating the space heating requirements of a dwelling unit under the engineering-based methodology.

Distribution Panel

A box in which the wires from the meter are connected to individual circuit breakers, which are connected to separate circuits for distribution to various locations throughout the building.

Dome

An arrangement of several arches whose bases form a circle and whose tops meet in the center.

Drain

Any pipe that carries wastewater or water-borne wastes in a building drainage system.

Drainage

Removal of groundwater or surface water, or of water from structures, by gravity or pumping.

Drainage Fixture Unit

A measure of the probable discharge into the drainage system by various types of plumbing fixtures.

Drainage System

Piping within a building that conveys sewage, rainwater, or other liquid wastes to a point of disposal.

Ducts

Pipes, typically made of sheet metal, used to conduct hot or cold air in the HVAC system.

Easement

A limited right to make use of a property owned by another.

Egress

Exits or a way out.

Electric Meter

An instrument used to measure electric power.

Element of Design

A basic visual component or building block of designed objects.

Elevated Floor

A floor that is above the level of the ground.

Emphasis

Stress or prominence given to an element of a design by means of contrast, anomaly, or counterpoint that create a point of attention.

EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer)

A synthetic rubber material used in roofing membranes.

Equilibrium

The state of a body such that the sum of all the external forces acting on the body equals zero and the sum of all external moments acting on the body equals zero.

Exit

That portion of the means-of-egress system between the exit access and the exit discharge or the public way.

Exit Access

That portion of the means-of-egress system that leads from any occupied portion in a building or structure to an exit.

Exit Discharge

That portion of the means-of-egress system between the termination of the exit and a public way.

Façade

The exterior face of a building.

Fascia

The finish board covering the edges of rafters and eaves.

Felt

A tar-impregnated paper used for water protection under roofing and siding materials.

Fenestration

All areas (including the frames) in the building envelope that let in light, including windows, plastic panels, clerestories, skylights, glass doors that are more than one-half glass, and glass block walls. A skylight is a fenestration surface having a slope of less than 60 degrees from the horizontal plane. Other fenestration, even if mounted on the roof of a building, is considered vertical fenestration.

Fixed Support

A support condition in which translation of a structural member is restricted in two perpendicular directions and rotation is restricted. A fixed support provides two perpendicular reaction forces and a reaction moment when the member is loaded.

Floor Joists

Horizontal structural members used to carry the floor and ceiling loads.

Footing

The lowest, widest part of the foundation that distributes the load over a broad area of the soil.

Force

An agent that causes stress in an object.

Form

The shape and structure of something as distinguished from its substance or material.

Foundation

The lower part of a building, which transfers structural loads from the building to the soil.

Free-body Diagram

A diagram used to isolate a body from its environment, showing all external constraints and forces acting upon it and all geometric measurements necessary to model the body.

Gantt Chart

A horizontal bar chart used in project management to graphically represent the schedule of a set of specific activities or tasks.

Girder

A horizontal beam that supports other beams; a very large beam, especially one that is built up from other sections.

Grade Beam

A reinforced concrete beam that transmits the load from a bearing wall into a spaced foundation such as pile caps or caissons.

Grading

The moving of soil to affect the elevation of land at a construction site.

Ground

An electrical connection to the earth.

Header

A horizontal structural member used to support other structural members over openings such as doors and windows.

Heat Loss

The energy needed to warm outside air leaking into a building through cracks around doors, windows, and other areas.

Heat Pump

A unit designed to produce forced air or hot water for heating and cooling.

Hot Water

Water at a temperature greater than or equal to 110 º F (43º C).

House Wrap

Engineered materials designed to keep out liquid water and prevent air infiltration while allowing water vapor to escape from inside the home.

Hybrid

Something that is the product of mixing two or more different things.

Individual Sewage Disposal System

A system for disposal of domestic sewage by means of a septic tank cesspool mechanical treatment to serve a single establishment or building.

Ingress

Entrance or a means to enter.

Insulation

Material used to restrict the flow of heat, cold, or sound from one surface to another.

Internal Force

A force that is internal to structural elements and is needed to determine the material stress and strain.

Keystone

A wedge-shaped stone placed in the crown of an arch.

Kip

A unit of weight equal to 1000 pounds.

Land Patent

The legal documents that transferred land ownership from the U.S. Government to individuals.

Lateral Load

A force acting generally in a horizontal direction, such as wind, earthquake, and soil pressure against a structure.

Lavatory

A fixture that is designed for washing hands and face, usually found in a bathroom.