FACULTY OF ENGINEERING & THE BUILT

ENVIRONMENT

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING &

GEOMATICS

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY IN

CIVIL ENGINEERING

(BNCVL1)

Study Guide
2021

Civil Engineering Materials 2A

(CMTL201)
SAQA CREDITS = 12
Name of Lecturer : Xoliswa Feikie
Office : S6 Level 3

Campus location : Steve Biko

Telephone : 031 373 2895

Fax No : 031 373 2816

E-Mail : [email protected]

Consultation times with Lecturer: Monday 13:00-15:00

Tuesday 11:00-13:00

Assistance will only be provided if the

relevant lecture was attended.

Head of Department : Mr. Goolam Hoosen

Program coordinator :

Campus location : Steve Biko

Room number : S6.301

Telephone : 031 373 2224

Fax No : 031 373 2816

Departmental Secretary : Ms. P J Steel

Contact details : 031 373 2224
Lectures : 3 periods per week. Attendance is compulsory.
Tutorials : N/A
Lecture Venue : BS5403 & BS6105B

Practical Venue : BS5107

Tutorial Venue : N/A

Duration : 16 weeks including exams (semester)

Relevant Policies and rules : The rules that apply to you and your
studies appear in the departmental
handbook and the Rule Book for
Students.
1. Welcome

Welcome to this course. We hope that you will find it both stimulating and
useful. The purpose of the study guide is to give you essential information
about the course. It includes details of the tuition to be provided and the ways
assessment is carried out.

The study guide covers an introduction to the subject, learning outcomes and
assessment criteria, learning, teaching and assessment strategies, copyright
and plagiarism, student support and quality assurance and enhancement.

Learning outcomes are the competences that you are expected to acquire by
completing this course: they include both outcomes that are specific to the
course (specific outcomes) and more ones that are general (critical
outcomes). Specific outcomes describe what learners should be able to
demonstrate in specific contexts and areas of learning. Critical outcomes are
general ones that are not defined by a particular discipline: for example
“demonstrating an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by
recognizing that problem-solving contexts do not exist in isolation”.
Assessment criteria are the standards by which we measure whether or not
the learning outcomes have been achieved. Assessment strategies are the
various ways in which we measure the degree to which learning outcomes
have been achieved.

2. Using your online DUT Moodle classroom

This module has an online DUT Moodle classroom. The following information
in available in the online classroom:
• The study guide
• The term planner
• Practical content
3. Introduction to the module

This course is offered as part of the instructional programme for the Bachelor
of Engineering Technology in Civil Engineering. Further information and
other courses, which can be studied concurrently, may be obtained from the
Civil Engineering Handbook, which also contains the official syllabus, which
this study guide and the course are based.

The name aptly describes the content of the course which should be taken
by all students as it is useful for all branches of engineering because every
project of whatever nature requires knowledge of civil engineering materials.
It forms the introductory course for civil engineering at degree and post
degree level.

4. Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes Detailed outcome Assessment

criteria methods
a) Understand the An introduction to Geology, Test and
principles of different with emphasis on the types examinations
materials of rocks, characteristics and
identification.

Identify soil characteristics.

Assess the factors, which

influences the properties of
concrete.

b) Perform appropriate Identify and perform tests Test and

tests relating to laboratory and examinations
 field identification.

Perform tests on bitumen.

c) Solve calculations Perform mix design Test and
calculations. examinations
Explain and perform tests
carried out on concrete.
d) Choose Soil stabilization. Test and
appropriate examinations
construction plant to
perform tasks at
hand
e) Understand Discuss the importance of Test and
characteristics of the moisture in the soil. examinations
material
Discuss sampling, labelling,
and safety precautions.

Discuss compaction of soil

and its importance.
Identify applications of
concrete.

Discuss the different types of

bitumen.

5 Learning, teaching and assessment strategies

a) Learning Activities
Contact (lectures): 3 hours per week/ per group
Practical : 2 hour per week (1 hour each group)
Note: Attendance is compulsory
b) Graduate Attributes
The engineering council of South Africa (ECSA) has prescribed ten graduate
attributes that all graduates of the Bachelor of Engineering Technology
degree must satisfy so that the degree can be recognized for professional
registration with ECSA.

The following GA’s will be developed in this module:

GA5: Engineering methods, skills, tools, including information technology
GA8: Individual and teamwork
GA9: Independent learning

c) Assessment

Assessment Weight
Test 1 14% of final
mark
Test 2 14% of final
mark
Practical Project 12% of final
mark
Examination (summative) - 60% of final mark
moderated

Assessment Date Time Venue Content

Test 1 Will be Will be Will be Will be announced
announced announced announced
Test 2 Will be Will be Will be Will be announced
announced announced announced
Practical Details on the practical guide
Project
Examination A 3-hour examination will be written at the All the Chapters
 end of the semester covered in class

Course Mark:
The course mark is calculated as follows:
Course mark = 14% of the mark for test 1, plus
14% of the mark for test 2, plus
12% of the mark for practical project
Final Mark:
Final mark = 40% Course Mark + 60% of Examination Mark

Sub-minima:

• You must obtain a course mark of at least 40% in order to write the
examination with a subminimum of 50% in the practical project.

• You must obtain at least 40% in the examination and a combined

minimum final mark of 50% to pass.

d) Activities to Promote Learning

• Content focus – lecture content and tutorials will focus student
attention on relevant and important sections of the course notes.

• Interactivity focus – during tutorials classes’ group

participation/discussion and comparison of answers between
students is encouraged to promote learning.

• Critical thinking – critical evaluation of the answers to selected

classroom & tutorial problems will be encouraged.

• Problem solving based learning – a student’s understanding of the

theory is evaluated through the solution of problems.
 • Reflection – the many tutorial problems in the study notes to which
some answers will be given, for others students must compare with
computer software solutions promotes reflection. In addition, peer
group discussion during tutorial classes promotes reflection.

e) Computers and software

Whilst access to computers and software will be made available in the
department, students will also be required to obtain access to the relevant
student version off-campus to enable comprehensive learning.

6 Scheme of Work

Refer to the term planner. A better quality pdf file of the term planner can be
downloaded from Moodle in the subject files

7 Copyright and plagiarism

"The Institution is uncompromising in safeguarding its academic integrity. The

following fraudulent acts, if committed by students, will be regarded as undermining
the Institution's academic integrity and will therefore be severely dealt with:
a. Falsification of academic records.
b. Plagiarism ,i.e., the submission by a student without acknowledgement
of written, visual, or oral material originally produced by someone else,
purporting to be the student's own work, for example, copying directly
from any text (including the internet) without using quotation marks and
proper referencing; presenting someone else's ideas using the student's
words but without proper referencing; and
c. Cheating, i.e., the gaining of an unfair advantage by a student in any
assignment, test, practical, tutorial, experiential training or
examination."
DUT 2018. Rule Book for Students. Durban, 2018.
8 Student support

There are many extraneous things that can affect student performance. In order to
assist students in this regard, the institution is able to provide counseling as follows:
Counselling of students is carried out by the Student Counselling and Health Centre,
and addresses a wide spectrum of needs, including

• Individual counselling for personal and relational issues, that encompasses the
entire gamut of social, personal and psychological concerns that can affect
the well-being and academic performance of students
• Individual career counselling
• Leadership development
• Peer counsellor training
• Life skills and personal development
• Provision of facilities and training to assist students to choose and enter a
career
• Health care, including treatment of minor ailments, emergency care, treatment
of STDs, family planning, vaccination, blood tests, pap smears, support for
long term treatment, health education and awareness
• Information about HIV/AIDS, voluntary HIV counselling and testing and support
groups.

On the one hand the Student Counselling and Health Centre seeks to provide
support for those who are experiencing difficulty adjusting to university life, study
difficulties, relationship issues, health problems, concentration problems,
uncertainties about careers, and feelings of being demotivated, and on the other,
more positive hand, seeks to promote life skills, and in particular the development
of careers.

The Student Counselling and Health Centre is easily available students, and in
addition to personal counselling, provides a wide range of pamphlets on a variety
of issues of interest to the welfare of students.
In addition, students are welcome to consult their lecturer if they find that they are
encountering difficulties. They may make casual visits to the lecturer, or make an
appointment with the Departmental Secretary.

Students at risk will be identified by their performance during the semester, and will
be monitored in the same way. Support will be by way of interventions during
tutorials.

9 Work Integrated Learning (WIL), industry, community, and occupation-

related information.

Many of the problems and examples students will encounter in the module notes
are related to the practice of civil engineering.

10 Quality assurance and enhancement

Student feedback is elicited by the administration of a module survey (PRE001) and

a lecturer survey (PRE002) towards the end of the semester. The surveys allow
students to put forward their views on the courses and their tuition.

11 Prescribed Textbook & Study Material

The notes for this module must be downloaded from the Moodle webpage for this
module. In addition, the lecturer will upload additional notes to the Moodle
webpage as the module is presented.

The following study material MUST BE DOWNLOADED from the Moodle website
for this module:
a. Term planner
b. Study guide
c. Practical content
12 Relevant readings/references

1. Construction materials for civil engineering 2nd edition

Errol Van Amsterdam
ISBN 978-0-70219-757-4

13 Relevant Policies and rules:

The rules that apply to you and your studies appear in the departmental handbook
and the Rule Book for Students. Each student receives a copy of these at
registration. Some rules that may be of particular importance to you are given below:

14 Special Tests

The Head of Department may grant a special test to a student who has been
prevented from taking a test:

1. by illness on the day of the test or immediately before it, provided that he submits
a medical certificate on the prescribed form on which a medical practitioner,
registered by the Health Professions Council of SA, homoeopath or chiropractor,
registered with the South African Associated Health Board, specifies the nature
and duration of the illness and that for health reasons it was impossible or
undesirable for the student to sit for the test, to the LECTURER (or in his
absence, the departmental secretary) WITH STUDENT CONTACT
DETAILS (TELEPHONE+CELL+ EMAIL) CLEARLY LEGIBLE and
attached to the certificate. Failure by the student to provide the above
will result in zero mark for the test

or
2. By circumstances which in the opinion of the head of department were beyond
his control at the time of the test provided that satisfactory evidence of such
 circumstances is provided. Such circumstances shall not include:
a. any misinterpretation by him of the date, time or venue of the test,
b. (ii) transportation difficulties, where his residential term time address is
within the area serviced by a scheduled bus or commuter train service to
the central Durban area, and provided otherwise that he informs the head
of department of such difficulty prior to the time of commencement of the
test,

c. (iii) failure by him to bring to the test venue any equipment normally
required for that module as specified in the study guide for the particular
module.

For the purpose of this rule test shall mean any written, oral or practical test, set for
the purpose of determining or contributing towards a semester mark for a module,
and shall include tests set for modules, which are evaluated by continuous
evaluation.

Any student who misses a test and who does not qualify for a special test, and any
student who qualifies for a special test but fails to write it, shall be awarded a zero
mark for the missed test.

Special tests for all modules shall be written in the last two weeks of official lectures
of each semester and may be based on the entire semesters work.

15 Timetable clashes

No student will be permitted to register for any module combination where there will
be timetable or test clashes. In the event of there being a clash, then the student will
be required to register for the module from the lowest level of the qualification for
which they are registering.
Furthermore, it is the student’s responsibility to check prior to registration that there
are no clashes as no special arrangements will be made to accommodate such
instances. In the event of a student, missing a test/practical/deadline because of a
clash a zero mark will be awarded.