Customer Reviews

Structural Engineering Reference Manual

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Structural Engineering Reference Manual
Having used PPI's Civil Engineering Reference Manual extensively while studying for the PE-Civil, I bought the SERM for the PE-Structural I and II. I opened it once only when I started studying, and then realized it was not as thorough as I needed it to be. That, plus in some states this book is not allowed to be taken into the examination room (in Illinois where I took the SE I and II, for example, it is prohibited along with "any reference and solution manuals published by Professional Publications, Inc."!) so check your state's requirements first before getting too dependent on it.

Yet I don't regret buying the SERM because it can be used as a quick reference book at work; but as a study aid/reference book in preparation for and during the exams, it was not really helpful.

If you're looking to take the SE II exam, this book shouldn't be your only source. It covers a few unique situations for concrete beam design and foundation design that are good references, but overall it's a light reader on general capacity calculation concepts for various materials. I used this to recap wood design, as well as to learn masonry design. There are no useful examples of masonry or shear wall design, however... so look elsewhere for anything but concepts.

Also, the steel examples are riddled with mistakes. This item cost a lot for its actual worth.

This reference covers all the material-specific topics covered on the exam -- timber, masonry, concrete, foundations, prestressed concrete, and steel. It seems to cover these topics concisely and has good design tools like step-by-step design procedures which I have found quite helpful for speeding up the problem-solving process. Know that this manual cannot replace textbooks on these various subjects - it is a review manual only. The only thing I was disappointed about was that this volume does not cover any general analysis topics, such as structural static and dynamic analysis methods for indeterminant structures. It would have been nice if it had provided a section of compiled stiffness/deflection equations, approximate analysis methods for frames, review of moment-distribution and virtual work, etc.

This is an EXCELLENT resource and a MUST-BUY as you study for your NCEES PE Structural I exam. It provides a great reference for design using all types of building materials. However it is not a great source for PE sample problems. I would recommend buying the NCEES sample problems booklet as a supplement to this reference manual. It worked for me... I passed on my first try.

Be careful of which "printing" you buy. Apparently the latest edition is the 4th but there are 4 "printings" of this edition. I simply purchased the "4th" edition from Amazon, but ended up with a second printing. Needless to say there are numerous errors in this printing which really slows down the studying.

For the most part it is a well written book, but there are many errors. You should beware of Chapter 8, Bridges, as it is not a trustworthy study guide and definitely not good for using in the exam. It is full of errors, many of which are not posted on the PPI website. Illustrations for problems are wrong and unavailable from PPI. I have tried to contact them numerous times regarding the errors and to request the correct illustrations to no avail.

Illinois candidates sitting for the Structural Engineering Exam should be aware that this book is not allowed to be used during the exam. On the IDFPR website, they specifically prohibit "Reference Manuals" with example problems. For the most part, this is a good book with many equations all in one place. But, you can't use it during the exam. Good luck!

Good for test preparation, and to have later as a refresher when you're doing things you haven't done in a while.....I'd recommend