In
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
, a design choice is a possible solution to a problem. Given a design task and a governing set of criteria (''design specifications''), several conceptual designs may be drafted. Each of these preliminary concepts is a potential design choice. Many never advance beyond the preliminary phase; those that are developed to the point at which they could be applied become the pool from which the final selection is made. This process stems from the principle that there is usually no uniquely right way of accomplishing any task. The final selection is often made on a financial basis; i.e., the least expensive design is chosen in a bid process.
In
civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...
, design choices usually derive from basic principles of
materials science and
structural design. A suspension bridge, for example, uses the fact that
steel is extremely efficient in
tension
Tension may refer to:
Science
* Psychological stress
* Tension (physics), a force related to the stretching of an object (the opposite of compression)
* Tension (geology), a stress which stretches rocks in two opposite directions
* Voltage or el ...
, while a
prestressed concrete bridge
Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially "prestressed" ( compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-tensioned concreted i ...
takes advantage of
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...
's relatively low cost by weight and its ability to sustain high compressive loading (see
compression
Compression may refer to:
Physical science
*Compression (physics), size reduction due to forces
*Compression member, a structural element such as a column
*Compressibility, susceptibility to compression
* Gas compression
*Compression ratio, of a ...
).
Engineering concepts
Design
{{Design-stub