# SE II Study Books



## Hromis1 (Oct 26, 2009)

Ladies and Gents, can any of you give your opinion of any SE II study books? Any that were very good? Any that are terrible?

I have mixed feelings about the ones I used for the SE 1.


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## Hromis1 (Oct 26, 2009)

Hromis1 said:


> Ladies and Gents, can any of you give your opinion of any SE II study books? Any that were very good? Any that are terrible?
> I have mixed feelings about the ones I used for the SE 1.


I specially want to know which books were good at teaching or reviewing the concepts and methods that helped you suceed.


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## rdbse (Oct 26, 2009)

I thought the three structural books from Kaplan were a good review and the examples were representative of multistep problems on the exam.

http://www.kaplanaecengineering.com/kaplan...ering/home.aspx


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## Casey (Oct 28, 2009)

For timber design I highly recommend "Design of Wood Structures-ASD/LRFD" by Breyer, Fridley, Pollock, and Cobeen.

http://www.amazon.ca/Design-Wood-Structure...r/dp/0071455396

I didn't use the book to study with when I did the SEII as I mainly went with the SERM and the NDS 4-book package, but when doing the SEIII I actually opened it up and found it to be a great book that explained things well and covered everything that you would expect to find on the SE exams with respect to timber design.

It even does a good job of showing you how to distribute wind and seismic lateral loads to your structure...

As for the Kaplan/Williams structural books. They get the job done, but do it half-assedly... so many mistakes, errors and confusing answers but since they have no real competition in the PE exam study book market there's no incentive for them to improve. They do score some points for having all the information you need for the exam summarised in one or two main books and they provide a large number of examples, just be diligent in checking their answers against yours...


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## knelli (Nov 23, 2009)

Thanks for the advice.... Anyone else have recommendations? I am going to study for the SII this winter....

A friend of mine recommended that you bring a foundations book, and to review approximate methods of frame force caculations, review the design examples in the AISC structural provisions. Also review/skim the IBC Structural/Seismic Design Manuals, Vol 1,2 and 3. Be prepared for timber questions as much as concrete and steel.


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## PIYA (Nov 24, 2009)

I did bridge problems of the SEII. On top of studying the AASHTO LRFD itself, the two books below are very useful.

- Seismic Design and Retrofit of Bridges by M.J.N. Priestley

- Design of Highway Bridges: An LRFD Approach by R. M. Barker

I also reviewed Dynamics of Structures by Chopra and Structural Steel Design by Jack McCormac &amp; James Nelson.

For approximate methods of frame/coupled shear wall force calculations, I think that Tall Building Structures: Analysis and Design by Bryan Stafford Smith is very good.


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## Genuine_Opinion (Nov 24, 2009)

PIYA said:


> I did bridge problems of the SEII. On top of studying the AASHTO LRFD itself, the two books below are very useful.
> - Seismic Design and Retrofit of Bridges by M.J.N. Priestley
> 
> - Design of Highway Bridges: An LRFD Approach by R. M. Barker
> ...


PIYA,

Out of two books you mentioned, is any one useful for SE-1 bridge portion preparation. I wish to take building section for SE-II.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

G. O.


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## McEngr (Nov 25, 2009)

rdbse said:


> I thought the three structural books from Kaplan were a good review and the examples were representative of multistep problems on the exam.
> http://www.kaplanaecengineering.com/kaplan...ering/home.aspx


Glad to see you back on the board rdbse!!!


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## PIYA (Nov 26, 2009)

Genuine_Opinion said:


> PIYA,
> Out of two books you mentioned, is any one useful for SE-1 bridge portion preparation. I wish to take building section for SE-II.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> ...



Genuine_Opinion,

I *have* *not* taken the SE I myself because the exam is not required in WA. In my opinion, the two books will be useful for SE I exam in the sense that they will help you understand (not just know) the AASHTO LRFD code and provide some good examples. However, considering that only 16 out of 80 questions will be about bridge design and assuming you don't really design bridges at work, I am not sure if buying both of them only for the SE I exam will be a good investment (unless you want to add good books to your collection.) I think that studying the AASHTO LRFD code, *including its commentary*, and good bridge design examples from other sources might be enough. When I reviewed the AASHTO LRFD code for SE II exam, I usually compared and identified similarities between AASHTO and ACI318 &amp; AISC. It seemed to help me keeping track of where different design requirements are.

I hope this helps. Others who have taken the SE I before, please feel free to comment.

Thanks,


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