Undergraduate Course: Structural Design Philosophy 3 (CIVE09033)
Course Outline
| School | School of Engineering |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 9 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course explores structural functions and forms in addition to key concepts that underpin structural design, including the latest developments in structural engineering. It takes a step back from the structural mechanics methods taught elsewhere in the curriculum, such as Structural Mechanics 2 and Structural Analysis 3, and examines the design philosophy behind these techniques. For example, why and when is it safe to make assumptions and simplifications in design; how do different structural forms carry load; which structural form is best to meet a particular functional requirement? Modern trends in structural engineering involve using materials that are more brittle, or more prone to buckling, or lighter and thinner; what are the implications of these modern forms for structural design?
The course builds upon the analysis methods covered in 2nd year and 3rd year, and is intended for any student intending to specialise in structural engineering, or any student who wants to go beyond the equations or software that are used for general structural analysis and design. |
| Course description |
This 10 credit lecture course involves 10 hours of lectures, 6 hours of example classes and 9 hours of tutorial sessions.
The course topics (not necessarily in this order) include:
1. Limit-state design concepts for loading and strength.
2. Material versus structural behaviour: brittle behaviour, ductile behaviour, and instability. Plasticity theorems. Implications for structural analysis and design.
3. Structural form: axial force and bending dominated structures; curved line structures etc.; Understanding load paths in different structural forms.
4. Structural function and choice of structural form.
5. Modern developments in structural engineering, as examples of exploitations of materials and structural behaviours. For example, prestressed concrete; use of brittle fibre reinforced composites to reinforce or strengthen concrete; earthquake retrofitting, stainless steel construction; timber structures.
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Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Explain the fundamental structural theorems that allow a designer to make assumptions and simplifications during structural design, and recognise the significance of material ductility, structural ductility, brittleness, and instability for structural behaviour and design.
- Explain the basis of limit-state design, and the statistical basis underpinning design codes and safety factors.
- Describe different structural forms, establish the load paths within them, and use these to select an appropriate structural form to meet a functional requirement.
- Establish the critical factors that dominate the strength of a structural system and apply an appropriate simplified analysis method to determine its strength.
- Describe modern developments and trends in structural engineering, critically evaluate their performance, and choose an appropriate method to analyse their behaviour.
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Reading List
M. Levy and M. Salvadori, ¿Why buildings fall down¿, WW Norton & Co.
D. Seward, ¿Understanding structures: analysis, materials, design¿, Palgrave Macmillan
M.S. Williams and J.D. Todd, ¿Structures, Theory and Analysis¿ MacMillan Press.
R.E. Melchers, ¿Structural Reliability and Analysis¿, Wiley.
P. Bhatt and H.M. Nelson, ¿Marshall and Nelson¿s Structures¿, Longman Scientific.
K.M. Leet and Chia-Ming Uiang, ¿Fundamentals of Structural Analysis¿, McGraw Hill.
Brohn D., ¿Understanding structural analysis¿, New Paradigm Solutions Ltd. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Structural Behaviour and Materials,Structural Form,Structural Function,Design Concepts |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Hwa Kian Chai
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Craig Hovell
Tel: (0131 6)51 7080
Email: |
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