- What am
I doing here?
At the end of this course, you will be able to: analyze
structural engineering problems (beams, cables, and trusses) in a simple
and logical manner; use the concepts of stress and strain in structural
members experiencing tension, compression, shear, bending, and twisting
to evaluate the possibility of their failure; and use Mohr's circle and
the Von Mises stress to ensure that your analysis is performed from the
appropriate perspective. The first part of the course focuses on the
analysis of “rigid bodies” in equilibrium. The second part of the course
focuses on structures made of “real” materials having elasticity and
finite strength.
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- There are two textbooks
for this class: Vector Mechanics for Engineers – Statics, by
Beer, Johnston & Mazurek (McGraw Hill, any edition), and
Mechanics of Materials, by Beer, Johnston et al. (McGraw Hill, any
edition). These books will be used in the first and second
parts of the course, respectively.
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- Hey!
Why are there two books?
This material is typically presented in two different courses at
engineering schools, and these are the texts for those courses. We will
cover chapters 1 through 7 of Statics, and 1 through 9 of
Materials. Both books have great example problems and illuminating
text. If you are planning on a career in mechanical, civil, or
environmental engineering, I strongly recommend that you purchase and
keep both books, even after the semester ends.
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- How will I be graded?
Your grade will be determined by:
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Assignments: |
30% |
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Bridge Competition |
10% |
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Exams (4 exams): |
60% |
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100% |
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Each of
the four exams (including the “final”) will cover the specific material
from the weeks preceding it. However, all of the exams are effectively
cumulative for the course, since you cannot master the material for the
second exam unless you understand the material from the first (and so
on). Really.
The
bridge competition will be held in Newton 204 beginning at 3:45 pm on
Thursday, December 7, 2023.
Can I do
written homework on Post-it notes?
Are you kidding? In the real world, neatness counts, and
it counts in this class, too. The main purpose of the (rare) written
assignments is professionalism. More information concerning written
homework can be found on the reverse side of this syllabus. For this
course, using online homework solutions is considered academic
dishonesty. Students must not turn in homework problems that someone
else has solved or solutions they find online. At best you will not
receive credit for the homework; at worst you will be charged with
academic dishonesty.
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When are the
tests?
Here is a tentative schedule of exams. Exams #1 through #3 are
currently scheduled as “in class” exams. If the entire class (including
Dr. Pogo) agrees, any exam time, date, or length can be changed (to a
two hour evening exam, for example). Such changes will not affect the
exam questions itself. In any case, the time limit for exams #1 through
#3 will not exceed two hours.
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Exam #1: Friday, September 22, 2023 (chapters 1 through 5 of
Statics)
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Exam #2: Friday, October 20, 2023 (chapters
6
through 7 of Statics)
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Exam #3: Wednesday,
November 15, 2023 (chapters 1
through 3 of Materials)
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Exam #4: Wednesday, December 13, 2023
(3:30-6:00 pm. Covers chapters 4 through 9 of Materials)
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Written
Homework Rules
The entire
point of having written assignments is to help you improve your
professionalism. Therefore, unlike the CAPA portion of each weekly
assignment, your grade will be primarily based on factors other than
whether you get the right answer.
- 1) Use exactly 8˝
´
11 inch paper. I will measure it with a ruler. Do not use spiral
ring paper.
- 2) Use only one side of each
sheet
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3) Put your name on the top of
every sheet. Put the assignment number on the top of the first page
(e.g., “Applied, Assignment #3).
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4) Staple all your sheets
together. Paper-clips and torn corners are not permitted.
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5) Clearly and systematically
indicate what is given, and what is sought.
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6) Work must progress linearly
down the page. If your solution initially meanders around the page,
I expect you to recopy your solutions.
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7) Use a pencil. Erase errors
instead of blotching them out. If you choose to use a computer, then
everything must be in correct notation: italics only and always when
needed, subscripts appropriate, equations in standard textbook form
(not in any computer language), diagrams not drawn in “paint”, etc.
The symbol “:=” is (now and for the rest of your professional life),
unacceptable for written work, along with other “computational”
notation (“^”, “E”, “*”, etc.).
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8) Draw and use Free Body diagrams
as appropriate for all problems. Define and use coordinate systems.
Specify your choice of “free body”. Label your forces.
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9) Define your symbols, and
use subscripts. Not all forces can be called “F”, not
all tensions can be called “T”, and not all normal forces can
be “N”. Every symbol must be unique and clearly defined. Make
a list or table of relevant symbols and their values when this will
help me to understand your solution.
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10) Do not even bother to
submit nonsensical results (e.g., a negative tension in a chain or
rope).
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11) Use words and/or pictures
to clarify your method of solution and your symbol definitions.
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12) Solutions should be
symbolic. Include the initial fundamental formulas, but don’t show
every step of intermediate algebra. If, for some reason, your
solution uses numeric values, show no more than 4 significant
figures, and include units.
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13) Box your answers.
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14) Plots should be professional and no smaller than 3
´
5 inches. Do not use default font sizes, default trendline
formatting (where every variable is apparently an x or a y),
default line widths, default colors, etc. No decision should be made
by Excel or Mathematica. Axis names should include units.
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- What if
I have trouble with the homework?
Come see
me during office hours on Discord, and I’ll try to
point you in the right direction. You must bring a paper copy of your
homework assignment (not just your “answers”). Also,
I know that most of you will
work in groups, and I won’t attempt to stop it. However, the learning is
in the doing. Nobody on this planet learns from copying somebody else’s
work, no matter how clear or correct it is. Every part of every problem
that you let somebody else do for you is something that you are deciding
that you just don’t want to learn. You will not have their help on
exams!
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this course, students will:
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· Be
able to analyze rigid structural engineering problems consisting of
beams, cables, and trusses in a simple and logical manner
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· Be
able to evaluate the possibility of failure due to tension and
compression in structures made of elastic materials of finite
strength
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· Be
able to evaluate the possibility of failure due to torsion in
structures made of elastic materials of finite strength
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· Be
able to evaluate the possibility of failure due to bending in
structures made of elastic materials of finite strength
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· Be
able to evaluate the possibility of failure due to shear in
structures made of elastic materials of finite strength
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· Be
able to use Mohr’s circle and the “von Mises stress” to combine the
above effects in 2D and 3D, respectively, to ensure that your
failure analysis is performed in the correct coordinate system.
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