1 Structural Mechanics 2

Gantt Chart

1.1 Course Outline

School School of Engineering College College of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken) SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) Availability Available to all students
SCQF Credits 10 ECTS Credits 5

1.2 Summary

This course engages students with the fundamental principles of Structural Mechanics relevant to civil and mechanical engineers. Specific topics including: equilibrium, stress, strain, axial load, torsion, bending, shear, and deflections in structural elements including beams, columns, struts, ties, and trusses.

1.3 Course Description

  • T1 Introduction and Overview: Course structure and organisation. What is structural mechanics?

  • T2 Structural forms: Structural elements and examples. Strength and stiffness. Loads and factors

  • T3 Global Equilibrium: Forces and moments, point and distributed loads. Support conditions. Global equilibrium of structures. Concept of structural determinacy and indeterminacy

  • T4 Free Body Diagrams and Stress Resultant

    Truss equilibrium. Stress resultants in struts (axial load), shafts (torsion), beams (shear and bending) and pressure vessels (membrane forces)

  • T5 Members carrying Axial Load

    Simple mechanical behaviour. Deformation (due to load and thermal strain)

  • T6 Members carrying Torsion

    Torsion of circular shafts and other closed sections. Torsional stiffness and deformation

  • T7 Stress Resultants in Determinate Beams (1)

    Sign conventions. Shear force and bending moment diagrams

  • T8 Stress Resultants in Determinate Beams (2)

    Relationships between w, V, and

  • T9 Bending of Beams (1)

    Euler Beam Theory. Curvature. Plane sections. Bending strain

  • T10 Bending of Beams (2)

    Euler Beam Theory. Elastic bending stresses. The neutral axis. Moment - curvature - stress - strain relationships

  • T11 Deflection of Beams

    Double integration of curvature to find deflection. Support boundary conditions. Beam stiffness

  • T12 Superposition of Deflection

    Deflection coefficients. Superposition of deflections

  • T13 Geometric Section Properties

    Area, 2nd moments of area, Parallel axis theorem. Rectangular, circular, T and I section

  • T14 Composite Beam Sections

    Modular ratio and equivalent section. Stress and strain diagrams

  • T15 Shear Stresses in Beams (1)

    Complimentary shear. Derivation of shear stress formulae

  • T16 Shear Stresses in Beams (2)

    Shear flow. Rectangular, box and flanged sections

  • T17 Combined Loading

    Combining axial, torsion, shear and biaxial bending stresses

  • T18 Stress and Strain Transformation

    Plane stress, plane strain. Mohr’s circle

Tutorials: - 9 ‘Tutorials’ (Format to be decided)

Come in with whatever things you had the most trouble with.

Laboratory experiments:

  • 4-6 ‘Physical Experiments/Demonstrations’ (Format to be decided)

The truss lab is completed online.

All labs are completed before the relevant theory is taught. The point is foremost data collection.

Think about sources of error.

The report should wind up about 6 pages long (1.5 pages per experiment).

1.4 Total Hours: 100

  • Lecture Hours 18,
  • Seminar/Tutorial Hours 9,
  • Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 3,
  • Online Activities 0.5,
  • Summative Assessment Hours 1.5,
  • Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
  • Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 66

1.5 Assessment

  • Written exam 80 %
  • Coursework 20 %
  • Practical Exam 0 %

Note that the coursework is all one submission, which is intended to have been completed over the course of the course.

1.6 Learning Outcome

  1. Describe and manipulate fundamental concepts of stress, strain, and deformation in members carrying axial, bending, shear, and torsional loads;
  2. Determine how statically determinate trusses and beams carry load; for beams using diagrams of bending moment and shear force, and evaluate the resulting elastic deflections of the beams;
  3. Analyse structural cross sections, so as to determine the elastic stress and strain distributions, as well as the deformations, resulting from axial, bending and torsional actions;
  4. Describe and manipulate relevant concepts of combined loadings and stress and strain transformation.