C&ENVENG 3001 - Structural Mechanics IIIA

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2014

This course is intended to provide students with a thorough understanding of the theory and application of structural analysis as it applies to trusses, beams and frames. Emphasis is placed on developing the student's ability to both model and analyse statically determinate and indeterminate structures and to provide realistic applications encountered in professional practice. Topics to be chosen from: influence lines; approximate methods of analysis; calculation of deflections in statically determinate structures by the moment-area theorems, the conjugate beam method, the principle of virtual work and Castigliano's theorem; force method of analysis for indeterminate structures; displacement methods of analysis for indeterminate structures including the slope-deflection method, method of moment distribution, and the stiffness method; an introduction to finite element modelling.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code C&ENVENG 3001
    Course Structural Mechanics IIIA
    Coordinating Unit School of Civil, Environmental & Mining Eng
    Term Semester 1
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 4 hours per week
    Assumed Knowledge C&ENVENG 2025
    Restrictions Available to BE(Civil & Struct), BE(Architectural) & associated double degree students only
    Course Description This course is intended to provide students with a thorough understanding of the theory and application of structural analysis as it applies to trusses, beams and frames. Emphasis is placed on developing the student's ability to both model and analyse statically determinate and indeterminate structures and to provide realistic applications encountered in professional practice. Topics to be chosen from: influence lines; approximate methods of analysis; calculation of deflections in statically determinate structures by the moment-area theorems, the conjugate beam method, the principle of virtual work and Castigliano's theorem; force method of analysis for indeterminate structures; displacement methods of analysis for indeterminate structures including the slope-deflection method, method of moment distribution, and the stiffness method; an introduction to finite element modelling.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Abdul Sheikh

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes

    No information currently available.

    University Graduate Attributes

    No information currently available.

  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    Text Book: Structural Analysis, 8th Edition (SI Units), R.C. Hibbeler, Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore, 2011 (Available in UniBook).

    Lecture Slides (Power Point): To be available on MyUni. Printed copies of these slides (6 slides per page) will also be distributed at the beginning of lectures. 

    Computer Software (Microstand): To be available in CADS (full version) and on MyUni (student version for your personal computer).
    Online Learning
    Apart from using MyUni for uploading lecture slides (power point) and the computer software as mention in section 3.1, it will be used for posting homework assignments and their solutions, the details of the group project, and some study materials (e.g. assignments, quizzes, question papers) of previous years. MyUni will also be used for communication (email) with students.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    The sessions assigned for lectures (Section 1.3) will be used for formal course lectures except one session in week 6 for the quiz. The session assigned for the tutorial (Section 1.3) will be used to help students individually or in small groups for homework assignments, general understanding of theories and solving problems starting from week 3. Moreover, teaching assistance will be available on other days (1 hour per day) for additional consultations.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    In addition to 3 hours of lectures and 1 hour of tutorial in a week (Section 1.3), students are expected to spend approximately 5 to 6 hours for studying lecture materials, practice examples and solving homework problems. Students are expected to spend extra hours (usually week 10-11) for the group project.
    Learning Activities Summary
    Week 1: Introduction and Internal Member Forces
    Week 2: Integration Method for Deflection of Beams
    Week 3: Moment Area Theorem for Deflection of Beams
    Week 4: Energy Method for Deflection of Structures (Introduction, Castigliano’s Therem)
    Week 5: Energy Method for Deflection of Structures (Unit Load Method)
    Week 6: Force Method for Statically Indeterminate Structures
    Week 7: Displacement Method – Slope Deflection Method
    Week 8: Displacement Method – Slope Deflection Method
    Displacement Method – Moment Distribution Method 
    Week 9: Displacement Method – Moment Distribution Method 
    Week 10: Stiffness Method of Structural Analysis  
    Week 11: Influence Lines of Statically Determinate Structures
    Week 12: Plastic Analysis of Structure
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    The assessment will have the following components.
    Homework Assignments 20%
    Quiz (one) 5%
    Group Project 10%
    Final Examination 65%
    Assessment Related Requirements
    The final examination marks should be at least 32.5% of the total marks to pass the course (i.e. you have to pass the final examination separately).
    Assessment Detail
    Homework Assignments – A total of about 10 homework assignments will be given. The assignment problems will be uploaded on MyUni every week (usually Friday afternoon) starting from Week 2 where the problems will be based on the lecture material taught by that time. The students will get one week time to solve these problems individually. The submission must be made on next Friday (usually) before 4.00 pm to the course submission box in front of the School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering Office. The assignments will be marked giving importance to method, answer as well as presentation. The marked assignments will be returned to the students immediately after the marking which will usually take one week time.

    Quiz – There will be a 50 minutes Quiz on 20.04.2012 (Week 6) at Chapman Lecture Theatre N158 (Macbeth Lecture Theatre) from 1.10 pm to 2.00 pm and it will based on the topics taught in first five weeks. The quiz will be a closed book test which will run under strict examination conditions. However, students are allowed to bring a double sided single A4 sheet containing relevant formulae only. A student who will miss the quiz will receive zero (0) for this component. However, if a student is sick on the day of quiz and a doctor’s certificate is produced, his/her marks in the final
    examination will be increased from 65% to 70%.

    Group Project – Students have to work in a group of 4 (maximum) to solve a problem using Microstand (computer software) which will be provided (Section 3.1). The project details will be available on MyUni at the end of Week 9. The project involves load calculation and computer analysis of a big frame structure. You will get approximately two weeks time to finish the project. Each group have to produce one report and submit to the course submission box on the due date. 

    Final Examination – This final examination will be of 3 hours duration which will cover the entire course material. Similar to the quiz, the final examination will be a closed book test but students are allowed to bring a double sided single A4 sheet containing relevant formulae.
    Submission
    Homework Assignments: The due date for submission of an assignment will be mention on the assignment which will be usually Friday, 4.00 pm. Students must submit their assignments to the course submission box in front of the School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering Office on the due date before 4.00 pm. Late submissions will be penalised. If someone is late, please don’t submit your assignment to the submission box without informing the lecturer because the submission box will be opened once in a week.

    Group Project: The due date for submission of the group project will be mentioned in the project details. Students have to submit their project report (one report for each group) to the course submission box in front of the School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering Office on the due date before 4.00 pm. The late submission will follow similar procedure as that of home assignments.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

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    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

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  • Policies & Guidelines
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