Catalog Data:
AE 3145: Structures Laboratory. .Credit 1 (0-3-1) Introduction to mechanical measurements, instrumentation principles and practice, measurement of stress and strain, shear center, column stability, properties of composite structural materials, fracture toughness tests. Pre-requisite: AE 3120
Textbook:
Gere, J.M. and Timoshenko, S. P., Mechanics of Materials, 4th ed., PWS Publishing Co., 1997. On-line course notes prepared for each experiment.
Coordinator:
J. I. Craig, Professor of A. E.
Goals:
Students are introduced to instrumentation principles and to the fundamentals of mechanical measurements and basic structural testing in the laboratory. These are then applied to a series of experiments that examine basic mechanical behavior of metals and simple composite materials. A second series of experiments examines the behavior of basic structural components including beams, columns, and thin-walled structures. Computer-based data acquisition principles and applications are also covered in these experiments.
Expected Outcomes:
Students should understand the fundamental concepts behind structural testing in the laboratory. They should have an understanding of basic instrumentation, including computer aided testing, and an appreciation for how to apply this to practical structural engineering problems. Students should also have a more complete understanding of the fundamental concepts presented in the pre-requisite structural engineering courses
Prerequisites by Topic:
Topics and Laboratory Projects:
Six or seven laboratory experiments will be selected from among the following each semester. New experiments will be added as needed.