| Unit name | Advanced Structural Materials and Design |
|---|---|
| Unit code | CENGM0079 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Toumpanaki |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
Advanced Structural Analysis (CENG30010) or equivalent |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering |
| Faculty | Faculty of Engineering |
Why is this unit important?
This unit aims to introduce the fundamental principles about the structural behaviour and design criteria of timber, concrete composites, and prestressed concrete structures and review the current technologies available; to present the serviceability limit states and cover the specific implications for the ultimate limit states; short- and long-term elastic analyses of composite structures including effects of slip; to emphasise on fundamentals.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering concerned with the stability, rigidity and strength of buildings, bridges and other structures. In our Civil Engineering programme, structures are taught across all years of study, including Engineering Science (delivered in Year 1), Methods of Structural Analysis and Structural Materials and Design (in Year 2), Advanced Structural Analysis (in Year 3), as well as several optional M/level units, including this one. Practical applications of Structural Engineering are also embedded in the Design units of the programme.
An overview of content
Topics covered may include:
Approximate analysis of frames and tall buildings to support design; timber engineering, including timber-concrete composite structures; Advanced plastic analysis for connection, plate, and wall design, including current code design philosophies; Prestressed concrete, including applications to structural elements in buildings and bridges; Design with composite materials such as Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRPs).
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
This unit will provide students with an appreciation of sustainable and high performing structural materials, such as timber, prestressed concrete, and composite structures (e.g., timber-concrete or steel-concrete composites). The content in this unit will give students the necessary skills to design structures out of a variety of different products including timber and prestressed concrete products.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, successful students will be able to:
1. analyse the material properties of timber, composite, and prestressed concrete structures;
2. demonstrate understanding of the design process from conception to construction and participate in this process through practical design examples;
3. assess the importance of hand calculations in validating outcomes from computer modelling;
4. incorporate long-term effects and durability into the structural design process;
5. design connections in composite structures accounting for both serviceability and ultimate limit states.
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions, which may include lectures, practical activities supported by drop-in sessions, problem sheets and self-directed exercises.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Students will be expected to carry out some pre-reading ahead of lectures (ran in a flipped classroom mode) and expected to work on a number of real-life design problems individually and in teams. Computer labs will be used to apply the learned theories and methods to solve practical problems.
The computer lab sessions and exercises are carefully designed such that students can build their own computational tools gradually. In the end, students will be able to integrate key model components, which have been developed individually, into a complete methodology for a design.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Open book examination (100%)
When assessment does not go to plan:
A reassessment retains the same format as the original assessment.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. CENGM0079).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
