ME014 – mechanics of solids (spring 2006)

Images credit :http://www.structurae.de

This course is taught by Dr. Frederic Sansoz, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Vermont.

Course Syllabus

Prof. Frederic Sansoz

• Office......................College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Votey 201B
• Phone .....................656-3837
• Email........................frederic.sansoz@uvm.edu
• Research group.......... http://www.uvm.edu/~fsansoz/

Course information

• Credits................... 3
• Lecture hours.......... MWF 11:15 pm - 12:05 pm, Morril 010
• Office hours............ MW 3:30 pm - 5:30pm
• Prerequisite............. CE1, Math121, ME12 or concurrent enrollment
• Course Webpage...... WebCT (http://www.uvm.edu/webct/); UVMNet ID required

Teaching Assistant: Mr. Kevin Stevenson

• Office..................... College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
• Office hours............. TBD
• Phone .................... TBD
• Email....................... kstevens@cems.uvm.edu

Reference book

• Mechanics of Materials, 6th edition, by James M. Gere,

     Publisher: Thomson Brooks/Cole, ISBN: 0-534-41793-0

Overview

Catalogue description. (Same as Civil Engineering 100.) Stress, strain, temperature relationships, torsion, bending stresses and deflections. Columns, joints, thin-walled cylinders. Combined stresses and Mohr's circle.

Description. This course provides an introduction to the mechanics of deformable solids and strength of materials.  The relationship between stress and deformation in mechanical structures arising from applied loading will be addressed.  A brief outline of topics to be covered will include: tension/shear loading, torsion, bending, beam deflection, stress/strain plane transformations, and column buckling.

Learning outcomes.  Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:

·   Determine forces on a variety of statically determined and indetermined problems.

·   Calculate internal stresses and strains on structural members.

·   Construct shear force and bending moment diagrams for beams.

·   Determine beam deflection and slope for various loads.

·   Evaluate failure criteria.

Tentative Schedule

Grading Policy

• 2 mid-term exams @20% each................... 40%
• Homework .............................................. 10%
• Online quizzes .........................................  5%
• Design Project report ............................... 15%
• Final exam .............................................  30%

Final grades will be (tentatively) issued according to the traditional grading scheme: A-90%, B-80%, C-70% and so on. I reserve the right to modify this scheme at my discretion, but any such modification will be in such a way as to lessen the requirements for a particular grade.

Homework

Homework will be assigned electronically every week, usually on Friday and due one week later.  The assignment will be posted on WebCT ( http://www.uvm.edu/webct/). While it is encouraged to work with your peers, each student must submit his/her own work for a grade.   Assignments are due in class. The lowest two grades will be dropped for the final grade. Credits will be given for presentation. If you know in advance that you will be unable to hand in your homework on time because of a previously scheduled activity (e.g., varsity sports, off-campus activity) you are responsible for notifying me prior to the due date.  With prior notice I will give a reasonable homework extension.

Quiz

Book chapter reading will be frequently assigned. Several quizzes on these readings will have to be taken through WebCT (http://www.uvm.edu/webct/) during some periods to be specified by the instructor.

Exam

Three exams (two mid-term, one final) will be given.   The mid-term exams will be taken during the time of the lecture and therefore their duration is 50 mins. The final exam duration is 2h30. All exams are closed-book; however, each student is allowed to bring one double-sided page to write his own notes and formulae.   No make-up exams will be given. The date of each exam is given in the above schedule. The material covered by the exam will be announced at least a week before the exam date.

Group Design Project

A design project will be assigned midway into the semester, and will be due at semester's end.  The project intent is to bring together the concepts learned during the semester in the design and/or analysis of an engineering structure.  This project is a group-based activity with individual "project teams" consisting of 4-5 students.  Student within each group will work in collaboration to produce a final design and write a group report.  All students within a group will receive the same grade.  The specific project, details and logistics for this semester will be announced after Spring Break.  At that time you will also be required to form your design groups, so you may want to start thinking about possible "colleagues" earlier in the semester.

Relation of the course to ABET (http://www.abet.org)

This class will fulfill the following outcomes as required for ABET accreditation:

1.      ability to apply knowledge of mathmematics, science, and engineering to the analysis of mechanical engineering problems;

2.      ability to identify, formulate, and solve mechanical engineering problems;

3.      ability to convey technical material through formal written work products which satisfy accepted standards for writing style;

4.      broad knowledge of basic sciences, computer science, and engineering sciences necessary to analyze and design complex devices and systems.

Course Policies

Academic Honesty: All students should be familiar with the UVM Academic Honesty Policy which is described in the following link: http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmppg/ppg/acad/other/honesty.htm

Any violation of the UVM Academic Honesty Policy will be dealt with in a strict and appropriate manner.

Attendance:  All students should be familiar with the UVM Attendance Policy which is described in the following link: http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmppg/ppg/student/attend.html

The attendance expectations are as follows:

·        Absence from class – all absences from class must be notified in writing to the instructor before the class or within two days after the class.  The student notifications must include a valid reason for the absence.  The instructor may require written documentation justifying the reason of the absence.

·        Tardiness from class – no student will be excused from arriving late to the class.  Tardiness policy will be considered in effect when the lecture has started, afterwards the student will be denied access to the class.

·        Attendance assessment – attendance lists will be sporadically distributed in class throughout the semester

·        Penalties – Repeated absences without written notifications will be severely treated and may entitle the student to fail the course or explicitly receive a lower grade at the instructor's discretion.