Department of Mechanical Engineering, Unit Catalogue 2008/09 |
ME30030 Structural mechanics |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Honours |
| Semester: 1 |
| Assessment: EX 100% |
| Requisites: |
| Before taking this unit you must take ME20023 or (take ME20024 or take ME20071) |
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Aims:
* To broaden the understanding of Solid Mechanics to include material and geometric nonlinearity. * To introduce concepts of bending and stretching in plate and shell structures. * To introduce the elements of incremental and deformation plasticity theory. * To underline the importance of energy and energy absorption in the general context. * To introduce post-buckling theory. Learning Outcomes: After taking this unit the student should be able to: * Calculate stresses and deformations in thick cylinders under a variety of loading conditions. * Understand the nature of plastic yielding. * Determine deflections and critical loads of laterally loaded and in-plane loaded plates. * Determine load-deflection responses of simple plastic mechanisms and their relation to energy absorption. * Understand some of the implications of nonlinear effects in structural systems. * Understand energy absorption in simple crashworthiness models. Skills: Problem solving: numeracy; working independently. Content: Stresses and deformation of pressurised thick cylinders. Yield criteria. Introduction to incremental plasticity. Linear bending theory for circular plates. Buckling of struts and rectangular plates. Deformation theory of plasticity. Plastic mechanisms. Energy absorption. Introduction to crashworthiness. Phenomenology of post-buckling. Topics for self study that could be examined. |