Use Of Mathcad In Computing Beam Deflection By Conjugate Beam Method

The four-year, ABET-accredited Civil Engineering Technology curriculum at Georgia Southern University includes a required, junior-level course in Structural Analysis. One of the topics covered is the conjugate beam method for computing slope and deflection at various points in a beam. The conjugate beam method is a geometric method and it relies only on the principles of statics. The usefulness of this method lies in its simplicity. The students can utilize their already acquired knowledge of shearing force and bending moment to determine a beam’s slope and deflection. An approach to teaching this important method of structural analysis that complements the traditional lecturing through inclusion of a powerful, versatile and user-friendly computational tool, is discussed in this paper. Students will learn how to utilize Mathcad to perform a variety of calculations in a sequence and to verify the accuracy of their manual solutions. A Mathcad program is developed for this purpose and examples to illustrate the computer program are also included in this paper. The integration of Mathcad will enhance students’ problem-solving skills, as it will allow them to focus on analysis while the software performs routine calculations. Thus it will promote learning by discovery, instead of leaving the student in the role of a passive observer.