Just-in-Time Approach to Integrate a Design Project into Mechanics of Materials

This paper presents a just-in-time approach developed and used by the authors to integrate a design project into an introductory undergraduate mechanics of materials course. The design project discussed in-depth is a statically determinate hoist frame structure. The hoist is used to lift an object of weight. It is assembled with smooth pins and is symmetric about the twodimensional plane. Three other design projects discussed briefly include a brace structure, beam hanger, and simple hoist structure. Lecture examples, homework problems, and design project problems are solved with all equations formulated symbolically. One major advantage is that symbolic equations can be solved for any variable value. Furthermore, the design process generally requires solving problems over a range of variable values to obtain a satisfactory design. The design project involves all or almost all topics, covered in an introductory undergraduate mechanics of materials course. The project is divided into seven phases. The background required to complete each phase is based on the material covered up to that point in the course. After a topic is covered in lecture, reinforced through homework and classroom quizzes, the project phase related to the topic area is assigned.