Structural Engineering Workshop: A Curriculum Of Real And Virtual Experiments

Most design procedures for structural components and systems are based on specific behaviors prior to or including an ultimate failure mechanism. One of the critical steps in structural engineering education is to help students understand these behaviors. While some of the behaviors are rather obvious and can easily be described, many are not. To help undergraduates understand the causes and implications of these behaviors, the Structural Engineering Workshop will incorporate laboratory experiments with full-scale structural components into what are traditionally lecture-only upper division courses. Web-based multimedia material will help students place each experiment into context within the course and within the field of study. The Structural Engineering Workshop will also create a new level of continuity within our architectural engineering program, as content will be directed at students in all years of study in graphics, mechanics, analysis, management, and design courses. In addition, students in sophomore construction materials labs and construction methods labs will participate in the fabrication of test specimens.