AE 3145 Structures Laboratory (1-3-2)Catalog Data: AE 3145: Introduction to Structural Analysis. Introduction to mechanical measurements, instrumentation principles and practice, measurement of stress and strain, shear center, column stability, properties of composite structural materials, fracture toughness tests. Prerequisites: AE 3120.Textbook: At the level of: Gere, J.M. and Timoshenko, S. P., Mechanics of Materials, 4th ed., PWS Publishing Co., 1997. In addition, on-line course notes prepared for each experiment.Coordinator: J. I. Craig, Professor of A. E.Learning Objectives: Students are introduced to instrumentation principles and to the fundamentals of mechanical measurements and basic structural testing in the laboratory. These are then applied to a series of experiments that examine basic mechanical behavior of metals and simple composite materials. A second series of experiments examines the behavior of basic structural components including beams, columns, and thin-walled structures. Computer-based data acquisition principles and applications are also covered in these experiments.Expected Outcomes: Students should understand the fundamental concepts behind structural testing in the laboratory. They should have an understanding of basic instrumentation, including computer aided testing, and an appreciation for how to apply this to practical structural engineering problems. Students should also have a more complete understanding of the fundamental concepts presented in the pre-requisite structural engineering courses.Prerequisites by Topic:1. Basic statics.2. Bars and trusses.3. Shear and bending moment diagrams.4. Stress analysis of beams.5. Deflection analysis of beams.6. Stability of columns.Topics and Laboratory Projects:Up to seven laboratory projects selected from the collection of available laboratory assignments listed below will be used during a semester. Laboratory Hours1. Measurements, transducers and calibration 32. Computer aided data acquisition and testing 33. Strain gage selection and application 34. Elastic constants in isotropic and composite materials 65. Yield stress and fracture 36. Beam bending stresses and deflection 37. Shear center 38. Sandwich beams and contribution of shear deformation 39. Column buckling 310. Stress concentration around holes and cutouts 311. Fracture toughness tests in metals 612. Interlaminar fracture toughness in composites