SE 1 Introduction to Structures and Design

These introductory experiments allow students to determine the best structural form, geometry, or material to fulfill a certain function while ensuring that this function can be provided safely over the lifetime of a structure.  The experiments include tension, compression, and bending tests on our portable Structural Testing and Recording (STAR) Machines, in addition to natural frequency experiments on our portable shake table.

Pairs of students investigate the slope stability of two different types of soils under various water content ratios.  They use scaled compacting techniques to consistently compact the soil within a mold and afterwards load the structure to find the weight it can hold before failing.  Students are able to visualize the failure planes of their compacted soil structures and notice the differences in capacity and cracking between a sloped face versus a vertical face.

Student teams build a balsa structure to effectively resist excitement from an earthquake on a shake table. They use response spectrum plots and simplified calculations to predict the dynamic behavior of their balsa wood structure.  Through observation, students can see how forces transfer through their structure and the important of lateral force resisting systems, such as shear walls and bracing.

Student teams build a whirlybird that maintains a slow descent when dropped from a great height. They have a variety of light-weight materials to choose from and use simplified calculations to predict the velocity of the falling whirlybird based on drag and uplift.  Students observe how key aerospace features play a critical role in the performance of a wing structure, such as angle of attack, shape, and surface area.