Strength of Materials for Building Construction

The course comprises thematic components. Every theme includes a mandatory laboratory experiment performed in groups and presented orally and in writing. This is followed by lectures and calculation exercises. Every theme concludes with a written exam for the Pass grade level. The written exam for the distinction grade levels takes place at the end of the course. Students aspiring to a distinction grade are also given the opportunity to carry out a seminar assignment. The weekly themes comprise the following components : \- Hooke's law: relation stress-strain in homogeneous and composite materials, ideal area, shrinkage and thermal stress. \- Bending stress: stress distribution in pure bending of homogeneous and composite materials, elastic section modulus, moment of inertia, normal bending, centre of mass calculation of composite materials, ideal moment of inertia, skew bending. \- Deflection: equation of elastic deflection curve, elementary case method. \- Shearing stress: distribution of shearing stress in cross-section, principal stress, Mohr's circle. \- Instability: lateral buckling, lateral instability and buckling. \- Displacement method for statically indeterminate beams.