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Course

Mechanics of Building Materials for Construction

Number: BCT 330
Credits: 4
Format: In person, Online, Amherst

Semester: Spring
Meeting Times: Tue/Thu 1:00 - 2:15
Room: ODB 162

LMS Link

Instructor

Peggi Clouston,
Ph.D., M.A.Sc., B.A.Sc., P.Eng.

Professor & Graduate Concentration Coordinator, Building Systems concentration

Office: 316 Olver Design Building
Phone: +1 (413) 545-1884
Email:

Office Hours | Faculty Page | LinkedIn

Course Description

Usually offered in Fall but changed to Spring for AY 2024/2025 only. The course employs realistic building examples to introduce students to fundamental engineering analysis. The main topics are: statics and equilibrium as applied to statically determinate systems; force and moment analysis; strength of materials where students learn to determine stress and strain in simply supported beams; and beam design with deflection, shear and bending stress evaluation. Through a combination of classroom lecture, demonstration, practical application, homework assignments and problem solving sessions, students will gain mathematical confidence and learn the importance of problem solving in construction.

Pre-requisites: MATH 104 or Higher and PHYSICS 131 or Higher

Learning Goals

  • Understanding of how materials react when subjected to applied load
  • Ability to analyze external and internal forces in statically determinate plane structures
  • Ability to calculate stresses and strains in axial members
  • Ability to calculate bending and shear stresses in simple beams
  • Ability to structurally design simple beams

Textbook/Materials

B.Onouye and K.Kane, Statics and Strength of Materials for Architecture and Building Construction. New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 4th ed., 2012 ISBN 978-0-13-507925-6

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