Module: Basic Principles of Structural Engineering I

Objectives

The students gain basic knowledge of the safety concept applied in structural engineering. They are able to determine loadings acting on structures and are able to develop static systems for building constructions as well as define the respective geometry and material properties.

The students gain basic knowledge of the composite building material called reinforced concrete. They are able to estimate the load-bearing behaviour of construction elements made of this material and are able to design beam structures in the ultimate limit state due to bending moments, normal forces and shear forces.

Topics

Part 1: Safety concept, load assumptions, and modeling in structural engineering (Inst. f. Steel Construction)

• Safety concept, limit states, partial safety factors, probabilities of failure
• Action effects due to dead load, traffic, wind and snow; special action effects
• Modeling - transfering real structural systems to static models

Part 2: Basics of the composite construction material concrete (Inst. f. Concrete Construction)

• Introduction (objectives, history, components and buildings)
• Material behaviour (concrete, reinforcing steel, composite)
• Load-bearing behaviour of reinforced concrete beams
• Ultimate limit state due to bending moments
• Ultimate limit state due to shear forces
• Tension envelope and configuration of reinforcements

Exam

The exam exists of theoretical and calculation tasks.