BSc in Mechanical Engineering

Course Details

Course Information Package

Course Unit TitleLIGHTWEIGHT STRUCTURES: DESIGN AND COMPUTATION
Course Unit CodeAMEM423
Course Unit Details
Number of ECTS credits allocated5
Learning Outcomes of the course unitBy the end of the course, the students should be able to:
  1. Explain the function and application of different structural elements in lightweight structures and formulate different problems by choosing an appropriate lightweight structural element with respect to functionality and weight.
  2. Analyse and design thin-walled beams and stiffened shells with respect to strength, stiffness and structural stability. Apply and work with concepts from basic courses in solid mechanics, such as centre of gravity and moments of inertia, as well as more advanced concepts introduced in this course, such as shear flow, modal analysis, different buckling and failure mechanisms.
  3. Describe and apply the principles of finite element codes and use them for analysis of basic structural elements.
  4. Formulate and solve heat transfer and structural plasticity problems. Calculate stress distribution, plastic deformation and buckling modes in thin and solid structures based on non-linear material models. Clarify the influencing factors for a stress analysis and demonstrate dependencies for different geometrical configurations and load and contact conditions.
  5. Identify and use methodologies for modelling, simulating and carrying out parametric studies for the design and development of thermal and structural systems. Application of simple geometrical optimization methods for stress minimization. Visualise the results and describe validation against analytical solution or experimental data.
  6. List application of light weight structure design, manufacturing and computation in modern vehicle industries, failure criteria models, material behaviour in higher temperatures, non-linear phase transformation models during heat processing and further advanced topics in lightweight structure manufacturing and application.
Mode of DeliveryFace-to-face
PrerequisitesAMEM219,AMAT314Co-requisitesNONE
Recommended optional program componentsPrinciples ofstructural mechanics, numerical methods, computer programming, non-linearstructural mechanics, finite-element-modelling, manufacturing processes.
Course ContentsIntroduction: Principles of structural mechanics and structural heat effects, plasticity theory, modal analysis, buckling and fracture models. Analytical and numerical solution approaches. Modelling and simulation using advanced finite element models.
Definition of contact models for modelling structure to structure interaction, linear static and dynamic problems and plastic deformation for non-linear failure problems.
Boundary and initial conditions: Boundary conditions in structural mechanic problems including clamps, material pre-treatment, strain-hardening or forced clamps.
Discretisation techniques: Mesh creation and discretization methods for bar, shell and solid models.
Solution techniques of discretised equations: Properties of numerical solution methods and error estimation. Implicit and explicit computation method for non-lineal plasticity and contact problems and result evaluation and interpretation.
Advanced topics in lightweight structures: Manufacturing and joining processes for lightweight construction in vehicle industries, failure criteria and fatigue, material behaviour in higher temperatures, non-linear phase transformation models during heat processing and further advanced topics of lightweight structures applications.
Laboratories: Individual simulation Laboratories for practical lightweight structural problems solution and plots of field data performed with the use of the Deign CAD tool SolidWorks and the FE codes ANSYS and LS-DYNA at the Computer Laboratory.
Assignments: Individual assignments on practical structural models under different load scenarios modelling degrees. Application of numerical techniques on lightweight structures via the use of FE software.
Recommended and/or required reading:
Textbooks
  • T.H.G. Megson, Aircraft Structures for Engineering Students, Elsevier, 2007.
  • Julian Happian-Smith, An Introduction to Modern Vehicle Design, Butterworth Heinemann, 2001.
  • E. Madenci, I. Guven, The finite element method and applications in engineering using ANSYS, Springer, 2006
  • C. Tirupathi, R. B. Ashok, Introduction to Finite Elements in Engineering, Pearson, 3rd Edition, 2002
  • R. De Borst, M. Crisfield, J. Remmers, C. Verhoosel, Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis of Solids and Structures, 2nd Edition, Wiley, 2012.
  • LS-Dyna, Keyword User’s Manual, Livermore, CA, 2003.
References
    Planned learning activities and teaching methodsThe course is delivered to the students by means of lectures, conducted with the help of computer presentations, as well as demonstrations of computational geometries,models, computer programmes and the use of advanced and FEM codes at the computer laboratory for solving structural problems. Lecture notes and presentations are available through the web for students to use in combination with the textbooks.
    Assessment methods and criteria
    Assignments10%
    Laboratories10%
    Test20%
    Final Exam60%
    Language of instructionEnglish
    Work placement(s)NO

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