Steel Structures I
- Lecturer: A. Taras
- Coordinating assistant: R. Steinmetz
- Semester: Spring
- Language: German
Steel Structures I will provide students with fundamental concepts of the theory and practice of structural engineering, allowing them to appreciate how structural engineers conceptualize and enact their work. After providing the background to the "limit state" design philosophy used in modern structural engineering and describing how actions and their effect are modelled in structural calculations, the course will focus on the behaviour of steel and simpler steel-concrete composite structures.
Students will learn the background and implementation of national and international methods to design and verify steel or composite elements for strength and stability, from tensile bars to beams, columns, joints and whole frame systems. After the course, they should have gained proficiency in applying and understanding the tools - including state-of-the-art structural analysis software - that allow them to autonomously design and verify simpler steel structures.
Students will follow lectures (in class or online) and take part in application classes in small groups to apply the learned theory to practical examples. They will be provided with homework examples to further test their progress. During the semester, they will be tasked to design a simple, single-floor steel frame structure in a group of 3 to 4 students, beginning with the preliminary sizing of the structural components and leading to the structural design verification of the main members and joints. An excursion to a local construction site will round off the semester and further expand the "hands-on" experiences during the course.
