Teaching (TA Class)

Class 1: Design of structures for fire resistance (SE 153)

Overview:

This course offers an exciting opportunity for students to develop an understanding of the techniques and methodologies required for designing building structures that can withstand fire. Delve into the fundamentals of fire safety in buildings and the fire resistance of structures, exploring intriguing topics such as fire severity and fire loads, including both standard and real fires. Students will investigate how materials and structures behave at elevated temperatures and acquire essential design methods to enhance the fire resistance of steel, concrete, wood buildings, and light frame assemblies. The course highlights the innovative performance-based approach to fire resistance design of building structures, preparing students for cutting-edge developments in the field. Furthermore, students will gain valuable insights into current research on designing structures to withstand fire and extreme loading, including multi-hazard scenarios. With a primary focus on designing structures to address common building fires, this course equips students with specialized skills that can enhance career opportunities in structural design roles, making them valuable assets in the field.

Course Text:

The main textbook for this course is Andrew H. Buchanan, Structural Design for Fire Safety, John Wiley & Sons, 2002 or 2017.

Course Evaluation:

Class 2: Geotechnical Engineering (SE 181)

Overview:

Geotechnical engineers solve problems involving soils and rocks, including those involving the interaction between structures or the environment with soils and rocks. Structural engineers also must process geotechnical engineering issues when designing the foundation system and solving site-specific issues for buildings, bridges, and other structures. Unlike other civil engineering materials like concrete and steel, soil is a multi-phase material containing particles, air, and water. The interaction between these phases leads to many interesting phenomena that affect site-specific analysis and design. Geotechnical engineering is a broad field which requires the integration of analysis, critical thinking, site-specific field and laboratory testing, historical empirical evidence, and knowledge of geology. Although this is challenging, every project that geotechnical engineers encounter is unique. Because of uncertaintiesinvolved in design, geotechnical engineers must be able to decipher what issues are the most important to consider. This course provides the ability to prepare and interpret a geotechnical report, which is critical for geotechnical engineers and structural engineers, and to perform analyses of fluid flow, consolidation, and shear strength.

Course Outline:

1. Introduction to geotechnical engineering

2. Engineering geology and grain size distribution

3. Mass-volume relationships for soils

4. Site investigation and contents of a geotechnical report

5. Index properties and soil classification

6. Compaction of soils

7. Permeability of soils

8. Seepage in earth structures

9. Geostatic stresses in soil layers

10. Effective stress

11. Compression and time rate of consolidation of soils

12. Mohr circle and shear failure of soils (drained vs. undrained); laboratory shear strength testing 

13. Use of geosynthetics in hydraulic and reinforcement applications

Lab Experiments:

Lab 1a&1b: Discovery lab & phase relations; 

Lab 2a&2b: Classification & particle size analysis; 

Lab 3: Liquid and plastic limits; 

Lab 4: Compaction; 

Lab 5: Coefficient of permeability; 

Lab 6: Consolidation of clay (demonstration with data analysis); 

Lab 7: Unconfined compression for clay undrained shear strength (demonstration with data analysis).

Course Textbooks:

Donald Coduto, Man-Chu Ronald Yeung and William A. Kitch (2010). Geotechnical Engineering:

Principles & Practices. 2nd Edition. Prentice Hall. (Recommended not required)