Elastica theory in engineering
Description:
The purpose of this learning design is to introduce the elastica theory for the modeling of the nonlinear deformations of thin beams. This is done via in-class and out-of-class activities, where students can learn the theory, implement it in a numerical code, and test their results against experimental and FEM results. The teacher gives two tutorials on how to solve the elastica equation numerically and how to perform experiments and FEM simulations. Each student runs their own experiments/simulations and prepare a report that will be presented in class.
Intended Learning Outcomes:
- Create a numerical code that solves the elastica equation
- Perform simulations and experiments on the cantilever problem
- Compare the results obtained via different methods and analyze the results
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Before (out-of-class) |
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Online tutorials and tutorials provided by the teacher |
Students install and get familiar with the required software ↓ |
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Upload instructions, provide tutorials and the detailed text of the assignment |
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In-class |
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Notes taken by the students and tutorials |
Perform experiments and simulations (elastica and FEM) ↓ |
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Teacher guide the students and answer their questions |
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Online (out-of-class) |
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Brightspace |
Students participate in online discussion to discuss results and prepare individual reports ↓ |
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Teacher provides feedback and moderate discussions |
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In-class |
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Final report on activity |
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Students present their results, get feedback, and prepare a final revised report |
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Teacher provides feedback |
Additional information
This module is part of the course 'Beams and Plates', which I teach for the Master in mechanical engineering. It is usually attended by 25/30 students. The module corresponds to around three weeks of teaching, in which the students should acquire a critical knowledge of the elastica beam model, that is a reduced model for slender monodimensional objects.
The final exam is oral, with 3/4 ungraded assignments that students hand in during the course.