Written in an easy to understand style, the course What Every Engineer Should Know About Structures Part B — Statics Applications is a logical extension of the previous course in the series, What Every Engineer should Know About Structures Part A — Statics Fundamentals.
Where the first course in the series, "Part A — Statics Fundamentals", presented the fundamental principles of statics including nomenclature, definitions, Newton's Laws, and procedural methods, this course, "Part B — Statics Applications", applies the principles learned to real-life problems.
The course is divided into five sections. Included are sections on calculating reactions for beams, trusses, and frames; determining forces in truss members; calculating the different forces is a single cable supporting point and distributed loads; presenting the basics of friction; and understanding the principles of sheaves and pulleys.
Statics is fundamental to the field of engineering mechanics — including structural analysis and design. Included among the many topics covered are discussions of the uncertainties of design loads, why utility linemen are careful to sight along a line when making a final hook-up, and why simplifications in stating a statics problem is an acceptable and common practice. Many example problems are worked with simple and easy to understand diagrams and calculations.
This course is not a design course. However the methods and techniques presented can be used to determine the forces in many common structures including metal building frames, traffic light suspension cables, and multi-line hoisting systems, as well as to determine the minimum lean angle of an extension ladder as limited by friction.
Anyone who has completed the first course in this series can complete this course.
Basic Trigonometry, Significant Figures, and Rounding — A Quick Review is a zero credit course intended for those who might find themselves a bit rusty and would like a quick refresher. The information in the course is useful for application to the solution of structural problems especially in the fields of statics and strength of materials.
This course is free and can be downloaded by clicking the link below.
/authors/123Glon/TRIG.pdf
The trigonometry review includes demonstrating - through the use of several example problems — the use of the basic trigonometric functions including: the sine, cosine and tangent and their inverse; the Pythagorean Theorem; the Sum of the Angles; the Law of Sines; and the Law of Cosines. The significant figures and rounding review includes a discussion of the precision and validity of an answer, along with rules and guidelines for using the appropriate number of significant figures, and for rounding answers appropriately.
