Enhancement of a finite element analysis course for structural engineering

In this paper the enhancement of an introductory Finite Element course in the newly established Civil Engineering and Construction Management Department at Georgia Southern University is discussed. Typically in an Introductory Finite Element course offered in many engineering schools, a simple less elaborate FE package is used to deliver the course concepts. In the newly developed course discussed in the paper, a state-of-the-art commercial software package is planned to be utilized to further enhance the marketability of the students upon graduation. Along with this choice comes the challenge of developing suitable tutorials and examples to familiarize the students with various important tools and special features of this sophisticate package in the minimum amount of time possible. The submitted paper explores one possible strategy to accomplish this task. This course is designed for exploring the civil engineering applications focusing specifically on analysis of structural components, rather than solving problems related to other fields such as fluid mechanics or heat transfer. The planned projects in the course explore strategies in analyzing a variety of structural members such as trusses, beams, frames, as well as other solid continuums. The course is expected to complement other structural engineering related courses delivered in the curriculum such as Structural Analysis and Advanced Structural Analysis. Solutions of problems obtained in this course using the FE package can be compared and contrasted against the results from other classical methods discussed in these courses. Some of these methods include: Slope-Deflection Method, Moment Distribution Method, and Matrix Stiffness Method. These comparisons further enhance the knowledge of the students in area of structures and provide them with new perspectives. Several prepared example problems for the course are included in the paper to further illustrate the value of the project. Each of these examples is selected for a unique purpose, covering specific topics, and illustrating important principles. Collection of the prepared course examples such as the ones included in this paper will provide the students with the strong foundation in the areas of analysis of structures, preparing them well for their future studies and for pursuing rewarding professional careers.