2016-17 Catalog: Civil Engineering

Special problems or courses arranged to meet the needs of first-year graduate students or qualified undergraduate students. Graded pass/fail.

Fundamentals of fluid mechanics. Microscopic and macroscopic properties of liquids and gases; the continuum hypothesis; review of thermodynamics; general equations of motion; kinematics; stresses; constitutive relations; vorticity, circulation; Bernoulli's equation; potential flow; thin-airfoil theory; surface gravity waves; buoyancy-driven flows; rotating flows; viscous creeping flow; viscous boundary layers; introduction to stability and turbulence; quasi one-dimensional compressible flow; shock waves; unsteady compressible flow; and acoustics.

Two- and three-dimensional theory of stressed elastic solids. Analysis of structural elements with applications in a variety of fields. Variational theorems and approximate solutions, finite elements. A variety of special topics will be discussed in the third term such as, but not limited to, elastic stability, wave propagation, and introductory fracture mechanics.

Students attend a graduate seminar each week of each term and submit a report about the attended seminars. At least four of the attended seminars each term should be from the Mechanical and Civil Engineering seminar series. Students not registered for the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees must receive the instructor's permission. Graded pass/fail.

Equilibrium concepts, conservative and dissipative systems, Lagrange's equations, differential equations of motion for discrete single and multi degree-of-freedom systems, natural frequencies and mode shapes of these systems (Eigen value problem associated with the governing equations), phase plane analysis of vibrating systems, forms of damping and energy dissipated in damped systems, response to simple force pulses, harmonic and earthquake excitation, response spectrum concepts, vibration isolation, seismic instruments, dynamics of continuous systems, Hamilton's principle, axial vibration of rods and membranes, transverse vibration of strings, beams (Bernoulli-Euler and Timoshenko beam theory), and plates, traveling and standing wave solutions to motion of continuous systems, Rayleigh quotient and the Rayleigh-Ritz method to approximate natural frequencies and mode shapes of discrete and continuous systems, frequency domain solutions to dynamical systems, stability criteria for dynamical systems, and introduction to nonlinear systems and random vibration theory.

Characteristics of potentially destructive earthquakes from the engineering point of view. Theory of seismometers, seismic waves in a continuum, plane waves in layered media, surface waves, basin waves, site effects, dynamic deformation of buildings, seismic sources, earthquake size scaling, earthquake hazard calculations, rupture dynamics.

A faculty mentor will oversee a student proposed, independent research or study project to meet the needs of graduate students. Graded pass/fail. The consent of a faculty mentor and a written report is required for each term.

The faculty will prepare courses on advanced topics to meet the needs of graduate students.

Introduction to the use of numerical methods in the solution of solid mechanics and multiscale mechanics problems. First term: Variational principles. Finite element analysis. Variational problems in linear and finite kinematics. Time integration, initial boundary value problems. Elasticity and inelasticity. Constitutive modeling. Error estimation. Accuracy, stability and convergence. Iterative solution methods. Adaptive strategies. Second term: Multiscale modeling strategies. Computational homogenization in linear and finite kinematics. Spectral methods. Atomistic modeling and atomistic-to-continuum coupling techniques.

This course examines the links between form, geometric shape, and structural performance. It deals with different ways of breaking up a continuum, and how this affects global structural properties; structural concepts and preliminary design methods that are used in tension structures and deployable structures. Geometric foundations, polyhedra and tessellations, surfaces; space frames, examples of space frames, stiffness and structural efficiency of frames with different repeating units; sandwich plates; cable and membrane structures, form-finding, wrinkle-free pneumatic domes, balloons, tension-stabilized struts, tensegrity domes; deployable and adaptive structures, coiled rods and their applications, flexible shells, membranes, structural mechanisms, actuators, concepts for adaptive trusses and manipulators.

Research in the field of civil engineering. By arrangements with members of the staff, properly qualified graduate students are directed in research.