Civil Engineering Structures Course

Lesson 1 • Structural Safety and Limit States

Introduces strength and serviceability limit states and the concept of safety factors. Establishes the design philosophy used throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Structural Systems and Their Roles

Introduces primary structural systems—frames, trusses, shells, and cables—and their load-carrying mechanisms. Connects typology selection to functional and site requirements.

Lesson 3 • Forces, Loads, and Equilibrium

Covers static equilibrium, free-body diagrams, and load classification. Provides the mechanical foundation for all subsequent structural analysis.

Lesson 1 • Indeterminate Structure Analysis

Covers force method and slope-deflection method for statically indeterminate beams and frames. Prepares students for advanced design of redundant systems.

Lesson 2 • Reactions and Determinacy

Covers support types, reaction calculation, and determinacy classification. Establishes the analytical starting point for all structural systems.

Lesson 3 • Truss Analysis Techniques

Applies the method of joints and method of sections to determine member forces in planar trusses. Reinforces equilibrium principles from Chapter 1.

Lesson 4 • Shear and Moment Diagrams

Teaches construction of shear force and bending moment diagrams for beams under various loading conditions. Diagrams are the primary tool for member design.

Lesson 1 • Steel: Grades, Properties, and Behavior

Covers structural steel grades, stress-strain behaviour, and failure modes including fracture and fatigue. Establishes material limits used in steel design chapters.

Lesson 2 • Timber and Engineered Wood Products

Examines wood grain, orthotropic behaviour, moisture effects, and engineered products such as glulam and LVL. Prepares students for timber structural design.

Lesson 3 • Concrete: Composition and Properties

Details cement hydration, aggregate grading, water-cement ratio, and resulting mechanical properties. Connects mix design decisions to compressive strength outcomes.

Lesson 1 • Shear Design and Torsion

Explains diagonal tension, stirrup design, and combined shear-torsion interaction. Ensures members resist non-flexural failure modes.

Lesson 2 • Column Design and Interaction Diagrams

Addresses short and slender column behaviour, eccentricity, and interaction diagram construction. Enables design of compression members under combined axial and bending loads.

Lesson 3 • Flexural Design of Beams

Covers the equivalent stress block, balanced reinforcement ratio, and tension-controlled beam design. Directly applies moment diagrams from Chapter 2.

Lesson 4 • Serviceability and Detailing

Addresses crack width control, long-term deflection, and bar development length. Ensures designs meet serviceability limit states introduced in Chapter 1.

Lesson 1 • Tension Member Design

Covers gross yielding, net section fracture, and block shear failure modes for tension members. Establishes the multi-limit-state design approach used throughout steel design.

Lesson 2 • Beam Design and Lateral Stability

Addresses compact section classification, plastic moment capacity, and lateral-torsional buckling. Ensures beams achieve full plastic capacity or are braced appropriately.

Lesson 3 • Beam-Column and Frame Design

Applies interaction equations for combined axial and bending loads in beam-columns. Extends to frame stability and second-order effects.

Lesson 4 • Bolted and Welded Connections

Designs bolted shear and bearing connections and fillet welds under various load conditions. Completes the steel design sequence with connection detailing.

Lesson 1 • Retaining Structures and Lateral Earth Pressure

Applies Rankine and Coulomb theories to design gravity and cantilever retaining walls. Ensures stability against sliding, overturning, and bearing failure.

Lesson 2 • Deep Foundation Systems

Examines driven piles, drilled shafts, and pile groups for high-load or poor-soil conditions. Addresses capacity from skin friction and end bearing.

Lesson 3 • Bearing Capacity of Shallow Foundations

Applies bearing capacity equations to isolated and combined footings under eccentric and inclined loads. Connects superstructure column loads to footing sizing.

Lesson 4 • Settlement Analysis

Covers immediate elastic settlement and consolidation settlement for cohesive soils. Links settlement predictions to serviceability requirements of the superstructure.

Lesson 1 • Equivalent Lateral Force Method

Applies simplified seismic base shear calculation and vertical distribution of forces to building frames. Enables preliminary seismic design of regular structures.

Lesson 2 • Seismic Lateral Force Resisting Systems

Compares moment frames, shear walls, and braced frames as seismic force resisting systems. Guides system selection based on ductility and redundancy requirements.

Lesson 3 • Earthquake Ground Motion and Hazard

Explains seismic wave types, ground motion parameters, and probabilistic seismic hazard. Connects site conditions to design spectral accelerations.

Lesson 4 • Fundamentals of Structural Dynamics

Covers single-degree-of-freedom systems, natural frequency, and damping. Provides the dynamic theory base for wind and seismic load analysis.

Lesson 1 • Structural System Selection and Layout

Guides selection of gravity and lateral systems based on occupancy, height, and site constraints. Integrates material and system knowledge from all previous chapters.

Lesson 2 • Construction Documents and Specifications

Covers structural drawing organisation, general notes, and material specifications for construction. Prepares students to produce complete, buildable document sets.

Lesson 3 • Construction Phase Structural Oversight

Examines shop drawing review, field inspection, and nonconformance resolution during construction. Closes the design-to-construction loop for structural engineers.

Lesson 4 • Load Combinations and Design Workflow

Applies factored load combinations to govern member design across all materials and systems. Establishes a repeatable design workflow for complex structures.