FALL 2008 ME104Q LIFE'S STRUCTURES
mechanical design in nature
and in the technological world

DESIGN PROJECTS

Students are expected to work on design projects in teams of three students, since communication, brain-storming, and exchange of ideas is fundamental to the design process. Each team will provide a single  design solution. We expect that the team members will agree on the details of the design solution.

Written reports

For projects  1 and 2  each student in the team is required to hand in an individual  design report  (5 pages maximum, including any diagrams, sketches etc., which we strongly recommend) based on the team design solution. We expect that the students will each compose the written report separately. The written reports will be graded based on technical content, style, clarity, syntax, grammar, etc.  For projects 3 and 4,  each team will hand in a single report but this will be considerably  more in depth then the previous two.

KiNex models

For projects 1 and 2 each team is required to hand  in a constructed model. These models will be tested for structural efficiency. 

Poster presentation

For project 4, each team will be required to prepare a poster to be presented at a special meeting open to the public.

Grades

The grade for projects 1 and 2 will consist of an individual grade for the written  report  plus a  team grade for the KiNex model testing. For projects 3 and 4, each member of a team will receive the same grade based on the team design and report (and on the poster presentation, for project 4.)

 

Requirements Description
 Assig.d
 Due
project 1

on style

map and figures
 (a) written report (individual), and
(b) KiNex model (team)

Test results F08 and F07
KiNex Models F08 and F07

 Design of a new Metro Rail Bridge over the Genesee River (I):
(a) Mechanical design, economic, social , legal and ethical, environmental, esthetic,  and safety issues. (see PBS video Superbridge) Individual report: preliminary draft.
(b) Construction and testing of a KiNex bridge model (simply supported)		 4 Sep. 23 Sep.
project 2 (a) written report (individual)
and
(b) KiNex model (team)


 Finalize design of a new Metro Rail Bridge over the Genesee River (II):
(a) Mechanical design, economic, social , legal and ethical, environmental, esthetic,  and safety issues. Individual report: Individual report: final version.
(b) Construction and testing of a KiNex bridge model (cantilever)		 23 Sep. 9 Oct. (model)
16 Oct. (final report)
project 3
 written report



 Design of a historic timber structure (I):
Computer aided (Dr.Frame) truss design, analysis, and optimization based on strength criteria. Team report: preliminary draft.		 4 Nov. 18 Nov.
project 4
 written report and
poster presentation		 Design of a historic timber structure (II): 
Computer aided (Dr.Frame) truss design, analysis, and optimization based on strength and buckling criteria.  Team report: final version. Public poster presentation.		 18 Nov. 12 Dec.

Renato Perucchio
 updated 30 September 2008 Go to top of this page

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