Courses offered at Lehigh University
For material and information for students attending the courses currently offered, please refer to CourseSite.
Random Vibrations - CEE 497
Newly developed course. Offered in Spring 2014.Course description
Brief review of probability theory, with focus on the aspects used throughout the course. Theory of random functions: definition and description of random processes; autocorrelation function and spectral density; ergodic theorem; differentiation and integration of random processes. Important models of random processes, with focus on the description of natural loads in structural engineering (seismic ground motion, wind fluctuations, ocean waves). Brief review of basic concepts of structural dynamics. Random Vibrations: input-output relation for linear structural systems with one or multiple degrees of freedom under random dynamic loads; non-linear structural systems subjected to random loads; applications to wind engineering and seismic engineering. Numerical solution of the generalized problem involving random excitations and/or system uncertainty by simulation: techniques for the numerical generation of random functions for problems in civil engineering (e.g. non-stationary processes for seismic engineering, non-Gaussian and multi-variate processes for wind engineering, multi-dimensional random fields for inhomogeneous materials). Special topics (e.g., crossing rates and peak distribution of a random process to evaluate risk and extreme events; random fields for regional loss analysis; functional quantization). Applications to structural engineering in class, homework, and project.[ Back to top ]
Strength of Materials - CEE 59
Newly developed format. Offered in Spring 2013, 2014.Course description
Review of stress and strain, uniaxial stress-strain diagram. The problem of De Saint-Venant (prismatic body): overview and formulation. Axial load: stress, strain and elongation; sectional deformation and design; Euler’s buckling. Bending: stress, strain and curvature; composite beams and transformed section; unsymmetric bending and eccentric axial loading; review of shear and bending diagrams; plastic deformation of beams. Shear (and bending): shear stress and Jourawsky’s equation; shear stress in thin-walled members; shear center. Torsion: deformation and stresses; angle of twist; noncircular members and Bredt’s law for thin-walled hollow members. Load combination. Stress under rotation of axes, principal planes and stresses. Mohr’s circles for plane stress and for general state of stress. Failure criteria: Rankine, Tresca, Von Mises, Coulomb. Applications to structural engineering.[ Back to top ]
Advanced Finite Element Methods - CEE 496
Newly developed course. Offered in Fall 2012, 2013.Course description
Review of linear elastic Finite Element (FE) method and weak formulation of equilibrium. Implementation of a liner elastic FE code. Special topics including shear locking, reduced integration, dummy stiffnesses, non-homogeneous essential conditions, imposed strains. Dynamic FE analysis: theory and implementation of modal and time-history analysis. Comparison of numerical techniques for modeling structural masses. Stochastic FE analysis: overview and implementation of some of the most popular stochastic FE methods for the analysis of uncertain structures. Examples in class using scientific and commercial FE software are provided throughout the course to highlight practical modeling issues in Civil Engineering. Lab-sessions are offered where students use commercial software packages to perform the analyses studied in class. Individual student projects are also an integral part of the course.[ Back to top ]
Strength of Materials - MECH 12
Offered in Spring 2012.Course description
Transverse shear in beams. Mohr’s circle for stress. Plastic yield criteria. Deflection of beams. Introduction to numerical analysis of simple structures. Fatigue and fracture. Column buckling. Stresses in thick-walled cylinders.[ Back to top ]