Please note that this course is now on Moodle. Many of the links no longer work. It is left in place just for the instructor’s convenience.
Welcome to the course site for Mechanics of Building Materials (BCT 530) and Tectonics II (Arch-Des 650) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Contained within this site under Labs is the co-requisite course Problem Solving in Building Mechanics (BCT597BM).
Mechanics of Building Materials for Construction is a hands-on course that enables students to estimate forces and stresses in building materials as a precursor for structural building design. Primarily for students of Architecture and Construction Technology, the course employs realistic building examples to introduce students to fundamental engineering analysis. The main topics are: statics and equilibrium, as applied to statically determinate systems; force and moment analysis; strength of materials, where students learn to determine stress and strain in simply supported beams; and beam design with deflection, shear and bending stress evaluation. Through a combination of classroom lecture, demonstration, practical application, homework assignments and problem solving sessions, students will gain mathematical confidence and learn the importance of problem solving in construction.
- See you in class!
- Meetings: Spring Term – T/Th @ 1:00-2:15
- Credits: 3
SPIRE class number (Spring 2018): 55240
Instructor:Dr. Peggi Clouston
Office: Design Building, Room 316
Office hours: Tuesdays 10-11am and Wednesdays 2-3pm. Please feel free to email me if you would like to set up an appointment outside of these times.
email: clouston@umass.edu
Teaching Assistant: Hamid Kaboli
email: hkaboli@umass.edu
Office: Design Building, Room 158
Office hours: TBD