3 ECTS credits
75 h study time
Offer 1 with catalog number 1008084BNR for all students in the 2nd semester at a (B) Bachelor - advanced level.
In the Technology project Structures, the student learns about different aspects that characterise the studies and work field of Civil Engineering. One or several types of structures are studied, which can vary from year to year (bridges, cantilevers, high rise buildings, ...). Within the chosen type of structure, the students get an assignment which they have to perform as a team. This assignment is similar for each team, but not necessarily identical. Apart from the team work, the project can be accompanied by additional individual assignments.
The following elements are treated:
- study of one or several existing structures: historically, technically, structural behaviour
- design of a simple structure of the chosen type, with emphasis on parametric design and optimisation. Usually, the objective is an optimum material use, while respecting minimum criteria concerning stiffness and loadbearing capacity
- practical study of the execution of the structure
- realisation of the design on prototype scale
- testing of the performance of the realised prototype
Study material available on Canvas. The students get an introductory text about the assigment and the type of structure that will be studied.
Complementary study material:
Libraries: VUB, MEMC, ARCH
Internet (one PC per team)
There are four learning objectives, namely impart knowledge, insight, skills and attitudes.
Knowledge:
As well theoretical as practical knowledge, both are directly coupled.
Aspects: application of previously teached material, analysis of an existing structure and situating it in its historical context, design and building of a prototype construction. This knowledge is typical for the study orientation of civil engineering, en should help the student in choosing its specialisation.
Insight:
This concerns mainly the relation theory-practice.
The followed procedure (a practical task is given, and the necessary theory to bring this to an end is gradually learned) should help the student in assessing the practical implication of the theory, and improving his design based on theoretical concepts. The experimental verification of the theoretically predicted behaviour should lead to an evaluation of the importance of simplifications in the design, and of imperfections in the execution.
Skills:
The classical technical-scientific education is a one problem-one solution teaching, while the engineering job of project design is characterised by one problem-many solutions. This demands complex skills, which can be learned by education which approaches the real situations. These complex skills, in this case a combination of technical and social skills, consist of the ability of the student to execute efficiently a project as a team while learning and applying the necessary technical knowledge, and reporting the project. The necessary technical skills contain the approach of a technical project (definition, situating, analysis and identification of sub-problems, global design, phasing and planning, realisation) and thereby the independent search, comprehension and application of theoretical knowledge. Also the use of typical engineering tools as test machines and computer programs belongs to the technical skills. As social skills can be counted working as a team, communicating, meeting and assignment of tasks. Finally, the results have to be reported: this means written report and oral presentation of a project, which is connected with the "engineering toolbox" in the first bachelor year.
Attitudes:
This course should create a framework favourising the learning and practising a number of attitudes. The framework is the project work (one problem-many solutions) which is executed as a team. The aimed attitudes are independent working, self-motivation and spirit of enterprise, reliability, eagerness to learn, creativity, critical attitude, respect for other ideas, execution of an assignment en respecting deadlines.
The Bachelor in Engineering Sciences has a broad fundamental knowledge and understanding of integrated design methods according to customer and user needs with the ability to apply and integrate knowledge and understanding of other engineering disciplines to support the own specialisation engineering one.
The Bachelor in Engineering Sciences has a broad fundamental knowledge and understanding of fundamental, basic methods and theories to schematize and model problems or processes.
The Bachelor in Engineering Sciences can monitor, interpret and apply the results of analysis and modelling in order to bring about continuous improvement.
The Bachelor in Engineering Sciences can apply quantitative methods and computer software relevant to the engineering discipline in order to solve engineering problems.
The Bachelor in Engineering Sciences can correctly report on design results in the form of a technical report or in the form of a paper.
The Bachelor in Engineering Sciences can present and defend results in a scientifically sound way, using contemporary communication tools.
The Bachelor in Engineering Sciences can work in team, shows creativity and entrepreneurship, and has intellectual mobility.
The Bachelor in Engineering Sciences has consciousness of the ethical, social, environmental and economic context of the work and strives for sustainable solutions to engineering problems including safety aspects.
The Bachelor in Engineering Sciences has a creative, problem-solving, result-driven and evidence-based attitude, aiming at innovation.
The Bachelor in Engineering Sciences has a critical attitude towards one’s own results and those of others.
The Bachelor in Engineering Sciences has acquired the tools for knowledge collection towards life-long learning.
The Bachelor in Engineering Sciences has more advanced fundamental knowledge and understanding of the behaviour of structures, construction materials, soil and fluids (Civil Engineering) and can apply this knowledge to solve basic engineering problems.
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Other Exam determines 100% of the final mark.
Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:
During the course of the project, the assistants intervene and guide to optimise the learning process and to assure the end product, so to avoid failures at the end of the traject. The assessment is the closing activity, which establishes formally the appreciation of the delivered work in all its shapes, and the individual contributions to it. This means that not only the end product itself will be evaluated, but also the process and the team activities, amongs others the teamwork, the attitude and contribution of the individual team members, the efficiency of the organisation and the execution of the tasks. The assessment is made by a jury consisting of the responsible for the course and the assistants. Considering the format of the assignment, the final grade will be the combination of a grade common for the team and an individual grade.
Given the kind of the project, there is in principle no possibility of re-examination in the second session. The rules for the second session are as follows. The marks for the daily work and the technical level of the executed work are transferred with a weight of 50%. The other 50% of the assessment in second session are based on the evaluation of an additional task, which is individual for each student.
Attendance is compulsory. For each half day unauthorised absence, the mark will be reduced by 10%. A student which is not passed in the first examination session due to unauthorised absence, has no right to re-examination in second session, and retains his mark of the first session.
This offer is part of the following study plans:
Bachelor of Engineering: Mechanical and Electrotechnical Engineering (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Engineering: Civil Engineering (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Engineering: Chemistry and Materials (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Engineering: Electronics and Information Technology (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Engineering: Electronics and Information Technology Profile Profile Computer Science (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Engineering: verkort traject bouwkunde na vooropleiding industriële wetenschappen (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Engineering: Startplan (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Engineering: Biomedical Engineering (only offered in Dutch)