Mechanical Behavior of Materials

Required Textbook

Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, S. M. Mamlouk and J. P. Zaniewski, 4th ed., Pearson, 2016.

Introduction to Materials Science for Engineers, J. M. Shackelford, 8th ed., Pearson, 2014.
Mechanical Behavior of Materials, N. M. Dowling, 4th ed., Pearson, 2013.
Mechanics of Materials, R. C. Hibbeler, 10th ed., Pearson, 2015.
Experimental Methods for Engineers, J.P. Holman, 8th ed., McGraw Hill, 2011.
Introduction to Engineering Experimentation, A. J. Wheeler and A. R. Ganji, 3rd ed., Pearson, 2010.
Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures, S. H. Kosmatka and M. L. Wilson, 16th ed., Portland Cement Association, 2016.

Software

Most of the material will be in PDF or will require a Microsoft Office application to open. Adobe Reader may downloaded for free from https://get.adobe.com/reader/ while Microsoft (MS) Office is available free of charge for USC students. Students are encouraged to use Matlab for post-processing laboratory data and creating graphs. Matlab is available to USC students free of charge. See https://itservices.usc.edu/ for MS Office and Matlab.

Prerequisites/Co-requisites

Check with the Instructor or the Department.

Course Objectives and Emphasis

The primary goal of this course is to provide the students with a foundation on the basic science and engineering of typical materials used in civil engineering, and the testing procedures, instrumentation, and the role of testing for analysis and design in civil engineering. The students are expected to build upon previously acquired skills in mathematics, physics, chemistry and mechanics of materials. Laboratory sessions provide hands-on experience and understanding of the mechanical behavior of various types of materials and testing techniques including instrumentation.

Course Outcomes of Instruction and Laboratory Sessions

Students demonstrate an understanding of elastic deformation, including the concept of elastic moduli from linear elastic deformation to anisotropic elasticity as they relate to both theory and experiments.
Students demonstrate an understanding of plastic deformation, including plastic flow, stress-strain behavior, and yield and failure criteria as they relate to both theory and experiments.
Students demonstrate an understanding of the differences in physical and mechanical properties of typical engineering materials, including metals, concrete, wood and other composite materials.
Students demonstrate an understanding of the design of experiments from instrumentation to data collection, processing and reporting.

Course Student Outcomes (ABET)

An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering,
An ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data,
An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability,
An ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems,
An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility,
An ability to communicate effectively,
An ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.

Fundamentals of Engineering Exam (FE)

One of the objectives of this course is to prepare the students for the FE Exam. FE includes questions in the following areas related to mechanical behavior of materials,

Stresses and strains (e.g., axial, torsion, bending, shear and thermal),
Deformations (e.g., axial, torsion, bending, thermal),
Combined stresses,
Principal stresses,
Mohr’s circle,
Elastic and plastic deformations,
Stress-strain diagrams,
Mix design (e.g., concrete and asphalt),
Test methods and specifications (e.g., steel, concrete, aggregates, asphalt, wood),
Physical and mechanical properties of concrete, ferrous and nonferrous metals, masonry, wood, engineered materials (e.g., FRP, laminated lumber, wood/plastic composites), and asphalt.

Course Topics

Laboratory safety
Basic material sciences, atomic bonding and crystalline structures
Structural and material behavior and characterization including steel, concrete, wood, asphalt and composites
Stress-strain, elasticity, plasticity and failure criteria
Sensors and instrumentation for static and dynamic measurements
Signal conditioning, and data acquisition, processing and presentation
Measurement and analysis of stress and strain
Measurement of motion
Loading systems, laboratory techniques, scale models and similitude