SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS University of Virginia, Academic Sponsor Voyage: Fall 2014 Discipline: Engineering, open to non-engineering students ENGR 1559-101: Understanding Great Structures Division: Lower Faculty Name: Dr. Richard D Amato Credit Hours: 3; Contact Hours: 38 Pre-requisites: None COURSE DESCRIPTION We can mark civilization s evolution by observing the structures it creates, uses and which it surrounds itself. This voyage will be docking near many interesting and striking engineering achievements such as the Delta Works (the 7 th wonder of the modern world) near Antwerp, the Akosombo Dam in Ghana that creates the world s largest manmade lake, several cathedrals of renown in St. Petersburg, Lisbon, Cadiz, bridges old and excitingly new and much more. This course will introduce students to the fundamental concepts used by engineers to create these structures. Why do they not fall down? The structures we will encounter will become objects of study and wonder. Understanding the design techniques, challenge, effort and accomplishment associated with these creations should be both stimulating and enriching. COURSE OBJECTIVES The goal of this course is to develop the student s introductory knowledge and understanding of how structures are analytically designed and thereby increasing their appreciation for the true greatness for these works. This goal will be accomplished through the following objectives: 1. To understand the basic rules governing structures under load; a Statics primer. 2. To understand how these simple rules dictate the determination of size, shape and material of a structure. 3. To understand how these laws, which have been developed over centuries, have enabled the creation of stunning modern structures with expanded functionality and service. REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS AUTHOR: Mark Denny TITLE: Super Structures: The Science of Bridges, Buildings, Dams, and Other Feats of Engineering PUBLISHER: Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN #: ISBN-13: 978-0801894374 DATE/EDITION: May 2010 TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE About three days per chapter. We will occasionally adjust in anticipation of the next port s structures. Tentatively the schedule will look like (based on A schedule):
Depart Southampton- August 23: A1- August 25: Introductions; Course outline and expectations; What is an engineering mind s eye. Can we develop one? Introduction Chapter A2-August 27: Chapter 1, Building Blocks. A3- August 29: Chapter 1, Building Blocks. Prepare for St. Petersburg St. Petersburg: August 29-September 2 A4- September 3: What did we see? Chapter 2, Trusses in All Things. Gdansk: September 5-7* Rostok: September 8-9 A5-September 10: What did we see? Chapter 2, Trusses in All Things. Find them on board. A6- September 12: Chapter 2 Trusses in All Things. Prepare for Antwerp and Rotterdam, bridges including the Erasmus, dams, sea barriers; the 7 th wonder of the modern world. LAB in Antwerp. (Possible Faculty led trip to Paris!) Antwerp: September 14-16* (LAB September 14) Le Havre: September 17-19 A7-September 20: What did we see? Chapter 3, Towers of Strength. Prepare for Ireland, bridges, cathedrals. A8- September 22: Chapter 3, Towers of Strength Dublin: September 24-27 A9- September 28: Chapter 3, Towers of Strength. A10- September 30: Chapter 4 Arches and Domes. Prepare for Lisbon/Cadiz, cathedrals, towers Lisbon: October 1-3* Cadiz: October 4-5 A11- October 7: What did we see? Chapter 4 Arches and Domes. Prepare for Morocco; Mosques? Casablanca: October 8-11 A12- October 13: What did you see? Chapter 4 Arches and Domes. Review
A13- October 15: MIDTERM Dakar: October 16-19 A14- October 21: Chapter 4 Arches and Domes. Chapter 6, Dam It. A15- October 23: Chapter 6, Dam It. Prepare for Ghana. (Possible Faculty led trip to Akosombo Dam.) Takoradi: October 25-26* Tema: October 27-28 A16-October 29: Chapter 6, Dam It. Chapter 5, A Bridge too Far. A17-October 31: Chapter 5, A Bridge too Far. Study Day: November 2 A18- November 3: Chapter 5, A Bridge too Far. A19- November 5: Chapter 5, A Bridge too Far. Prepare for South America, cathedrals. How are the structures for the 2016 Olympics coming? (Possible Faculty led trip!) Rio de Janeiro: November 7-9* In Transit: November 10-11 Salvador: November 12-14 A20- November 15: Chapter 7, The Bigger They Are The Harder They Fall A21- November 17: Chapter 7, The Bigger They Are The Harder They Fall. Ships are structures too. Let s explore. Study Day- November 19 A22- November 20: Afterword. Review Presentations Bridgetown: November 22-24 A23- November 25: Presentations. A24-Novemebr 27: Presentations Let s Put it ALL Together. Let s Build Something (on paper). Havana: November 29-December 2
Study Day: December 3 A25-December 4: FINAL Ft. Lauderdale: December 8 FIELD WORK Field lab attendance is mandatory for all students enrolled in this course. Please do not book individual travel plans or a Semester at Sea sponsored trip on the day of our field lab. FIELD LAB: The Delta Works in Rotterdam (from Antwerp portage, Sept.14) We will survey several significant and historic structures located in the Antwerp/Rotterdam region known as the Delta Works. They have been deemed the 7 th wonder of the modern world by the American Society of Civil Engineers. These structures intent is to restrict water intrusion into the low-lying coast of Belgium and the Netherlands (home for millions). It includes the world s largest moving object. See the logic? Will it work? How does it work? Also we ll get to see one of world s great modern bridges, the Erasmus. We will work to understand its unique form. Students will maintain a scientific journal to record pertinent information, data and reflections. Students will be teamed to prepare a presentation on selected structures. Would these structures been useful in New Orleans and New York? While in Rotterdam we will also inspect the Erasmus Bridge; one of the stunning new breed of bridges. FIELD ASSIGNMENTS Students will be required to attend the Field Lab. Absence from the Field Lab will result in a loss of 20% of the course grade. Each student will prepare a written document describing the Field Lab experience highlighting what is learned and how it fits within material covered in class. For non-required field excursions, students will be expected to observe local structures during the voyage. Organize the structures into types and reflect on the variance by geography. How has class study altered your perspective when observing these works? The results of these observations are to be included in the written Team Project Report. The instructor will have suggestion of sites of interest. Students will be expected to take photographs and/or videos of relevant structures of interest. Each written document describing the Field Lab experience can have the benefit of the instructor as a consultant to polish the paper before submission. Several options for instructor led field excursions will be available. One might be to the preparation for the coming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The Akosombo Dam in Ghana might be another option. Sites such as the Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood and Smolny Cathedral in St. Petersburg, the Ruine St. Nikolai, the Cathedral of our Lord in Antwerp, and the pylons of Cadiz will be visited by the instructor and are open to shared excursions. METHODS OF EVALUATION / GRADING RUBRIC
10% Attendance and Class Participation 20% Chapter Quizzes OR Midterm Examination (depends on class size) 20% Field Lab Documented in Journal and Reflection Paper 20% Team Project Report 30% Final Exam RESERVE LIBRARY LIST AUTHOR: M. Levy and M. Salvadori TITLE: Why Buildings Fall Down PUBLISHER: W.W. Norton and Co. ISBN #: ISBN-13: 978-0393311525 DATE/EDITION: 1994, reprint edition AUTHOR: Mario Salvadori TITLE: Why Building Stand Up PUBLISHER: W.W. Norton and Co. ISBN #: ISBN-13: 978-0393306767 DATE/EDITION: Reissue edition, 2002 AUTHOR: Stephen Ressler TITLE: Understanding the World s Greatest Structures; Science and Innovation from Antiquity to Modernity. Text and DVD PUBLISHER: The Teaching Company ISBN #: ISBN-13: 978-1598037258 DATE/EDITION: 2011 ELECTRONIC COURSE MATERIALS Understanding the World s Greatest Structures: Science aand Innivation from Antiquity to Modernity, by Prof. Ressler. Excellent DVD ADDITIONAL RESOURCES The instructor will have a library of personnel books for student use and reference. HONOR CODE Semester at Sea students enroll in an academic program administered by the University of Virginia, and thus bind themselves to the University s honor code. The code prohibits all acts of lying, cheating, and stealing. Please consult the Voyager s Handbook for further explanation of what constitutes an honor offense. Each written assignment for this course must be pledged by the student as follows: On my honor as a student, I pledge that I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment. The pledge must be signed, or, in the case of an electronic file, signed [signed].