Overview of Statics Writing Assignment

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Overview of Statics Writing Assignment

• To enhance your knowledge of statics principles,
  you will propose to lead a group of students
  (ten, yourself included) to visit either--
• a historically significant structure located in
  the United States or in a foreign country
  (lesser-known structures are preferred to overly
  familiar destinations such as the Eiffel Tower,
  the St. Louis Gateway Arch, or the Golden Gate
  Bridge), or
• a major medical center where specialists employ
  statics principles to analyze skeletal
  structures.

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Overview, Continued

• You must submit a one-page research plan and a
  four-page proposal to an organization called
  Grants for Furthering Education, or GFE.
• Applicants must demonstrate that their trip
  enhances their knowledge of statics and
  contributes to their growth as engineers.
• The decision-makers at GFE include professionals
  from various disciplines. Many of them are
  unfamiliar with statics or engineering
  principles, so you will need to make your case
  not with equations but with strong arguments,
  precise physical descriptions, and clearly
  defined terminology.

3
Overview, Continued

• The Research Plan a one-page answer to these
  questions
• What structure or institution do you propose to
  visit?
• Why? (Describe in brief the novelty or
  significance of the site as it relates to a
  career in engineering.)
• What sources do you plan to use?

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Overview, Continued

• The Proposal four pages of text, five sections.
  
• Introduction forecasts the objectives of the
  proposal
• Background provides a selected account of the
  historical and cultural reasons for choosing the
  structure and arguments supporting the worthiness
  of the trip
• Technical Analysis an engineering perspective
  that offers a concise analysis of your chosen
  structure and its relevance to the study of
  statics, precise physical descriptions (a
  free-body diagram is essential), and clearly
  defined terminology
• Cost Estimate provides a table of trip
  expenses
• Conclusion reasserts your purpose and bids
  directly for funding.

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Statics ProposalA Sample Introduction (1)

• Inspiration is an essential ingredient when
  forming a skillful professional. It is highly
  likely that a skilled writer was turned to the
  trade by an amazing book that she read, and every
  artist has a work that he most admires. Engineers
  are no different. I propose a visit to part of an
  urban renewal project that epitomizes the
  ultra-modern attitude of present-day Holland.
  With the support of Grants for Furthering
  Education, I plan to lead a group of nine
  engineering students from the University of Iowa
  on a journey to explore the Erasmus Bridge in
  Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

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Statics ProposalA Sample Introduction (2)

• Throughout the world, masterpieces of engineering
  represent the dedication, creativity, and
  ingenuity of the finest engineers and builders.
  At the University of Iowa, we study and evaluate
  these marvelous feats intensely, analyzing their
  magnificence and grandeur. Yet there is a
  structural spectacle that fits these criteria
  much closer to us than we realize. This structure
  is the octagonal Secrest Barn. Through this
  proposal, I am requesting funds that would enable
  a group of engineering students to visit a
  fantastic structure that represents an important
  time in Americas past, notable to our local
  history.

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Statics Principles in ActionSample of Technical
Analysis

• Although statics played a primary role in the
  design of the Secrest Barn, the principles of an
  object in equilibrium were also evident in
  designing renovations. In 1993, several
  restorations were performed on the laminated
  ribs. The ribs had begun to bow outward and were
  pulling the walls of the barn out with them
  (Figure 5). To design a fix to this problem, a
  rib was split into seven sections, and dead loads
  and live loads were calculated for each section
  (Figure 6). These loads represent forces that act
  on the ribs from both their static positioning
  and external pressures (snow, wind, etc.).

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Using APA sample of in-text and Reference List
citations

• In-text
• Such a bridge is said to be in equilibrium,
  meaning that the net result of the forces and
  moments acting on the structure are equal to zero
  (Hibbeler, 2001).
• Reference list
• Hibbeler, R.C. (2001). Engineering Mechanics
  Statics. Upper Saddle River, NJ Prentice Hall.

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Schedule and Deadlines

• Feb 12 (Th) Research Plan Due to CTC, Rm 2224,
  by 400 p.m..
• Feb 19 (Th) Research Plan returned during
  class. You will receive a manila folder please
  return it, along with your evaluated RP, when you
  hand in your first draft.
• Feb 2 - April 20 Schedule an appointment with a
  Peer Consultant at the CTC (2224 SC). Note you
  receive 5 points if you schedule an appointment
  no later than April 20.
• Mar 25 (Th) First Draft of Proposal Due to CTC
  by 400 p.m..
• April 6 (Th) First draft returned during
  lecture.
• April 22 (Th) Final Proposal Due to CTC by 400
  p.m.. Bring your folder (and the RP and first
  draft) to CTC.
• May 4/6 (TTh) Final papers and folders returned
  in class.