"POLITEHNICA" UNIVERSITY OF TIMISOARA
SYLLABUS for the course:
“BASIS OF STRUCTURAL DESIGN”
(“BAZELE PROIECTĂRII STRUCTURILOR”)
FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
DOMAIN CIVIL ENGINEERING
Year of study : II
Semester: 4
Course coordinator: conf.dr.ing. Aurel STRATAN
Collaborators: drd.ing. Gelu DANKU
Number of hours / Examination / Credits
Course Seminar Practical works Project Examination Credits
28
Course status
- - 28 E
Fundamental  In the domain  Speciality  Complementary 
Compulsory: Imposed  Optional  Facultative 
4
A. COURSE OBJECTIVES
The course objective is to initiate the student in the process of structural design. It aims at providing an overview of different structural materials and their properties, an understanding of the different forms of structural action, load paths, the process of structural design, types of loads, as well as code-based design of structures using the principle of limit states. After completion of the course students should be able to identify possible structural forms suitable for a given building and correlate it to the structural material used, understand the load paths through a structure, compute the design values of most common actions on structures
(permanent, imposed, snow and wind loads), and design simple structures using the partial factor method using the principles of limit state design.
B. COURSE TOPICS
Introduction (2 hours): Structures and principles of design; Structural materials.
Structural action (10 hours): Cables and arches; Trusses and beams; Prestressing; Plates and shells; Cable structures; Multi-storey buildings; Foundations; General remarks on structural action.
The process of structural design and load paths (2 hours).
Design codes (2 hours): Structural Eurocodes; Romanian codes.
Actions (4 hours): Permanent loads; Live loads; Snow loads; Wind loads; Earthquake action;
Other loads.

Principles of limit states (6 hours): Design requirements; Limit states; Basic variables; The partial factor method.
Building design, construction and maintenance (2 hours).
C. APPLICATION TOPICS
Introduction to structural actions (2 hours). Redundancy of structures. Basic properties of structural materials (2 hours). Computer simulation of cable action and arch action (2 hours).
Computer simulation of truss action (2 hours). Collaborative contest of a structure realised from paper (2 hours). Collaborative contest of a structure realised from wooded sticks (2 hours).
Computer simulation of typical structures for multistorey buildings: moment-resisting and braced frames (2 hours). Load paths in typical structures: a multistorey building and an industrial hall (2 hours). Evaluation of loads on structures: permanent, imposed, snow and wind loads (6 hours). Design of simple structures using the partial factor method and the principle of limit states (6 hours).
D. EDUCATIONAL METHODS EMPLOYED

Course: lecturing, conversation, explication, demonstration

Practical works: explication, example, experiment, simulation, problematisation
E. EVALUATION PROCEDURE
Final exam, composed of two theoretical subjects answered in written (1.5 hours) and a problem solved in written (1.5 hours): 60% of the final grade
Homeworks and in-class evaluations during the term: 40% of the final grade
F. REFERENCES
1. Philip Garrison (2005). “
Basic Structures for Engineers and Architect s”. Ed. Blackwell
Publishing. ISBN 13 978-14051-2053-1
2. Angus J. Macdonald (2001). “
Structure and Architecture
”, Ed. Architectural Press,
ISBN 0 7506 4793 0
3. Francis, A.J. (1989). " Introducing Structures ". Ed. Ellis Horwood, ISBN: 978-0745807591.
4. Fraser, D.J. (1981). " Conceptual design and preliminary analysis of structures ". Pitman
Publishing Inc. ISBN: 0-273-01645-8
6. EN 1990 (2002). " Eurocode - Basis of structural design ". CEN - European Committee for
Standardization.
7. EN 1991-1-1 (2002). " Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 1-1: General actions -
Densities, self-weight, imposed loads for buildings ". CEN - European Committee for
Standardization.
8. CR 0-2005: Cod de proiectare. Bazele proiectării structurilor în construcţii.
9. CR 1-1-3-2005:
Cod de proiectare. Evaluarea acţiunii zăpezii asupra construcţiilor
.
10. NP 082-2004:
Cod de proiectare privind bazele proiectării şi acţiuni asupra construcţiilor.
Acţiunea vântului .
G. INTERNATIONAL COMPATIBILITY
- University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
- University of Washington, USA

- Universite de Burgogne, Dijon, France
Date: 04.04.2011
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT
Prof.dr.ing. Dan DUBINĂ
COURSE COORDINATOR
Conf.dr.ing. Aurel STRATAN