University of Liege | Version française
Study programmes 2012-2013Last update : 18/06/2013
MECA0012-5  Solid mechanics

Duration :  30h Th, 30h Pr
Number of credits :  
Bachelor in engineering sciences, civil ingineer in architecture orientation, 2nd year5
Bachelor in engineering sciences, civil engineer orientation (Bachelor in engineering sciences, civil engineer orientation), 2nd year5
Bachelor in engineering sciences, civil engineer orientation (Bachelor in engineering sciences, civil engineer orientation), 3rd year5
Master in Aerospatial Engineering, research focus, 1st year5
Master in Aerospatial Engineering, research focus (Thrust), 1st year5
Master in Civil Engineering, in-depth approach, 1st year5
Master in Electro-mechanical Engineering, Teaching Focus, 1st year5
Master in Mechanical Engineering, in-depth approach, 1st year5
Master in Engineering Physics, in-depth approach, 1st year5
Master in Aerospace Engineering, Professional Focus (Management), 1st year5
Master in Civil Engineering, specialized approach, 1st year5
Master en ingénieur civil électromécanicien, à finalité spécialisée en technologies durables en automobile, 1st year5
Master in Electro-mechanical Engineering, Professional Focus (Management), 1st year5
Master en ingénieur civil mécanicien, à finalité spécialisée en technologies durables en automobiles, 1st year5
Master in Mechanical Engineering, specialized approach, 1st year5
Master in Engineering Physics, specialized approach, 1st year5
Lecturer :  Laurent Duchene
Language(s) of instruction :  
French language
Organisation and examination :  
Teaching in the second semester
Course contents :  
General overview: This course provides the basic knowledge in Solid Mechanics: concept of stress tensor, strain tensor, material's constitutive law, Hooke's law, deformation energy and link with thermodynamics, virtual work principle and energy theorems, isotropic linear elasticity theory. These concepts are then applied to various practical cases: thick tubes under pressure, pressurized sphere, force on an infinite medium, contact between two elastic solids, torsion of prismatic solids, tensile and bending of prismatic solids, corner shaped solids, stress concentration... The topics of the course are: * Kinematics: strain in 1D, rigid body motion, tensoriel definition, F=RU, Green strain tensor, volumic strain, Cauchy strain tensor, Saint-Venant compatibility equations * Virtual work principle + energy theorems (Engesser, Castigliano...) * 3D Hooke's law, material mechanical properties, additivity rule, strain energy, uniqueness of the solution * Fundamental equations of linear elasticity (Navier's equations and Beltrami-Michell's equations) * 3D elastic problems: pressurised tubes, pressurised sphere, Kelvin's problem, Boussinesq's problem, Hertz contact problem * Torsion of general prismatic solid: Prandtl's function, warping of the sections... * 2D elastic problems: Airy's function, applications in cartesian coordinates (tensile and bending of prismatic solids) * 2D elastic problems: applications in polar coordinates (bending of a curved beam, corner shaped solids, plate with a hole, stress concentration) * Fatigue: introduction to the concept of fatigue, origin of fatigue failure, Wöhler curves, number of cycle to failure, endurance limit
Learning outcomes of the course :  
During this course, the students will be taught the basic concepts of Solid Mechanics. They will be able to tackle the problem of a solid deformed under a particular loading. The important concept of material constitutive law in the linear elastic regime will be taught. The theoretical concepts will then be used to solve various basic applications in the engineering field.
Prerequisites and co-requisites/ Recommended optional programme components :  
Basic concepts learned during the courses of "Physics", "Mathematics" (analysis and algebra) form the engineering cursus are necessary for the understanding of the theoretical developments of the Solid Mechanics course. Besides, this course is directly related to the Mechanics of Materials course of the 1st semester. The concepts presented in the first course (Mechanics of Materials) will be extended and generalised in this second course.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :  
Practical work sessions will permit the students to understand how the theoretical concepts can be applied. During these practical works, selected exercises are solved and explained to the students. These sessions last 2 hours.
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :  
The course is divided in 4 hour units: 2 hours for the theory and 2 hours for the practical work sessions. Theoretical course sessions are taught in the auditorium in French. Students are invited to ask questions during the course.
During the practical work sessions, students should be active. Exercises are solved in order to show some applications of the theoretical concepts. These sessions are also in French.
Recommended or required readings :  
The syllabi are written in French (theory and exercises) and they are sold at the 'Centrale des Cours' (CDC).They are: - the syllabus of 'Mécanique du Solide' from S. Cescotto. Chapters 3 to 9 are taught during this course, while chapters 1 and 2 are taught during the course Mechanics of Materials (previous course in the field). - the book 'Mécanique des Matériaux" from C. Massonnet and S. Cescotto (only chapter 13) is used for the session on the energy theorems (the other chapters are taught during the course Mechanics of Materials). The syllabi were scaned and the files are downloadable (for the students of the course) on e-Campus platform. The slides of the theoretical sessions are also available on e-Campus.
Assessment methods and criteria :  
Students will have to do homeworks every week. They consist in some small exercises to solve. These exercises are related to the topics of the theoretical as well as the practical sessions. The homework are available from e-Campus platform. The students should provided their answers to the questions on-line. Written exam (in French): open questions about the theory (1 hour) and resolution of exercises (3 hours). During the written exam, the students have access to: - for the theoretical part: no lecture note, no calculator - for the exercise part: only the lecture notes related to the theory are allowed (no solved exercises); a calculator is required. To calculate the final mark, the following weighting will be approximately applied: - homeworks: 20% - written exam, theoretical part: 20% - written exam, exercise part: 60% The personal work of the students (solving exercises) is the crucial point to adequately understand the course.
Work placement(s) :  
Organizational remarks :  
Unless otherwise stated, theoretical and practical sessions will be in Sart Tilman. The theoretical sessions (2 hours a week) is planned on Friday morning from 10:30 to 12:30 in the auditorium 202 (building B7b). For the practical sessions (2 hours a week), 2 different time slots are planned according to the availability of the students: - Wednesday from 13:30 to 15:30 - Thursday from 13:30 to 15:30
Contacts :  
Professor : Laurent Duchêne, Associate Professor, tel : 04/366 9328, l.duchene@ulg.ac.be
Assistant: Gaëtan Gilles, tel: 04/366 9332, ggilles@ulg.ac.be
Secretary : Sabine Houten, tel: 04/366 9351


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