ME 80: Mechanics of Materials, Winter 2014

Instructor:

Marc Levenston
levenston@stanford.edu
723-9464
Durand 233

CAs: Kellen Asercion:

Adam Genecov:
Alison Keiper:
Staff e-mail:

asercion@stanford.edu
agenecov@stanford.edu
akeiper@stanford.edu
me80staff@lists.stanford.edu

Office Hours:

M 2-3, Th 9:30-10:30
and by arrangement

T
W
Th

Web Pages:

coursework.stanford.edu

piazza.com/stanford/winter2014/me80

7pm-9pm
7pm-9pm
4pm-6pm, 7pm-9pm

location TBD
location TBD
location TBD

ME80 is about how structures carry loads and deform in response to loads, how and why they may fail
and how we as engineers approach analysis of load bearing systems and communicating such analyses
to others. ME80 connects statics and design and provides a foundation for understanding and
interpreting the results of more advanced approaches to analyzing complex structures (e.g., finite
element analyses).
If it deforms; if it can break; if a replacement needs to be designed; ME80 is where you start learning the
approaches that engineers take to figure out why and how.
Prerequisite:

E14 or an equivalent Statics course. You must be proficient at generating free body
diagrams and using them to solve multi-body problems of static equilibrium and
resultant forces and moments at points within a structure.

Required Text:

Mechanics of Materials (9th edition, US version) by R.C. Hibbeler

Library Reserve: Textbooks on Mechanics of Materials by a) Gere, b) Beer, Johnston & DeWolf and
c) Philpot are on reserve at the Engineering Library.
Honor code:

http://honorcode.stanford.edu. If you have any questions regarding interpretation,

please ask. Suspected infractions will be referred to Judicial Affairs for resolution.

Miscellaneous:

Please turn off phones, laptops, iPods, iPads, iPeds, etc. during classdont let my
teaching or others learning distract you from Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, stocks
If you have a disability requiring accommodation, please contact the Disability
Resource Center (3-1066) ASAP so we can make appropriate arrangements up front.

Course Grade:

90
80
70
< 70

A range
B range
C range
lower

Final averages within 2 points of a grade cutoff (e.g., 88-89.99) fall into a "gray zone," and may be
adjusted based on strong progress and at my discretion. Final grades will not be curved, and I encourage
you to help your classmates (by legal means) to learn the course material.
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ME80, Winter 2014

Grading:

Homework:
Exams:
RATs:

20%
78%
2%

Carefully review graded work when it is returned and ask for clarification. Grades may be appealed
with a concise, written appeal to the instructor no later than 1 week after the assignment is returned.
Statics Review (optional):
Midterm 1 (in class):
Midterm 2 (in class):
Cumulative Final Exam:

Wednesday, 1/6, 7:00pm

Friday, 1/31 (tentative)
Wednesday, 2/26 (tentative)
Friday, March 21, 8:30am-11:30am

Homework: Homework sets will be announced in class, assigned via coursework, and generally due at
the beginning of the lecture time slot on the due date. While you are encouraged to consult with other
students on these, each of you must ultimately do your own work.
Homework will be graded for completeness, correctness and clarity. Assignments must be completed in
pencil on engineering computation paper. Solutions must be legible and orderly, with answers clearly
boxed and properly labeled, complete free body diagrams. The meaning of variables that you introduce
must be clear. If the grader cannot read and follow your work, you will not get credit. A perfect analysis
that others cant follow, interpret and verify is useless and can be harmful.
Late homework: You may use up to 3 late days over the quartera late day is charged for any fraction
of a day past the due date/time. Saturday and Sunday are collectively counted as a single day
assignments due on Friday but submitted on Monday are 2 days late. You are responsible for contacting
staff to arrange late submission. After three late days, further late submissions will be corrected but will
receive a score of zero. The final homework may not be submitted late.
Exams: Your highest exam score counts for 30% of your final grade and the other 2 exams count for
24% each. Exams will be closed book/closed notes, but you may bring one letter sized formula sheet
that you have personally generated to each exam (no photocopies). Bring a calculator. Work leading to
the answer must be shown. No internal (e.g., with other students) or external (phone, e-mail, wireless
internet, semaphore, telepathy, etc.) communication is permitted during the exam. Except for
documented medical or family emergencies, prior arrangement (at least 1 week) will be required to
reschedule an exam for valid reasons. The final exam must be taken at the scheduled time.
RATs: Readiness Assessment Tests are short (generally 1-2 minute), unannounced quizzes based
primarily on the assigned reading. If you read the assigned material and attend class, this is a relatively
easy 2%. No makeupsif you miss a RAT due to absence or late arrival, you will receive a zero.
CATs: Classroom Assessment Techniques provide real-time feedback to give me a sense of
how/whether the class is learning the material and how/whether I am teaching the material. These are
anonymous, non-graded and short exercises that give me (and you) a sense of progress and whether any
global course correction is required. Often, a CAT involves a box sitting by the room exit.
Problem Solving and Review Sessions: In addition to in-class problems, optional problem solving
sessions will be held many weeks. Optional review sessions will be held prior to each examI will not
prepare any material for these sessions, but will answer questions and solve problems that you bring.
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ME80, Winter 2014

Course Objectives: By the end of the course, I aim for you to be able to do the following:

Explain the terms stress and strain; define normal and shear stress and strain and give physical
examples of each; explain the general relationships between force, deformation, stress and strain;
explain (verbally and graphically) 1-dimensional Hookes law (material behavior); define the
term factor of safety and apply it to determine allowable loads.

Explain when structural elements are treated as axial force members (bars); calculate the stress,
strain and deformation in axially loaded structural elements; solve for support reactions in
statically indeterminate bars; solve for thermal stresses and strains in indeterminate bars; select
the best force element for a given set of external loads; design a multi-segment force element for
given loading and deformation criteria.

Compute the stresses in spherical and cylindrical pressure vessels; design a pressure vessel with
a specified factor of safety; explain the concept of stress transformation; calculate a transformed
state of stress at a given orientation; calculate the maximum normal and shear stresses at a point
for a given stress state; explain the idea behind Mohrs circle; calculate principal stresses using
Mohrs circle.

Explain when structural elements are treated as torsion members; explain the basic kinematics of
torsion; define the polar moment of inertia; calculate the stress, strain and deformation in circular
rods under torsion; explain differences between the behavior of homogeneous and composite
(inhomogeneous) torsion rods; select a torsion rod best suited to resisting a given set of torques;
design a multi-segment torsion rod for given torque and angular deformation criteria;

Explain when structural elements are treated as beams; define the shear force and bending
moment within a beam; explain the relationships between load intensity, shear force and bending
moment; calculate the shear force and bending moment at a given location in a beam; draw shear
force and bending moment diagrams describing internal force/moment distributions in loaded
beams; explain the basic kinematics of bending; define the moment of inertia; explain the
influence of moment of inertia on beam stresses; calculate normal stresses and strains in beams
with prescribed loading; calculate properties (area, moments of inertia) of non-rectangular beam
cross-sections; calculate the transverse shear stress in rectangular beams; select a beam that
satisfies a maximum stress criterion at minimal weight; design a minimum weight beam to carry
specified external loads.

Describe the relationships between beam loading and beam deflections; calculate the deflections
of beams under prescribed loading; determine the maximum load that a beam can carry subject
to constraints on deformation and stress; define buckling; describe effects of end support
conditions on the buckling behavior of a structure; compute critical buckling loads; determine if
a bar is more likely to fail due to maximum stress or buckling criteria; Compute the maximum
stress in a structure under combined loading (axial, torsion, bending); find, describe and analyze
examples on the Stanford campus of each structure studied.

ME80, Winter 2014

ME80 Winter 2014

Weekly Lecture Schedule
(subject to change, but changes will be announced in advance)
Week of
(start date)

Monday

Wednesday

Friday

1/6*

1/13*

1/20

No class
(MLK Day)

1/27

Review (optional)

Exam 1

2/3

Problem session
(optional)

2/10

Problem session
(optional)

2/17

No class
(Presidents day)

2/24

Review (optional)

Exam 2

3/3

Problem session
(optional)

3/10

Review

Final exam: Friday, March 21, 8:30-11:30