Unit Synopsis
In this unit, you will learn the idealisation and loading of complex structural systems. You will also learn how to calculate deflections in truss, beam, and frame structures using various analytical methods such as the virtual load method. You will be able to analyse indeterminate structures using fundamental techniques/methods e.g., force method, and slope-deflection method. You will be introduced to the fundamentals of structural analysis using the direct stiffness method and you will use industry-relevant software such as SPACE GASS or equivalent to analyse complex structures.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 3 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Prerequisites: ENEG11006 Engineering Statics and ENEC12012 Stress AnalysisImportant note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Online Quiz(zes) | 20% |
| 2. Project (applied) | 30% |
| 3. Project (applied) | 30% |
| 4. Project (applied) | 20% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
Term 2 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 4.35% response rate.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: SUTE
Students found that the real-world assignments and industry-based content are beneficial for their learning.
This practice should be continued.
This practice was continued.
Source: SUTE
Provide some additional SpaceGass practice.
More 'watch and learn' resources should be provided for learning the software.
More software training was provided.
Source: SUTE
Tutorials were helpful though not enough time to go through all the questions.
Tutorials are designed as interactive Q&A sessions with students. It will be communicated to the students that they are expected to review the questions beforehand.
Students were informed that tutorial sessions are used for interactive discussion rather than going through all the tutorial questions. Nonetheless, the solution to all tutorial questions was uploaded on Moodle.
Source: Tutorial Sessions
Students appreciated the practical projects used in the assessment, as they found them highly relevant to real-world structural analysis problems. These projects enhanced their understanding by applying theoretical concepts to practical scenarios.
Continue incorporating practical projects into the assessment while exploring opportunities to expand industry-related case studies to further strengthen practical learning outcomes.
In Progress
Source: Tutorial Sessions
Students requested more exemplar questions with full solutions to support their progressive reports. They found that additional worked examples would help clarify concepts and improve their problem-solving skills.
An expanded set of worked solutions covering key topics relevant to the progressive tests should be developed and provided.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Apply principles of structural idealisation, and loading (including moving loads) for practical structures
- Apply fundamental theories to determine deflection in structures
- Apply analytical methods to solve statically indeterminate structures
- Perform critical analyses of complex structures using industry-relevant software
- Demonstrate engineering values including professional communication and sustainable development.
The Learning Outcomes for this unit are linked with the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standards for Professional Engineers in the areas of 1. Knowledge and Skill Base, 2. Engineering Application Ability and 3. Professional and Personal Attributes at the following levels:
Introductory
Intermediate
Advanced
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) | • | • | • | ||
| 2 - Project (applied) | • | • | |||
| 3 - Project (applied) | • | ||||
| 4 - Project (applied) | • | • | |||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | ||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • | • | |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | • | ||||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |