Faculty of Engineering and Environment
MCE
Coursework Specification
Module title: Structural Design
Academic year: 2015/2016

Module number: BE 1310
Semester:

YL

Credit Points: 20

Programme(s):
BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering

Year: 2

Level 5

Is this an option module?

No

Coursework title: Structural Design – Assignment 1
Learning Outcomes measured in this assessment (from the Module Descriptor):
1. Apply structural analysis and design principles to calculate design load acting on structures, members and elements.
3. Explain the behavior of the design of structural connections on structural elements.
4. Present design calculations and sketches in a clear and informative way and communicate effectively using the necessary detailing approaches.
5. Appraise the structural design against relevant criteria such as sustainability, CDM regulations, form and function, buildability, etc.
Background information/introduction (& how this assessment fits the overall strategy):
The coursework aims to broaden your knowledge of structural principles and behaviour by providing a project encompassing a typical industry scenario for you to design. The coursework will allow you to evaluate the global stability of a structure and to quantitatively indicate how key forces are transferred through structural members to the ground. You will be required to apply computer software to analyse elements of the structure, attaining the confidence to set up, validate and optimise simple structural analysis models.
You will select, apply and evaluate appropriate numerical methods from the Eurocodes and code of practice to design identified critical structural members and connections. You will also manage aesthetic and site related constraints, and evaluate the design risks which must be disseminated under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulation 2015. You will prepare appropriate sketches to communicate your structural solutions.

1

Design techniques will be introduced in 2 hour formal lectures, and developed through the completion of exercises and coursework in the 1 hour seminar sessions. It is anticipated that you will complete the coursework steadily and progressively over the full year of the module, and you should pay particular attention to the programme of tasks included in the ‘Instructions to Students’ section.
Remember the words of Dale Carnegie:
The best possible way to prepare for tomorrow is to concentrate with all your intelligence, all your enthusiasm, on doing today's work superbly today. That is the only possible way you can prepare for the future (Carnegie 1998).
You are strongly advised NOT to leave everything to the final minute!!

Nature of the submission required:
You are early stage civil and structural engineers and therefore the work that you prepare should be of a standard that is acceptable both to your profession, and of course the university at Level 5.
Your individual coursework submission should be spiral bound, with a front cover, title page and page numbers. You are responsible for the structure of your coursework which should be both logical and clearly communicate the required information. Remember always that a key skill of an engineer is the ability to communicate information appropriately in different formats.
Within the body of your coursework submission you will have sections of type written text, drawings and calculations. Present any type written text in Arial font at 1.5 line spacing with size 11 font.
Calculation sheets should be dated and initialed, and laid out with reference, calculations and results column. Remember upon graduating other practicing engineers will be required to verify your work and your calculations should clearly present your design assumption and critically from where these have been derived. It is never acceptable to ‘pluck numbers’ from the air and do not forget to indicate
2
all units of force, actions and measurement e.g. N/mm or kNm. For further guidance on the preparation of calculation sheets you should refer to Blackboard.
Drawings and sketches should where ever possible be drawn to a scale and contain a title block. The title block needs to include the drawing title, date, revision number, scale, and your initials as producer of the drawing or sketch.
Marks for ‘studentship’ (refer to Assessment Criteria) will be awarded where students have presented calculations; sketches and written text in accordance with guidance above. Where the final submitted coursework demonstrates good grammar, punctuation and is a logical clearly structured document.
Studentship marks will be awarded for clearly demonstrating design assumptions and appropriately referencing engineering texts and other sources.
Finally please ensure that your submission includes at the front the Faculty of Engineering and
Environment hand-in sheet (fully completed).
For further details on how the coursework will be assessed, please review the assessment criteria below.
Anonymous Marking: University policy requires that work be marked anonymously. In order to facilitate this we request that only your student number is included on work submitted for summative assessment. Instructions to students:
Client’s Requirements
You have been asked to prepare a structural design scheme for a new care home facility for
Edcare Limited, to be situated on a brownfield site within Hexham, town centre. The architect has

2

issued you with general arrangement drawing and elevations (refer to Appendix A). The building is to be finished with a Silka Sarnafil metal profile roof, with wall cladding consisting of cedar, render and profile metal sheeting (assume the permanent action for all external wall finishes is
2
0.15kN/m ) . The client requires a minimum 3m floor to soffit height at each level of the building, which includes an allowance for exposed lighting and services.
You have been advised by the geotechnical engineer that the site is level, and beneath 600mm of made ground it contains a homogenous layer of very stiff clay providing an ultimate bearing
2
capacity of 550kN/m .
Tasks
Task 1 – Prepare appropriate fully annotated sketches to indicate a viable proposed structural solution in both concrete and steel for the proposed building. The annotated sketches should detail the framing and stability functions and the proposed load pathways, illustrating how vertical and lateral loads will be successfully transferred to ground level.
Task 2 - Calculate the applied actions (permanent and variable) for the structure in accordance with appropriate Eurocodes. For variable action assume that the building will have an arbitrary
2
Catergory A3 use across all floors, and you should apply 0.2kN/m for service loading.
Task 3 – Identify with justification the critical design members and connections for your steel solution. You are required to select a minimum of two beams, two columns, two connections and a first floor slab element. Provide full structural design calculations to Eurocode 3 for the selected structural members and elements to satisfy both Ultimate Limit State and Serviceability Limit
State conditions.
Task 4 – Identify with justification the critical design members and connections for your concrete solution. You are required to select a minimum of two beams, two columns, two connections and a first floor slab element. Provide full structural design calculations to Eurocode 2 for the selected structural members and elements to satisfy both Ultimate Limit State and Serviceability Limit
State conditions.
Task 5 – Build and analyse a computer model of the critical elements of your proposed structure to determine the internal member forces and deflections.
Task 6 – Prepare a sketch in accordance with standard methods of detailing structural concrete, of the proposed concrete reinforcement for your critical design members (two beams, two columns and floor slab), providing sufficient information to allow a reinforced concrete detailer to prepare detailed reinforced concrete drawings.
Task 7 – You are to discharge your responsibilities as Designer under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. You are required to prepare a designer risk assessment, to communicate key risks to those responsible for planning and managing the construction work, operating and dismantling the building.
Indicative Programme of Tasks
It is anticipated that you will complete your coursework progressively and steadily over the full year of the module. To support and enable you to progress from one structural design component to the next, a formative assessment of you work will be carried out at pre-determined points during the semester. (This is not unlike what occurs in industry, where engineers will often be required to report progress to your project team leader or to attend a design review to justify their designs). Accordingly you must submit your work to the module tutor for formative assessment before you progress onto the next stage of the design. The dates for formative submissions are identified in
Table 1 below.

3

Once the work is deemed to be satisfactory for you to proceed it will be signed off using the Table
1 below. You will then progress onto the next stage. Please note this is a cursory inspection of the work and does not guarantee it to be perfectly correct - that remains the student’s responsibility.
Table 1
Date
30/10/15

14/11/15

Design work

Decision on work (x or √)

Date

Staff signature Overall structural stability Applied action calculations

21/11/15

Calculation of internal member forces

6/02/15

Justification of critical members and connections, and design to Eurocode 2

18/03/15

Justification of critical members and connections, and design to Eurocode 3.

Table 1 – Progress check
If, after the formative assessment, your tutor provides a decision of (x), then your work must be re-calculated until an acceptable answer is provided.
The rationale behind this philosophy is that if a calculation is incorrect at the start, then the error will carry through all of the subsequent calculations. You can access support and guidance in the
1 hour tutorial sessions with the preparation of your structural design.
Academic Integrity Statement
You must adhere to the university regulations on academic conduct. Formal inquiry proceedings will be instigated if there is any suspicion of plagiarism or any other form of misconduct in your work. Refer to the University’s Assessment Regulations for Northumbria Awards if you are unclear as to the meaning of these terms. The latest copy is available on the University website.
Failure to submit
The University requires all students to submit assessed coursework by the deadline stated in the assessment brief. Where coursework is submitted without approval after the published hand-in deadline, penalties will be applied as defined in the University Policy on the Late Submission of
Work. https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/static/5007/arpdf/lateappr

Assessment Criteria:
Marks allocated per task
Task number

Marks

1 Overall structural stability.

25

4

2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Applied action calculations.
Justification of critical member and connections, and designs to Eurocode 3.
Justification of critical member and connections, and designs to Eurocode 2.
Calculation of internal member forces and deflection.
Reinforced concrete sketch
Designer risk assessment
Studentship

25
25
25
25
25
25
25
Total 200 marks

The percentage of the marks that you achieve will be determined by the quality of your submission against the following grading criteria:
Grading Criteria
Excellent Outcome: 70% +
Most of the relevant information/skills accurately deployed.
Excellent grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements.
Good integration of theory/practice/information in pursuit of the assessed work’s objectives.

Above Average Outcome: 60-69%
Most of the relevant information/skills accurately deployed.
Good grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Good integration of theory/practice/information in pursuit of the assessed work’s objectives.

Average Outcome: 50-59%
Much of the relevant information/skills mostly accurately deployed.
Adequate grasp of the theoretical/conceptual/practical elements.
Fair integration of theory/practice/information in pursuit of the assessed work’s objectives. Excellent application of a comprehensive range of pertinent structural design and analysis principles.
The portfolio shows an excellent grasp of structural design and analysis concepts and their critical application to the task. The presentation shows an excellent understanding of structural design and analysis along with an in-depth knowledge of construction. Excellent support and critical discussion from the discourse in relation to this analysis will also be applied. Your work demonstrates excellent Harvard referencing and draws upon an extensive range of academic and engineering resources. Grammar, spelling and punctuation are of a very high standard with very few errors. Work is set out in an appropriate format;, with clear organisation of engineering information, supporting drawings, calculations and specifications. Good application of a broad range of pertinent structural design and analysis principles. The report shows a good grasp of structural design and analysis concepts and their application to the task.
The presentation shows a good understanding of structural design and analysis along with a clear knowledge of construction. Good support and critical discussion from the discourse in relation to this analysis will also be applied. Your work demonstrates good Harvard referencing, with some minor errors and draws upon a good range of academic and engineering resources. Grammar, spelling and punctuation are of a high standard with a few errors. Work is set out in an appropriate format, with organisation of engineering information, supporting drawings, calculations and specifications. The application of structural design and analysis principals is made with justification and consideration of some pertinent factors but lacks some detail. A grasp of current structural design and analysis concepts is shown. Some analysis of structural design, analysis and construction is made alongside a description of the relevant theories but is perhaps anecdotal or not fully informed by the discourse. Your work demonstrates a fair attempt at

5

Harvard referencing, with some errors present, and draws upon an adequate range of academic and engineering resources; there was scope to use more academic sources here. Grammar, spelling and punctuation are of an adequate standard with some errors. Work is set out in an appropriate format, with some omissions and an attempt is made to organise supporting drawings, calculations and specifications.
Satisfactory Outcome: 40-49%
No major omissions or inaccuracies in the deployment of information/skills.
Some grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Integration of theory/practice/information present intermittently in pursuit of the assessed work’s objectives.

A limited application of structural design and analysis principles is shown with an uncritical consideration or anecdotal justification of a limited number of pertinent factors that also lacks detail. A limited knowledge of current structural design and analysis concepts is shown.. Few up-to-date resources or a lack of peer reviewed work may be shown. Limited analysis of structural design, analysis and construction is made and a description of the relevant theories may be lacking or is perhaps anecdotal in nature. Work is of a basic standard. Your work demonstrates some attempt at
Harvard referencing, with errors present throughout, and draws upon a limited range of academic and engineering resources; there was much more scope to use more academic and engineering sources here. Grammar, spelling and punctuation are of a satisfactory standard with errors present throughout.
An attempt is made to set work out in an appropriate format, but there are omissions. An attempt is made to organise supporting drawings, calculations and specifications however this is limited. Unsatisfactory Outcome: 30-39%
Knowledge and understanding at limited level; may be errors both in terms of factual knowledge and understanding; expression of ideas not always clear, and argument/discussion weakly structured.

Limited attempt to apply structural design and analysis principles to task. Little evidence of knowledge or understanding of structural design, analysis and construction. Knowledge and understanding at limited level; may be errors both in terms of factual knowledge and understanding; expression of ideas not always clear, and argument/discussion weakly structured. Your work demonstrates limited attempt at
Harvard
referencing, there are frequent errors present throughout. Your work draws upon a very limited range of academic and engineering resources; there was much more scope to use more academic and engineering sources here. Grammar, spelling and punctuation are poor with errors present throughout. A limited attempt is made to set work out in an appropriate format, and there are omissions. A limited attempt is made to write in an academic style.

Unsatisfactory Outcome: 15-29%
Knowledge and understanding at limited level shown by significant errors and/or omissions both in terms of factual knowledge and understanding, with tendency to description rather than analysis; may include inability to express ideas clearly, lack of coherence in terms of structure, inclusion of irrelevant

A very limited attempt to apply structural design and analysis principles with serious flaws in the knowledge or understanding of task. Knowledge and understanding at limited level shown by significant errors and/or omissions both in terms of factual knowledge and understanding, with tendency to description rather than analysis; may include inability to express ideas clearly, lack of

6

material.

Unsatisfactory Outcome: below 15%
Overall lack of relevant information, descriptive not analytical; may also be repetitive, lack organisation, demonstrate inadequate use of language and inability to construct sentences.

coherence in terms of structure, inclusion of irrelevant material. Your work demonstrates a very limited attempt at Harvard referencing, there are frequent errors present throughout. Your work draws upon a very limited range of academic and engineering resources; there was much more scope to use more academic sources here. Grammar, spelling and punctuation are very poor with errors present throughout. A very limited attempt is made to set work out in an appropriate format, and there are many omissions. A very limited attempt is made to write in an academic style.
No attempt to apply structural design and analysis principles to the task, little evidence of understanding of structural design and analysis concepts. Overall lack of relevant information, descriptive not analytical; may also be repetitive, lack organisation, demonstrate inadequate use of language and inability to construct sentences. Your work demonstrates no Harvard referencing, there are frequent errors present throughout. Your work draws upon no academic or engineering resources.
Grammar, spelling and punctuation are very poor with errors present throughout. A very limited attempt is made to set work out in an appropriate format, and there are many omissions

Word Length [if applicable]: Not applicable
% assessment weighting in the module:

30% of module assessment th Date of handout to students: Week commencing – 28 September 2015 th Date and time of submission by student to School Office: 12 Noon, 14 April 2016
Date of return to students: 4 working weeks from hand in.
Will return be in class or through the administration section? Coursework will be returned in class. Module Tutor: Vikki Edmondson
Seminar Tutors: Vikki Edmondson
Method of referral: Coursework

References
Carnegie, D. (1998) How to stop worrying and start living. Vermilion: London.

7

Coursework Appendix A – Proposed Architectural Plans and Elevations of EdCare Limited
New Care Home Facility
Cedar cladding
Sika Sarnafil
Metal Roofing
System
Glazing

Metal profile cladding Render
Panel

8

Metal profile cladding NOTE: ELEVATIONS AND PLANS ARE NOT TO SCALE AND DIMENSION SHOULD
THEREFORE BE READ DIRECTLY FROM THE PLAN DRAWINGS.

9