CIV E #302 – Spring 2019

Solid Mechanics Lab (1 unit)

San Diego State University

Instructor: Andrew Schraff, P.E., Office in ED – 100G

ph. (760) 215 – 4478 (text me)
e-mail: aschraff@sdsu.edu

Office hours: Officially on Tuesday from 1 – 1:50 p.m. and Wednesday 8 –

8:50 a.m. I’ll probably also be available on Monday and Friday from 8 to 8:50,
as well. The office is located in the Construction Engineering department and
if the front door is locked, knock on the door or call me and I will come up front
to let you into the lobby.

Laboratory Technician: Greg Morris, E-103B

e-mail: gmorris@mail.sdsu.edu

Course Tools:
▪ Dowell, R.K. and T. Johnson. 2013. CIV E 302 Lab Manual. San Diego,
CA: San Diego State University. (This is available in the Blackboard
system.)
▪ Safety goggles. The type a construction worker would use, i.e. not
chemistry goggles.
▪ A ruler or straightedge.
▪ A French curve
▪ A calculator that meets appropriate standards (see page 4 of this
pamphlet).
▪ I will also post worksheet/s relevant to each lab that usually consist of a
data table that you will fill in during the activity. This should be printed
out in paper form before coming to the lab that day.

Meetings:
Section 1, Schedule # 20766, Tuesday 2 p.m. – 4:40 p.m. in Rooms E – 427
and E – 103.

Section 3, Schedule #20768, Thursday 2 p.m. – 4:40 p.m. in Rooms E – 427

and E – 103.

Prerequisite: Credit or concurrent registration in either Civil Engineering

#301, or Mechanical Engineering #304. Proof of completion of prerequisites is
required for all courses which list prerequisites. The department checks this
for each student, and they may ask me to review your transcript.

Course Description: Laboratory studies in solid mechanics. Experimental

stress analysis. Experimental confirmation of theory.

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Student Outcomes:
1. An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
2. An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together
provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment,
establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
3. An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze
and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
4. An ability to conduct experiments in at least two technical areas of civil
engineering and analyze and interpret the resulting data.

Laboratory Organization: Each laboratory session will usually begin with a

debriefing of the last lab activity, as well as a review of the basic theoretical
concepts relevant to the lab activity that will be done that same day.
Information on machine operation and how to conduct the physical experiment
will also be given. Although the data collection is collaborative, each student is
required to write an individual laboratory report as defined in the next section.

Laboratory Reports: There will be as many as 8 activities conducted

throughout the semester. Laboratory reports should be professionally
written/typed and submitted individually for each experiment. The laboratory
reports should contain the sections defined below. They are generally due two
weeks after the experiment was conducted to give the student adequate time to
work the lab into the main coursework of the lecture component of the course
(viz. CIV E #301 or ME #304), although the final report/s may have due dates
sooner than two weeks after the activity. Each student must use their own
phraseology and not just copy from their colleague/s verbatim! Do not just make
duplicate copies of Excel graphs to share! I understand that some may work in
groups and if you do so, at least be honest about it and include your
colleague’s name/s in Section 8 (References) as mentioned below. When
writing your lab report, do not lift portions of text from online versions posted by
students who have taken this course before you. If you are caught submitting
stolen or plagiarized work, I reserve the right to give you a zero for that lab
report. I can’t stop you from looking at other students’ work posted online, but
you must use your own phraseology when writing your lab reports. You should
also list the website/s in question in Section 8 (References). Professional
engineering presentation is stressed with typed reports and Excel type graphs
of results of actual versus theoretical. Late submittal of lab reports (after the
due date) will be subject to a 25% penalty. However, late lab reports will be
accepted no more than two weeks after the due date for that specific lab.

Required Format for Laboratory Reports: Most of the sections as defined

below will apply to every lab. Use it as a basic guideline to write your lab
reports. The weight of each lab report will differ depending on how much work
is expected in that particular report. Some sections may not apply to certain
lab activities, in which case you would omit that/those section/s. Since each

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lab activity is different, I cannot just assign the same point value that would
apply to all lab reports. But I will usually provide a “guide” in the Blackboard
system to assist you in writing your reports and to make for uniform
standards. Laboratory reports must be submitted in paper form.

1. Title Information
Your Name
CIV E #302 Tues. Section 1 (or Thurs. Section 3 depending on official
enrollment)
Lab No. and Title of activity
Date of activity
Due date of activity

2. Purpose: Description of the overall objective including relevant

theoretical concepts to be confirmed through the experimental study.
You need not go through all the theory involved as that’s already
discussed in the lab manual.

3. Equipment and materials: This section should include a list of equipment

models and manufacturers (and serial numbers if applicable). Quality
photographs and/or diagrams of the actual equipment should also be
included in this section. Don’t just use some stock photo. It’s also bad
practice to use a photo that a colleague took from a previous semester.
You may use a current colleague’s photo, but mention their name
beneath the photo (e.g. Photo courtesy of Brock Mason) and in Section 8.
Diagrams may be created with a CAD tool or with Power Point.

4. Procedure: Provide an overview of experimental methods and apparatus

setup. Don’t just copy text from the lab manual. Using your own
phraseology, give a description of how the testing machine is operated,
and what the machine did. If no machine was used, give a description of
what you did in the lab room. If applicable, you may provide photos in
this section. If you use someone else’s photo, mention their name
beneath the photo and in Section 8.

5. Data: Provide tabulated raw data. A computer spreadsheet program like

Excel should be used to create these. Some data may be required in
graphical form, but generally, graphs will fall into Section 6. If you
attended the other class’ lab meeting, be sure to mention that you’re
using their data (e.g. If you’re officially enrolled in the Thursday class
but attended Tuesday.)

6. Required Calculations: Read the lab manual for the specific lab activity
to see what is required in this section. Some of the activities call for the
creation of graphs in this section. If no specific calculations or graphs

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 are called for, then show some sample calculations that are similar to the
samples in the lab manual. You should know how to use “Equation
Editor” in Word to be able to write formulas into documents.

7. Required Discussion: Read the lab manual for the specific lab activity to
see what is required in this section. Note that this section often will have
to include an explanation for sources of error.

8. References: List the names of others in the class that you collaborated
with (the APA link below shows you how to properly reference your
colleague/s). List any books, journals, magazines, or websites that you
utilized in helping to prepare the lab report. You should list the lab
manual itself as a reference, as well as the instructor. I won’t mark you
down for using “Wikipedia”, although for a larger or more professional
project, it would not be an appropriate source. Here are some links as to
how you would properly reference your sources (or use another style if
you wish):

APA: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/11/

Chicago: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

9. Attendance: Were you even there or did you steal data from a colleague?

Exams: There will be a midterm exam, as well as a final exam in this course.
These may be a combination of free response and/or multiple choice items.
You must have a government issued photo I.D. or at least an SDSU photo I.D.
to take this course, and I may check them during exams.

Calculator rules: For the two exams, you may use a TI – 84 or lesser graphing
calculator. Whatever you’ve “hidden” in your calculator’s memory is fair game,
but whatever calculator you use, it must not be internet enabled nor be able to
read flash drives, memory cards, or electronic documents (e.g. pdf files). I
reserve the right to ban calculators and electronic gadgets whose capabilities
may allow you too much advantage (e.g. TI – 92, TI –Voyage 200 calculators),
and I also reserve the right to forbid any calculators that I’m suspicious about.
You definitely cannot use your mobile device’s calculator, nor your watch.

Participation: This is a “lab” course, and therefore, participation is required.

I have found that if I do not give formal credit for participation, few students
will actually participate and it’s the same proactive students doing all the work
in every lab activity. Ironically, it’s usually the inactive students contacting me
after the semester has ended complaining because they felt they were entitled
to a higher letter grade. Therefore, I will be keeping close tabs on participation.
After Lab #4, each student will be eligible to earn participation points which

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may include your contribution to set – up, doing the labor, and clean – up. At
the end of the lab activity, make sure you check in with me so that I take note
of your participation. In general, you may earn a maximum of 10 points per
lab activity up to a theoretical maximum of 50 points for the semester (see the
Grading Scheme below). For Lab #5, it will be possible to earn more than 10
points for that particular activity. I will also be open to students earning bonus
points on top of the 50 point semester maximum as circumstances may
dictate, but I don’t promise this.

Grading Scheme: All the lab reports combined will be worth around 550
points, the midterm 50 points, the final exam 50 points, and participation 50
points. This will be a grand total of about 700 points. I reserve the right to
adjust this as circumstances dictate (e.g. If circumstances dictate that we skip
one of the planned labs, then the lab reports would not add up to 550 points).
When lab reports or exams are given back to you, if there is an item of
contention, it should be mentioned to me before leaving class that day. In
other words, I reserve the right to ignore your complaint if you come back the
next week or later contending that you think the score was too harsh and that
you want me to reconsider the work. Lab scores will be recorded in the
Blackboard system as the semester progresses. Please follow along to check for
bookkeeping accuracy. In assigning letter grades, I reserve the right to use the
“grade school” scale: 100 – 94% = A, 93.9 – 90% = A –, 89.9 – 87% = B +, 86.9
– 84% = B, 83.9 – 80% = B –, 79.9 – 77% = C +, 76.9 – 74% = C, 73.9 – 70% = C
–, 69.9 – 67% = D +, 66.9 – 64% = D, 63.9 – 60% = D –, below 60% = F. I may
lower this standard, but I will not raise it. Once letter grades are reported to
the administration at the end of the semester, they are final unless a blatant
clerical error was made on my part.

Academic Honesty (as per the university): Without exception, if a student is

found cheating in this course, such student will receive an immediate failing
grade (i.e., F) in the course, and in accordance to CSU Executive Order 1098,
such incident of academic dishonesty will be reported immediately to the SDSU
Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities, where further action, including
the possibility of expulsion, shall be taken.

Medical Excuse (as per the university): Students who – due to a medical
emergency– are unable to (1) submit an assignment on the due date, (2) take a
test or other examination on the scheduled date, and/or (3) attend a lecture,
field trip or other activity for which attendance is required, must provide the
instructor with an official, hard-copy, medical excuse that clearly denotes the
dates of absence, as prescribed by the medical care provider in question. The
medical excuse must be signed by the medical care provider (a person) in ink,
and must contain the license number of such the medical care provider;
otherwise the medical excuse will be considered invalid.

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Attendance Policies: As this is a “lab” course, regular attendance is
necessary for success. In fact, part of your grade on a lab report is based on
your having been there (item 9 in the lab report). Arriving late or leaving early
may be counted as an absence. Do not leave early except for an emergency
and kindly grant me the courtesy of telling me before the meeting that you plan
to leave early. The student is responsible for all information, handouts, fliers
and assignments missed due to late adds, tardiness and absences.

College of Engineering Laboratory Safety Rules:

1. No fooling around in the laboratory facility.
2. Remove or tuck in loose clothing, necklaces and ties.
3. Wear safety glasses or goggles properly at all times.
4. You are not allowed to use any equipment when your instructor is not in
the room.
5. No one may use any tool or machine until he/she demonstrates his/her
ability to properly and safely use the equipment.
6. Ask permission before using any equipment.
7. Do not use any dull or damaged tools and equipment.
8. Report any damaged equipment immediately.
9. Report any type of injury immediately.
10. Keep equipment and materials off the floor.
11. Do not talk to anyone while you are operating any power tools (and stay
off your cell phone).
12. Only one person on a machine at a time.
13. Observe the safety zone when you are waiting to use a machine.
14. Be sure all safety guards are on power tools at all times.
15. Keep hands away from moving parts (belts, gears, drill chucks, blades) of
power equipment.
16. Always turn machines off and wait until they have stopped completely
before leaving them unattended.
17. When fixing a malfunction on a machine, always unplug the machine
first.
18. Do not attempt to lift heavy objects.

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 19. Roll up sleeves above elbow while working.
20. Long hair should always be tied back.
21. Wear closed toed shoes (i.e. don’t wear sandals).
22. Never use tools that do not have their proper handle.
23. Do not smoke cigarettes, e – cigarettes, pipes, hookahs, etc. in the
classroom or lab room.
24. Do not bring a dog or any other animal to class unless it really is a
legitimate service animal.
25. Never lose your temper in the room…It can be very costly.

Class A fire: Those which leave an ash (e.g. wood, cloth, insulation). Should
be put out with an extinguisher rated “A” or with water.

Class B fire: Those from combustible liquids (e.g. gasoline, oil, automatic
transmission fluid).

Class C fire: Caused by electricity. Both D.C. and A.C. can ignite a class A, B,
or D fire. Remove the source of electricity before attempting to put it out.

Class D fire: Caused by the burning of exotic metals (e.g. magnesium).

Student Ability Success Center Statement: If you are a student with a disability
and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it is your responsibility to
contact Student Ability Success Center at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any delay in the
receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student Ability Success
Center as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive,
and that I cannot provide accommodations based upon disability until I have
received an accommodation letter from Student Ability Success Center. Your
cooperation is appreciated.

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 CIV E #302 – Tentative Calendar (Spring 2019)
Week Dates (T, Th) Agenda / Lab Activity
1 1/24 Introduction.
2 1/29, 1/31 Introduction and/or Statics Review.
3 2/5, 2/7 Lab #1: Tensile Test of Steel.
4 2/12, 2/14 Lab #2: Wheatstone Bridge for Strain Measurement.
5 2/19, 2/21 Lab #3: Poisson’s Ratio.
6 2/26, 2/28 Lab #4: Torsion.
7 3/5, 3/7 Lab #5: Making Concrete Cylinders. Bring safety goggles, mask, work boots.
8 3/12, 3/14 Lab #6: Testing Concrete Cylinders in Compression. Review for the Midterm.
9 3/19, 3/21 Midterm Exam. Lab #6 continued.
10 3/26, 3/28 Lab #7: Buckling of Compression Members. Lab #6 continued.
11 4/2, 4/4 Spring Break. Yours truly will conclude Lab #6 alone.
12 4/9, 4/11 Lab #8: Beam Displacement. You need 3 blank worksheets.
13 4/16, 4/18 Lab #8 debrief.
14 4/23, 4/25 Lab #10: Portal Frame Force and Displacement Capacities.
15 4/30, 5/2 Course debrief and review for the Final Exam.
16 5/7, 5/9 Final Exam

Disclaimer: The content of this syllabus or the calendar may change during
the semester due to unforeseen circumstances.

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