Structural Systems in Agriculture

Catalog description

The objective of this course is to provide the student with the essential skills necessary to engage in practical agricultural structure analysis and design. Topics include a review of shear, moment and deflection concepts; loading in agricultural structures including earth loads, grain loads and livestock loads; methods for the analysis of determinate and indeterminate beams, trusses and frames; the material properties of wood including impact of species, grain orientation, degree of hydration, etc., on member adequacy. The nano and molecular structure of wood is also discussed and how it impacts material properties. The course is focused on the practical application of basic engineering principles with examples. The course contains a design analysis project where a student team analyzes an industrially designed structure (typically a post-frame building containing a truss roof system), which has been designed for a specific area. The team then redesigns the structure for a different location with different snow and wind loadings as well as intended usage, and optimizes the structure for efficient design of the structural members. The design and analysis may be completed using a common industrial software package. The course will serve as a prerequisite for senior-level structural design courses.