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Overview

Course Prescription

Structural systems for low-rise buildings, including seismic design and analysis techniques. Design and detailing of low-rise structures in structural steel, reinforced concrete, reinforced masonry and timber, including discussion of sustainability and environmental impacts of design decisions. Strut and tie for reinforced concrete. Techniques in ensuring safe and reliable design outcomes, checking of existing structures, lessons from failures, professional competencies and ethics.

Course Overview

STRCTENG 710 will build on the individual component design taught for timber, concrete and steel elements in the year three courses, by introducing structural systems, centered on low-rise commercial and residential buildings. The focus of this course is the fundamentals of building systems with an emphasis on load paths, earthquake loading and building response.

The first two weeks will cover general seismic design, application of NZS 1170.5, focusing on the application and limitations of equivalent static method. The concept of capacity design and its general application as well as an introduction to low damage design, key concepts of resilience and seismic hazard will be discussed.

The course will provide an understanding of the characteristics of different structural systems across different materials, their typical lateral response, their ductile mechanisms and their appropriateness to certain building forms. Through a section on structural form and load paths, common errors in design and detailing will be investigated.

The principles of sustainable structural design will be introduced, looking at the role of embodied carbon within the built environment, and how structural engineers can respond to the call for reduced emissions.

Strut and Tie design will be taught and applied to discuss and explain load paths, the role of diaphragms, and load transfer through reinforced concrete connections.

The second half of the course will focus on structural steel, with a review of steel element design, a focus on design of steel connections, followed by  combining the member and connection requirements into the design of parts of a portal frame building.

This course consists of lectures, a weekly tutorial, quizzes, a mid-semester test and design assignment. In addition, you will be expected to learn from additional reading, problem solving, structural drawings and other work outside of formal contact hours. The course requires students to become familiar with part of the Design Actions Standard and the material standards for concrete, timber and steel. The course is well supported by the course notes and published texts.

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 3 hours of lectures, a 1 hour tutorial, 3 hours of reading and thinking about the content, and 3 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Course Prerequisites, Corequisites and Restrictions

Prerequisite
Restriction

Locations and Semesters Offered

LocationSemester
City

Teaching and Learning

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at scheduled activities including tutorials to complete components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including seminars/tutorials will not be available as recordings.
The course will not include live online events including.
Attendance on campus is required for the test.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Learning Resources

Taught courses use a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas to provide students with learning materials including reading lists and lecture recordings (where available). Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Additional Information on Learning Resources

Two volumes of course notes will be prepared and put onto CANVAS before the start of the course. Additional material will be put onto CANVAS during the course. In addition students will need access to copies of the following standards; AS/NZS 1170 set, NZS 3101, NZS 3404, NZS 3604. These can be via the student standards.

Copyright

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license.


You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third-party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

Health and Safety

Students must ensure they are familiar with their Health and Safety responsibilities, as described in the university's Health and Safety policy.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Similarly, research students must meet the University’s expectations of good research practice. This requires:

  • Honesty - in all aspects of research work
  • Accountability - in the conduct of research
  • Professional courtesy and fairness – in working with others
  • Good stewardship – on behalf of others
  • Transparency – of research process and presentation of results
  • Clarity - communication to be understandable, explainable and accessible

For more information on the University’s expectations of academic integrity, please see the Academic Conduct section of the University policy hub.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about taught courses is made available to enrolled students in Canvas.

Students may be asked to submit assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.


Assessment and Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes

CLO #OutcomeProgramme Capability Link
1
2
3
4
5
6

Assessments

Assessment TypeAssessment PercentageAssessment Classification

Additional Information on Assessment

A passing mark, comprising the sum of all assessment types, is 50% or higher, according to University policy. In addition, a minimum of 40% is required in the exam to pass the course.

Students must sit the exam to pass the course. Otherwise, a DNS (did not sit) result will be returned.

Late submissions will not be accepted/allowed for the exam, tests, and online quizzes. It is possible to submit late for the assignments and projects, and the late submission penalty schedule will be published on the course Canvas page.

Assessment to CLO Mapping

Assessment Type123456

Student Feedback, Support and Charter

Student Feedback

Feedback on taught courses is gathered from students at the end of each semester through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions. Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students. In addition, class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Additional Information on Student Feedback

The structure of this course has been changed to allow for the introduction of sustainable design thinking, an alignment of the strut and tie work with the overall focus of the paper, and additional time given to the teaching of steel systems.  The assessment weighting has been updated to align with that of STRCTENG 711 and to reflect the scope of the two design projects.

Class representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Tuākana

Tuākana is a multi-faceted programme for Māori and Pacific students providing topic specific tutorials, one-on-one sessions, test and exam preparation and more. Explore your options at Tuakana Learning Communities.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website.

Wellbeing

We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - please see the Support Services page for information on support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed work is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due. If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page. This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter.

Student Academic Complaints and Disputes

Students with concerns about teaching including how a course is delivered, the resources provided, or supervision arrangements, have the right to express their concerns and seek resolution. The university encourages informal resolution where possible, as this is quicker and less stressful. For information on the informal and formal complaints processes, please refer to the Student Academic Complaints Statute in the Student Policies and Guidelines section of the Policy Hub.