Students should have a command of elementary statics, dynamics and strength of materials, primarily because "back-of-the-envelope" calculations using these principles are used to check results from FE models. Students should also be familiar with elementary matrix algebra. It is not necessary to have a whole course on linear algebra (such as Math 340), because for this particular course, students really just have to be comfortable with vector and matrix notation and simple manipulations of those entities.

The required text for this course is "Finite Element Modeling for Stress Analysis" by Robert D. Cook. It is also recommended that students have one reference book that includes solutions to idealized problems that can be used to check the results of FE models. For this class, the recommended text is "Roark's Formulas for Stress and Strain" by Warren C. Young (6th or 7th Edition). This particular text is recommended because of the completeness of tabulated results in a single source.

Lab/Lecture: class meets twice a week in a workstation-enabled classroom for 75 minutes/class. Most class sessions consist of the professor working through two or three examples, with students working through the example with the faculty member in their own accounts.

The following statement indicates which of the following considerations are included in this course: economic, environmental, ethical, political, societal, health and safety, manufacturability, sustainability.

There is also a strong underlying emphasis on professional responsibility (one component of ethics). Students are reminded REPEATEDLY that it is very ease to use a computer code to generate garbage, and users of such codes MUST develop the habit of knowing what to expect from their models (through "back-of-the-envelope" preliminary analyses) before embarking on model development. Most of the course grade is based on extensive homework assignments and design projects and these are considered incomplete unless the FE model is accompanied by a preliminary analysis.

EMA 405 places strong emphasis on the preparation of professional, written reports and documentation of results. It also places signficant empahsis on taking responsibility for technical results by checking computer models and analyses against "back-of-the-envelope" calculations. Thus, EMA 405 is focused to satisfy the College and EMA program objectives in that it will assist in equipping the student with fundamental skills in a particular engineering science (FEM computer and analytical models) via problem-solving, teamwork and written communication. In addition, it encourages the students to make well-informed career choices in EMA; i.e., aeronautics or astronautics and solid mechanics.

Seventy percent of the course grade is determined by homework assignments (7 - assigned approximately every two weeks, 10% of the grade each). Each homework assignment typically consists of five problems. For each problem, the students must provide a preliminary analysis detailing what they expect, describe the choices made in constructing the FE model, and explain the results obtained in terms of their expectations (especially if there are variances).

Ten percent of the course grade is determined by an end-of-semester design project. A "default" design project is provided in the event that students are unable to formulate a suitable project on their own, but students are also given the flexibility, with iinstructor approval, to pursue projects in support of their thesis or a student professional society project (ASCE Concrete Canoe, ASME Car Project, AIAA NASA Zero-G Competition, etc.)

The final twenty percent of the course grade is determined by two in-class quizzes, one mid-semester and the other in the traditional final exam slot. Consistent with the practicum nature of the course, the students are given three problems that each require construction of a simple FE mobile along with short answer questions. The quizzes are open book and notes and students typically have 6-8 hours to complete the quiz (no artifical time constraints).

In each instance (homework, design project, quiz) student submit their computer models to an electronic dropbox in addition to submitting a written report.