Engineering mechanics: solids

This course introduces the subject areas of kinematics, statics and dynamics, in the context of engineering mechanics. The course is mainly concerned with the application of these topics to the analysis and design of solid bodies, as distinct from the closely related areas of fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. The materials are presented in a series of pdf documents.

Kinematics is the study of motion. Statics is the study of forces on stationary objects. Dynamics is the study of forces on moving bodies. These are the analytical tools used by the design engineer. The aims of the course are therefore two fold. Firstly, it aims to teach the basic analytical methods, that is, the fundamental concepts and techniques of solid engineering mechanics. Secondly, it aims, in a limited way, to show the implementation of these methods in engineering design. The limited time available to study the course has meant that the course team have had to lay the emphasis on the analytical methods. The underlying assumption has been that, if students acquired a solid foundation in analysis from this course, then its implementation in design would become apparent both in future courses and in the mechanical engineering that surrounds them every day.

Course materials:
Block 1: Geometry of mechanisms
Unit 1: Mechanisms
Unit 2: Mechanisms 2
Block 2: Statics
Unit 3: Forced and moments
Unit 4: Modelling with free-body diagrams
Block 3: Kinematics
Unit 5: Motion
Unit 6: Velocity diagrams
Block 4: Dynamics
Unit 7/8: Dynamics
Block 5: Acceleration
Unit 9A: Compensation forces
Unit 9B: Acceleration diagrams
Block 6: Structures
Unit 10: Stress analysis
Unit 11: Structural components
Block 7: Energy and momentum
Unit 12/13: Energy and momentum
Block 8: Vibration
Unit 14: Vibration
Block 9: Design study
Unit 15: The mechanics of an electric lift

The unit takes on average 135 hours to complete.

[Description and screenshot taken from OpenLearn page for this material. (c) Open University used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

Link: http://labspace.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=6520
Author: John Byrne
Source: http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
Rights: Copyright The Open University. Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see http://www8.open.ac.uk/about/main/admin-and-governance/policies-and-statements/conditions-use-open-university-websites), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence