Take Home Quiz ;-)

Note: This was updated on 9/17/13 at 8:00 PM.

This is a take home quiz that I gave my students 10 13 days to complete on their own. To encourage independent work, I based the parameters they were going to use on their "student numbers." If you are a practicing structural engineer, go ahead and choose from the values listed below and try to answer the questions yourself.



Problem 1 GEF calculation (50%)
If a student number were of this format: YEAR-BCDFG, for Problem #1 they should take note of the following instructions.

1. If B is odd, they will assume a concrete MWFRS. Otherwise, assume a steel MWFRS.
2. CD represents the height of the building in meters. For example, if my student number is 2013-05852, 58 meters is my building height.
3. FG represents the gust wind speed experienced at the site, in m/s. For the same example student number above, 52 m/s is the gust wind speed. However, a gust wind speed lower than 5 m/s shall not be used.
4. The building is square in plan, and its side width is the same as its height, except that the side width shall not be taken to be more than 30 meters.

Problem #1 itself goes as follows.

Create a spreadsheet of your own using Microsoft Excel, Google Docs Spreadsheets, or Apple iWork Numbers that calculates the gust effect factor for buildings according to the NSCP 2010. You may also use any programming language except VBA. (VB is okay but not VBA!) You can also calculate manually, and just make sure to send your calculations as a PDF.  

Assuming sub-urban terrain, calculate the gust effect factor for the building you were assigned. Note that you need to have good estimates of natural frequency and damping ratio to arrive at a gust effect factor. Compare your estimated gust effect factor with the gust effect factor for rigid buildings and discuss the difference (if any). Submit your spreadsheet/calculations highlighting your results, and including the required discourse/discussion.

For their aid, they can also just use this table:

Student No.	Primary MWFRS	h (m)	V (m/s)	B, L (m)
2009-26278	Steel	62	78	30
2010-78269	Concrete	82	69	30
2010-04118	Steel	41	18	30
2009-31801	Concrete	18	5	18
2009-17715	Concrete	77	15	30
2010-78802	Concrete	88	5	30
2009-39212	Concrete	92	12	30
2009-41743	Steel	17	43	17
2009-21828	Steel	18	28	18
2009-21829	Steel	18	29	18
2009-12110	Concrete	21	10	21
2009-13764	Concrete	37	64	30
2009-16567	Concrete	65	67	30
2010-32353	Concrete	23	53	23
2009-04601	Steel	46	5	30
2008-18611	Concrete	86	11	30
2009-20380	Steel	3	80	3
2009-56979	Concrete	69	79	30
2009-78516	Concrete	85	16	30
2009-23533	Steel	35	33	30
2008-52044	Concrete	20	44	20
2009-25444	Steel	54	44	30
2009-30603	Concrete	6	5	6
2009-26579	Steel	65	79	30
2009-03715	Steel	37	15	30
2009-53075	Concrete	30	75	30
2009-35034	Concrete	50	34	30
2009-51469	Concrete	14	69	14
2009-00951	Steel	9	51	9
2009-08370	Steel	83	70	30
2009-31880	Concrete	18	80	18
2010-11381	Concrete	13	81	13
2009-24607	Steel	46	7	30
2008-16128	Concrete	61	28	30
2009-62495	Steel	24	95	24

Problem 2 Other fields of wind engineering (35%)

Based on a very recent 27-minute presentation on different aspects of wind engineering, list down the 9 aspects of wind engineering presented (3 applications, 3 fields of study, and 3 tools), and discuss which one for you is the most interesting aspect of wind engineering other than structural wind engineering. Make sure to state why you chose that aspect of wind engineering.

Problem 3 New things you have learned (15%)

Based on what you've been reading from this blog so far (for practicing structural engineers / readers) or based on what you've gathered so far from this introductory course on structural wind engineering (CE 197 for UP ICE students this semester), list down the top 10 most important new things you've learned. Discuss why they are the top 10 most important to you.

For my students, submit all responses to engg@ronjie.com by 1:00 pm of agreed submission date. For practicing structural engineers and readers of this blog, you can post your responses/answers in the comments. :-)