Steel Educators' Tip Sheet

September 2004

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Using Handouts to Teach Compression Member Design

One of the teaching aids now available through the Steel Educators’ Tools and Tips website and the AISCWET Yahoo! Group is a course handout with lecture notes on the design of compression members. These notes neatly summarize failure modes as related to column length, effects of residual stresses and end restraints, and LRFD design philosophy for compression members. An example demonstrates selection of the lightest A36 W-shape for a 16-foot pin-ended column.

Dr. Haluk Aktan, Professor and Director of the Center for Structural Durability at Wayne State University, is the compiler of the lecture notes. He posts these notes to his website for CE4350, Design of Steel and Concrete Structures, which he typically teaches every Fall Semester.

When asked how he utilizes these notes in his course, Dr. Aktan explains that, first of all, the students are warned at the beginning of the semester that having the notes will generate a false sense of security. The notes without the accompanying lecture will create ambiguity. The students are expected to download and print the notes before class. Second of all, they are expected to review the notes to develop familiarity in conjunction with the textbook. At the present, Dr. Aktan lectures directly from the notes on transparencies using an overhead projector.

Dr. Aktan did not always use printed notes for his course. Previously, he primarily used the chalkboard and handouts. However, he found that printed notes are helpful because they save lecture time. Lecture time now includes more two-way interaction with the students, promoting better understanding of the material. The students have responded positively and have indicated that the notes are a great help, allowing them to pay more attention to the lecture. Dr. Aktan based his notes on Salmon and Johnson’s Steel Structures text. To access Dr. Aktan’s notes on compression members, go to the AISC WET Forum, click on ‘AISC WET Files’, and select “Compression_Members_Aktan.PDF".

	Tip of the Month Here's an example of a teaching aid available for Compression Members:
	LAB: Compression Members
	WHERE CAN I FIND THIS? AISC WET CD à Labs à Lab Files à Lab 4
	DESCRIPTION: Students will size interior, edge, and corner columns. They can also design the compression members in the braced frame.
	HERE’S AN IDEA! Select one option: Column design or compression brace design. Students will not have enough time in a typical lab session to do both. For the column design, you might fill in the answers for the design for the first story as an example.
	Want more tips? Click here [+]

This Month's Photo

Check out the "Photo of the Month." "ColumnToColumn17.jpg" is part of the Digital Case Study of the Four Story Office Building, created by Victor Daccarett and Professor Tim Mrozowski at Michigan State University. This photo shows a typical column splice and is one in a series of photos in a slide show on "Structural Steel Connections." For this photo, go to the AISC WET Forum and click on 'AISC WET Photos'.

This Month's Poll

Tell us what is most likely to affect your choice of lecture media (i.e., chalkboard, overhead transparencies, PowerPoint, etc.). Log on to the AISCWET Yahoo! Group and click on 'Polls'.

This newsletter was created by Seung Kun Oh, a Civil Engineering student at Purdue University.