"Structural system testing and model correlation": An industry-university collaborative course in structural dynamics

Abstract

The field of structural dynamics inevitably involves aspects of modeling (e.g., finite element approaches and related), testing (both planning and execution), signal processing, model parameter determination, and correlating model predictions to test results. While each of these topics exists in some form in United States university engineering curricula, very few curricula offer these topics in integrated groupings, and, to our knowledge, no single course exists that covers all these topics. This paper describes the structure and execution of a senior undergraduate elective course taught annually for the past 3 years in the Department of Structural Engineering at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). This course was developed in a close collaboration between a university faculty member and local industry engineers at ATA Engineering Inc. (ATA), whose business largely consists of performing all aspects of design/modeling, testing, analysis, and model correlation/updating. The presentation will cover the specifics of the course curriculum and how the class is structured around performing the complete model/test/update paradigm on a test structure. The paper will share assessments of students who took the course and conclude with recommendations and observations about implementing such a class in an engineering curriculum. © The Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc. 2013.