Techniques for Structural Analysis and Design
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this Aeronautics and Astronautics course on analyzing complex structures and the material properties behind structural design, failure, and longevity. Lessons cover energy principles in structural analysis and their application to statically indeterminate structures and solid continua, plus matrix and finite-element methods for bars, beams, and two-dimensional plane stress elements. The course examines metals and composites, modes of structural failure, yielding and fracture criteria, crack formation, fracture mechanics, and fatigue in design. Students apply these methods to their own structural design projects rather than working purely from theory. Materials include the full MIT OCW set of lecture notes, assignments, and problem sets, free to access under a Creative Commons license with no certificate offered. It suits students with a background in mechanics who want to move from basic stress analysis into indeterminate structures and finite-element techniques.