The student should learn how to discuss, in a rational and quantitative way, the points of strength and the points of weakness of the structural solutions presented, and the factors that may cause a discrepancy between the expected theoretical behavior and the experimental performance of a structure. Moreover, the numerical codes that assist the student during the structural analysis report some warning or error messages. The right interpretation of the above-mentioned messages, the following modifications to the model and the critical evaluation of the final results complete the learning outcomes expected from the course.

From the previous course of Structural Mechanics, the student should know how to analyze the strain and stress field in a 3D continuum and in the Saint Venant solid. The student should also know the basic concepts of stability of the elastic equilibrium. Basic knowledge about computation of multidimensional integrals, partial derivatives, linear systems of equations, differential equations, constrained maximum and minimum points is also recommendable.

AUTOMATIC COMPUTATION OF BEAM SYSTEMS (10h): the stiffness matrix of a single beam in a plane; transformation, expansion and assembly of the previous matrix; boundary conditions; short account on truss systems, grids and full 3D frames. PLANE CONTINUUM STRUCTURES (10h): kinematics and statics of the membrane regime and of the flexural regime; equilibrium equations in the case of thin plates where the shearing deformation can be neglected (Kirchhoff); Sophie Germain-Lagrange equation. NUMERICAL METHODS ACCORDING TO RITZ-GALERKIN (5h): the displacements approach applied to the kinematic hypotheses previously presented for membrane and plates. PLASTICITY THEORY (5h): elastoplastic flexural behavior of a rectangular section; residual stresses after unloading; the extension of the plastic zone; incremental elastoplastic analysis; limit analysis theorems; the transition from plasticity to fracture and the related dimensional analysis. EXPERIMENTAL TESTING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SIMPLE STRUCTURAL MODELS (30h): general introduction and lab classes on beam, frame, arc and plate models under different constraints; non-destructive testing via ultrasonic and sclerometric methods; material characterization according to European standards.

The course is divided into classroom lessons and laboratory classes. Virtual classroom lessons cover the part of the program related to the analysis, design and computation of structures, and are complemented by exercises, that will be presented just after the theoretical parts. Each student will install the educational version of Abaqus code on his/her laptop computer.Some practical applications will be based on a problem common to all courses of the same educational period. The coordination will be based on BIM technologies. The laboratory classes cover the part of the program related to the characterization of materials and structural elements and are conducted by dividing the students into working groups and/or with the aid of videos and suitable remote teaching tools. The preparation of reports on the laboratory activities is required for the purpose of achieving the expected practical skills.

A.Carpinteri: Structural Mechanics Fundamentals , CRC Press,Taylor and Francis Group,2014 O.C. Zienkiewicz, R.L. Taylor, J.Z. Zhu: The finite element method: its basis and fundamentals, Elsevier. SIMULIA Academic Teaching Suite

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Group essay;

Verifying the knowledge acquisition and skills (described in Expected learning outcomes) is the goal of the test. The test will be only oral. If the students, in their answers, deal with limited contexts , the examiner will ask for investigations in not mentioned contexts. It takes place on platform BBB or, in case of problems, on platform skype. First of all the students prove their identities showing their documents and their faces to the web cam. Afterwords, they show their rooms by rotating the web cam of 360 degrees. Before the exam starts, the web cam shows the white page from the opposite side of the hand used to write. While the students answer to the questions, they draw and write on the paper and, at the same time, they explain what they are writing. If something is not clear, the examiner will ask to show the paper to the web cam. To access the exam, it is required to produce a document that collects the reports on the laboratory classes, to be drawn up according to a format made available via the teaching portal. Such a document is subject to a two-level assessment (sufficient/insufficient) and does not contribute to the definition of the final grade, but only constitutes a mandatory condition to access the exam. The exam consists in a test in which the examiner poses questions to the student in spoken form, covering the theoretical topics, the computational exercises and the laboratory classes presented during the course. The exam qualifies the student's autonomy and maturity in learning and critically applying the teaching content and leads to the attribution of a final score . After the exam, the two examiner communicate by means of another communication channel and decide if a further question is necessary and the final score. The final score is up to 30 cum laude.

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Group essay;

Verifying the knowledge acquisition and skills (described in Expected learning outcomes) is the goal of the test. The test will be only oral. If the students, in their answers, deal with limited contexts , the examiner will ask for investigations in not mentioned contexts. The exam takes place in a classroom equipped for the audio and video signal transmission to students who are not in the classroom To access the exam, it is required to produce a document that collects the reports on the laboratory classes, to be drawn up according to a format made available via the teaching portal. Such a document is subject to a two-level assessment (sufficient/insufficient) and does not contribute to the definition of the final grade, but only constitutes a mandatory condition to access the exam. The exam consists in a test in which the examiner poses questions to the student in spoken form, covering the theoretical topics, the computational exercises and the laboratory classes presented during the course. The exam qualifies the student's autonomy and maturity in learning and critically applying the teaching content and leads to the attribution of the final score. The final score is up to 30 cum laude.