This project, which is a collaboration of Northwestern, Norwich and Purdue Universities, is creating a web-based interactive version of the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) sculpture to provide an effective learning opportunity and 24-7 access to students and educators in the United States and abroad. The AISC sculpture is a physical system that shows forty-eight types of connections found in standard construction practices. Because it is eight feet tall and weighs nearly 2500 pounds, students do not always have easy access to it. Moreover, today's students are more comfortable with web-based learning tools. The virtual sculpture shows close up view of each connection with descriptions of how it may be used, potential failure modes, sample calculations and field examples. In addition, to help students visualize the three-dimensional (3-D) nature of the stresses in each connection, 3-D finite element models are being created. The interactive tool is being designed to allow other educators and practicing engineers to contribute to the database of design calculations and field examples. Improving student understanding of steel connections is important because they play important roles in the integrity of structures; many structural failures are attributed to connection failures including the failures of the Hartford Civic Center in 1977, the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City in 1980, and the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis in 2007.
Steel connections play important roles in the integrity of a structure, and many structural failures are attributed to connection failures. Connections are the glue that holds a structure together. The failures of the Hartford Civic Center in 1977, the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City in 1980, and the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis in 2007 are attributed to connection failures. A good connection design requires engineer to have a good understanding of the mechanics and steel behavior. The engineer also should know the fabricator’s limitations and experience. In the past 30 years, in order to help students better understand various connection types; many schools (over 130) have acquired steel sculptures. A steel sculpture is a physical system that shows different types of connections found in standard construction practices. Unfortunately, because of its size and location (eight feet tall, weighs nearly 2500 pounds and usually erected outdoor), students do not always have easy access to it. Moreover, today’s students who belong to the Google generation are more comfortable with web-based learning tools. A 3D interactive virtual steel sculpture created in this project provides not only an effective learning opportunity but also a 24-7 access to students, educators, and engineers in the United States and abroad. The Virtual Steel Sculpture gives the users the freedom to rotate or pan the sculpture to view it from any direction. The user may also isolate any one of the connections for a closer view and learn more about that given connection including: description of the connection, potential failure modes, sample calculations of the connection capacity, field examples, and a visual display of stress distribution in the connection area. A web page http://faculty.mnsu.edu/saeedmoaveni/ was developed where users can download the Sculpture and all the linked documents. Illustration of the Sculpture have been presented at engineering education workshop and conferences and shared with colleagues in the United States and abroad. Articles were prepared and submitted to Journal of STEM Education for review. Additional demonstrations of the Sculpture are planned for steel design instructor workshop and 2016 annual steel conference. The creation of the Virtual Sculpture required the collaboration among universities and students from different engineering programs. The solid model of the Sculpture was developed using Creo and converted to a 3D interactive PDF file to avoid the need for purchasing special software by the users. To display the stress distribution in the connection area, creative modeling of the members and fasteners in the connection using finite element models is necessary. Collecting field examples for each connection posed significant challenges as clients tend to be reluctant to show their unfinished projects to the public due to potential liability. The sample calculations provided a true learning process for the students and engineers as there are many connection situations that one may not encounter all the time. Learning assessment of this Sculpture was conducted by a researcher in learning and teaching using hands-on activities. A class of steel design students participated in the assessment process. There was a distinct different in performance between the group of students who learned a simple connection design using textbook and those learned from the Sculpture. Most of the students learned from the Sculpture assembled the connection correctly while none learned from the textbook did. A set of digital quizzes was developed and is available on the Sculpture website to help educators assess their students' learning. The broader impact of this learning tool – the Virtual Sculpture – is to allow other educators and engineers to contribute to the database of design calculations (according to other design specigications such as the EuroCodes) and field examples. The results are better teachers, better-educated students, better-prepared engineers, and better communication with affiliated personnel.
