Project Team
Students
Tobey Field
Civil Engineering
Penn State Lehigh Valley
Mary Wilson
Mechanical Engineering
Penn State University Park
Fouad Awwad
Mechanical Engineering
Penn State Lehigh Valley
Ethan Davies
Civil Engineering
Penn State Lehigh Valley
Faculty Mentors
Tracey Carbonetto
Penn State Lehigh Valley
Engineering Division
Ryan Solnosky
Penn State University Park
Architectural Engineering
Project
https://sites.psu.edu/mcreu/files/formidable/2/MCREU-2022-Poster-Image.pdf
Project Video
Project Abstract
To ensure the safety and efficiency of beam-based systems, engineers must perform accurate calculations to understand how support reactions coupled with forces affect stresses. Doing this allows designers to determine whether the generated stresses meet designated criteria or if they fall into overstressing for safety concerns or under stressed for inefficiency. Along with this analysis, engineers consider real-world sustainable solutions intended to reduce carbon emissions and reduce a carbon footprint. Freely available open-source analysis tools that calculate reactions and stresses, are readily available results, yet they do not account for overhand loads, optimized beam shapes, and embodied carbon tracking. To create a resource that includes enhanced functionality, the team built a code in MATLAB Software and utilized data from the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) database to guide the user by requesting inputs for the shape of the beam, quantity of supports, and dimensions of the member. The program can evaluate the beam in sections and then outputs the most sustainable, economical, and suitable beam that fits the user’s needs. With this calculator posted as a free online open-source, engineers and engineering students can access a tool that easily finds the output reactions, stresses, diagrams, and greenhouse gas emissions for any project application. The program can further be enhanced with the use of iteration and extensive input files that will ultimately lead to an optimized solution.
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