Building Resilient Structures: The Science and Technology of Earthquake Engineering

By the end of this module, you will better be able to:  

• Identify the social, economic, political and environmental impacts of earthquake events (and their influence on seismic resilience), and critically appreciate your own professional role in dealing with these  
• Classify different types of structures, explain how they are designed to survive earthquakes, and understand how structural damage is assessed/managed in the aftermath of earthquakes  
• Construct a low-cost earthquake shaking table and utilize it to study/improve the behaviour of simple structures made using common materials
• Apply fundamental concepts of structural dynamics to the design of a small-scale structural model, render drawings using drafting software, develop physical 3D prints of the structural model and perform tests using an earthquake shaking table  
• Develop and apply your critical thinking, data analysis, and communication skills, through team-work, public engagement, problem-solving, logical decision-making and data collection/evaluation  

• Structural dynamics activity using mobile devices (20%)   
• Multimedia report on 3D printed model testing (40%)  
• Poster reflective piece or scientific outreach (30%)  
• Participation in structural stories, admit tickets, and 2- minute drills (10%, formative)  

• Requirements: It is compulsory to take an I-Explore module during your degree (you’ll take an I-Explore module in either your 2nd or 3rd year, depending on your department). You are expected to attend all classes and undertake approximately 105 hours of independent study in total during the module. Independent study includes for example reading and preparation for classes, researching and writing coursework assignments, project work and preparing for other assessments
• I-Explore modules are worth 5 ECTS credit towards your degree; to receive these you will have to pass the module. The numerical mark that you obtain will not be included in the calculation of your final degree result, but it will appear on your transcript
• This module is designed as an undergraduate Level 6 course
• This module is offered by the Department of Computing