PROBLEM BASED LEARNING

[CLO-2, PLO-2 (C3) – Apply]

Course: Strength of Materials-I – Theory (CE-207)
Level: Second Year (4th Semester)
Session: 2022
Course Instructor: Dr. Syed Saqib Mehboob
Assignment date: Week 7 (23-02-2024)
Submission due date: Week 10 (22-03-2024)

Objective:
Utilize the fundamental principles of material mechanics to design a steel cantilever beam
that supports an outdoor sign, ensuring durability and safety under various environmental
conditions.
This designed engineering problem will illustrate the stress experiences by the material.

Your Task: Design of a Cantilever Beam for a Small Outdoor Signage

Attributes: The following attributes are tried to be incorporated as:

Sr. No. Attribute Problem Solving
1 Range of conflicting Involve wide-ranging or conflicting technical,
requirements engineering and other issues.
2 Depth of analysis Have no obvious solution and require abstract
required thinking, originality in analysis to formulate suitable
models.

Problem Statement:
A local park (in Taxila) is planning to install new informational signage (consider Figure 1
just for example to understand scenario) along its pathways. The signage will be mounted
on a steel cantilever beam, projecting horizontally to be easily visible without obstructing
the path. The beam must withstand environmental loads such as wind and its own weight
while maintaining structural integrity and safety.
 Figure 1: Example for understanding of sign board scenario.

Requirements:
Focusing on principles of stresses, strain, and mechanical properties of materials within
a real-world scenario, design a cantilever beam that meets the following requirements:

1. The cantilever beam must have a length of 3 meters to ensure

Range of conflicting requirements

visibility of the signage.

2. The beam should be designed to carry a sign weighing 100 kg

at its free end, in addition to considering the self-weight (gravity
load) and the wind load (perpendicular to the plane of sign
board) acting as a uniformly distributed load along the length of
the beam.

3. The beam must be made of structural steel with a minimum

Depth of analysis required

yield strength of 250 MPa and a modulus of elasticity of 200

GPa. Minimum cross section area of the beam 0.0225 m 2.
Cross section could be square/rectangular/circular.

4. Design the beam to limit the maximum deflection to no more than L/300,
where L is the length of the beam, to prevent excessive movement that
could damage the sign or compromise visibility.

5. Ensure the maximum stress in the beam does not exceed 60% of the
material's yield strength to provide a factor of safety against yielding.
Deliverables:
1. Detailed calculations of the stresses and strains in the beam under the worst-case
loading scenario, including the weight of the sign and wind load.
2. A design drawing showing the dimensions and material specifications of the beam.
3. An analysis of the beam's deflection under load and a check to ensure it complies
with the deflection criterion.
4. A brief report discussing the design process, including the selection of material and
dimensions, the calculation methods used, and the considerations made to ensure
the beam's safety and functionality.
The dimensions of the sign board are shown in Figure 2.

Area: 3000 mm × 1500 mm

Figure 2: Front view of sign board

Guidelines:
Be creative and have fun! Good Luck!
 RUBRIC FOR PBL EVALUATION
Course: Strength of Materials-I (4th Semester) Session 2022
Total Marks = 40 (Weightage 10%)
Obtained
Marks 0-2 3-5 6 - 10
Marks
Problem understood
Feels no or limited Comprehend and clearly
fairly but lack of
understanding of the articulate the problem statement
Problem Understanding presentation of
problem. and its requirements.
requirements.

Create an implementation plan

Randomly start the work, Logical and systematic
that outlines how the solution will
no clear approach to manner of solving
Problem-solving be executed using MS VISIO
solve the problem to get problem is
Skills based flow-chart in logical and
desired results. compromised.
systematic manner.

Necessary research is
conducted and fair Quality and depth of research
Constraints and
enough to initialize the performed by the student is good
assumptions are not
problem solution but and considered critical factors,
Research and Analysis properly considered or
final selections are not constraints, and assumptions in
simply leftover.
presented with reasons/ identification and analysis steps.
justifications

Solution not up to the Both material and cross

Developed a comprehensive,
standard. Material section selected are
realistic, and cost-effective
Solution choice fair enough but good. Lack in illustration
solution that meets the project
Design cross section has still made for representing
requirements.
margin of improvement. the final solution.