Abstract:

The first years of the 21st century have represented a clear advance in the Spanish legislation regarding steel constructions with the publication of the Technical Code of Building (CTE). At the same time, Spanish universities have adapted their studies to the European Space of Higher Education. This has led to a significant change regarding curricula development, both in the degree and master studies. Following these profound changes in the university and normative areas, sometimes it is not possible to teach “building execution” with sufficient depth within the subjects that include the structural calculation.

A practical seminar is proposed with the aim to expand, reinforce and complement the acquired knowledge in the above subject, facilitating the teaching of specific software, frequently used by engineering firms. Furthermore, this workshop seeks to develop the professional skills and knowledge necessary for enhanced employability.

The construction industry offers significant job opportunities in engineering. Along this line, a number of agricultural engineers frequently deal with steel structures, due to the fact that the vast majority type of structures for agro-industrial buildings are made by steel portal frames (as they provide an economical solution). Thus, the students of the Higher Technical School of Agricultural Engineering of Ciudad Real (ETSIA-UCLM) will be able to design and dimension 3D structures comprising steel bars that can be redesigned to find the building optimization.

A software interface will be defined, creating new fully-open projects and several examples of steel structures. The students are expected to develop skills by simulating a real-world design process that implies both creativity and project decision-making tasks.

Keywords:

Design, Steel structures, computer-assisted learning, CYPE 3D, agricultural engineering.