Notes From Class
Notes From Class
Week 2: February 2, 4 and 6, 2026.
In-person Instruction: February 2, 4, and 6
Case Study:
Jakarta is home to 10.9 million people and the capital city of Indonesia.
It is also the fastest sinking city in the world (sinking 10 inches per year in places).
Google: Jakarta sinking
Sinking Cities within US:
New Orleans, 2 inches per year;
Houston, 0.8 inches per year;
Virginia Beach, 12 inches in the past 50 years;
Miami, 12 inches in the past 100 years.
Week 3: February 9, 11, and 13, 2026.
In-person Instruction: February 9, 11 and 13.
Week 4: February 16, 18, and 20, 2026.
In-person Instruction: February 16 and 18.
In-person Review/Homework Assistance: February 20.
Handout: Types of Trusses
Example: Method of Joints .
Example: Method of Sections .
Handout: Analysis of Statically Determinate Structures
Handout: Truss Analysis Tutorial
Week 5: February 23, 25, and 27, 2026.
In-person Instruction: Feb. 25 and 27.
In-person Review/Homework Assistance: February 27.
Part I: Introduction to Python (pdf).
Part II: Python Data (pdf).
Part III: Object-Oriented Development (pdf).
Week 6: March 2, 4 and 6, 2026.
In-person Instruction: March 2 and 4.
Homework Assistance: March 6.
Week 7: March 9, 11, and 13, 2026.
In-person Instruction: March 9.
Solutions to recent Midterm 1 exams in 12 hr format:
Spring 2024 (pdf), Fall 2024 (pdf), Fall 2025 (pdf).
Three questions covering computation of indeterminacy, support reactions,
bending moment diagrams, tensile and compressive element-level forces.
NOTE: You have 12 hrs to complete and return the exam.
Please make sure your name and e-mail are clearly written on the first page.
Open book and open notes. University rules on academic integrity apply.
Good luck!
Instructions for Submitting Midterm I: See details on ENCE353 home page.
NOTE ON EXAM DATE:
I am proposing March 11 for Midterm I, but I realize there
might be conflicts with religious commitments.
So please let me know and we adjust accordingly.
Week 8: March 16, 18 and 20, 2026.
Week 9: March 23, 25, and 27, 2026.
In-person Instruction: March 23 and 25.
Homework Assistance: March 27.
Change of topic: for the next two weeks we will cover analysis of arch
structures followed by analysis of cable structures.
See, in particular, the notes and video on parabolic arches -- definitely the coolest part of this course --
and links (below) to recently developed projects.
Rough timeline:
There is a nice write-up of the history and development of the arch on Wikipedia.
The principal architect, Eero Saarinen, also designed the terminal building at Washington Dulles Airport.
Timeline:
Looking beyond the Washington DC region, arch bridges are definitely in vogue, e.g.,
Week 10: March 30. April 1 and 3, 2026.
In-person Instruction: March 30 and April 1.
In-person Review/Homework Session: April 3.
As noted above, architect Eero Saarinen worked on the design of Dulles Airport during the 1950s, some 20-odd
years after completing the St. Louis Arch. You can see the influences of his previous work
in the shape of the cantilever supports.
What's really amazing is that this structure was designed without the aid of modern computational analysis
tools (i.e., no Matlab), relying instead on "first principles of engineering" (equilibrium)
and the construction of small-scale models.
See, in particular, slides 12-15 and 22-24 of this
handout .
Slide 24 shows that foundation level of the structure essentially acts as a huge deep beam,
with tensile forces at the lower-most sections of the ground slab carried by reinforcing/prestressed cables.
Week 11: April 6, 8, and 10, 2026.
In-person Instruction: April 6, 8 and 10.
Week 12: April 13, 15 and 17, 2026.
In-person Instruction: April 13 and 15.
In-person Review/Homework Session: April 17.
Just read Section 6.1 to see the connection between
energy methods (specifically kinetic and potential energy) and
the derivation of equations of motion from applications in physics.
Week 13: April 20, 22 and 24, 2026.
In-person Midterm Review: April 20.
In-person Homework Session: April 24.
Three questions covering moment area, cables and arches.
NOTE: You have 12 hrs to complete and return the exam (9am to 9pm).
Please make sure your name and e-mail are clearly written on the first page.
Open book and open notes. University rules on academic integrity apply.
Instructions for Submitting Midterm II: See details on ENCE353 home page.
Week 14: April 27 and 29. May 1, 2026.
In-person Instruction: April 27 and 29.
In-person Homework Assistance: May 1.
Week 16: May 4, 6 and 8, 2026.
In-person Instruction: May 4 and 6, 2026.
Homework Assistance/Review Session: May 8.
Recent Final Exams: Fall 2024 (pdf), Fall 2025 (pdf).
Week 17: May 11-14, 2026.
FINAL EXAM:
NOTE: You have 24 hrs to complete and return the exam.
Please make sure your name is clearly written on the first page.
Open book and open notes. University rules on academic integrity apply.
Four questions: Question 1 is compulsory. Do two of the remaining three questions.
Topics include: Moment area, virtual forces, virtual displacements, force method
and analysis of elastic beams.
Cross out the question that you do not want marked.
Submitting the Final Exam: See details on ENCE353 home page.
Last Modified: May 14, 2026,
Copyright © 2026, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland.
