Structural Engineering & Engineering Mechanics

Structural engineering is a field of engineering that deals with the design of a structural system with the purpose of supporting and resisting various loads.  A structural engineer may be involved in the design of buildings and non-building structures including civil infrastructure such as bridges. They can also play an essential role in the design of machinery or other systems where structural integrity of the design impacts safety and reliability.

The field of engineering mechanics is the study of the response of bodies or systems of bodies to external forces. From the structural engineering perspective, these bodies are considered to be solids but mechanics encompasses a variety of different topics including: mechanics or strengths of material, deformation mechanics and the theory of elasticity, fluid mechanics and hydraulics, continuum mechanics, and discrete mechanics including finite element methods.

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Faculty

• Norb Delatte, Ph.D., P.E., M.R. Lohmann Professor and Chair

• Robert N. Emerson, Ph.D., P.E., Associate Professor

• Tyler Ley, Ph.D., P.E., Professor 

• Bruce W. Russell, Ph.D., P.E., Associate Professor

• Mohamed Soliman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor

• Paul J. Tikalsky, Ph.D., P.E., Professor and Dean

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Research Focus Areas and Sample Projects

The main areas of study include structural analysis, structural design, and theoretical and applied mechanics.

• Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology
  New Steel Connections for Seismic Retrofit and Strengthening of Bridges and Buildings
• Oklahoma Department of Transportation for the Federal Highway Administration     
  Use of a Novel Controlled Release Surface Curing Agent for Bridge Decks - Phase 2
• Oklahoma Department of Transportation for the United States Federal Highway Administration  
• Load Testing and Long-Term Monitoring of SH 4 Bridge in Canadian Co.
• OK Dept. of Trans for the Fed Highway Admin. Load Test Monitoring of I-235 Bridge Repairs
• Office of Naval Research   An Integrated Framework for Prediction of Fatigue Crack Propagation
  under Random Sea Loading Through Coupled Experimental and Numerical Analysis

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Sample Course Listing

Undergraduate Courses

•  Structural Analysis - CIVE 3413
•  Structural Steel Design - CIVE 3513
•  Reinforced Concrete Design - CIVE 3523

Graduate Courses

•  Advanced Strength of Materials - CIVE 5403
•  Advanced Reinforced Concrete Design - CIVE 5513
•  Advanced Steel Structural Design - CIVE 5523
•  Prestressed Concrete - CIVE 5533
•  Structural Dynamics - CIVE 5563
•   Timber Design - CIVE 5573
•  Concrete Materials and Mix Design - CIVE 5673