STRCTENG 303 : Concrete Structures Design

Engineering

2025 Semester Two (1255) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Design of reinforced concrete members including beams, columns, walls, foundations. Introduction to prestressed and precast concrete design and applications. Use of the New Zealand Concrete Structures Standard, NZS 3101. Discussion of environmental and sustainability considerations when using concrete as a building material.

Course Overview

This course prepares students to design simple reinforced concrete structures by first reviewing the mechanical properties of concrete and reinforcement, followed by the theory and practical design process for typical reinforced concrete members including beam flexural design, column axial and flexural design, wall flexural design and shear design of beams, columns, and walls.

Aspects of reinforced concrete detailing are introduced, including durability requirements, reinforcement detailing, anchorage and development lengths, and drawings. Serviceability requirements and deflection calculations are taught. An introduction to precast and prestressed concrete design and application is also provided.

The course consists of lectures, a weekly tutorial, quizzes, homework, a design project, a lab, a mid-term test and a final exam. In addition you will be expected to learn from additional reading, problem solving (vital) and other work outside formal contact hours. The course is well supported by the published texts and NZS concrete and loadings standards which also provide a good source of additional problems. The online quizzes and homework are intended to test your level of understanding throughout the course.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: CIVIL 210 or STRCTENG 200 Restriction: CIVIL 313

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 5: Solution Seeking
Capability 6: Communication

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Understand load paths and load collation through concrete structures. (Capability 3.1 and 3.2)
  2. Analyse concrete members subjected to bending, axial, shear, and combined loadings. (Capability 4.1 and 4.2)
  3. Design concrete members subjected to bending, axial, shear, and combined loadings. (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2 and 5.1)
  4. Apply design standards with regard to design loadings and concrete design (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1 and 6.1)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Online Quizzes 5% Individual Coursework
Homework Assignments 5% Individual Coursework
Laboratory 5% Individual Coursework
Group Design Project 20% Group Coursework
Test 15% Individual Test
Exam 50% Individual Examination
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4
Online Quizzes
Homework Assignments
Laboratory
Group Design Project
Test
Exam

  • Students MUST sit the exam to pass the course. Otherwise a DNS (Did Not Sit) result will be returned. Students must score a minimum of 40% on the exam in order to pass the course.
  • A pass mark for this course is 50% or above.
  • Late submissions will not be accepted/allowed for the exam, tests, and online quizzes. It is possible to submit late for the assignments and projects, and the late submission penalty schedule will be included on the course Canvas page.

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 3 hours of lectures, a 1 hour tutorial, 2 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 4 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation. There are also two labs over the semester.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

  • Attendance is expected at scheduled activities including tutorials to complete components of the course.
  • Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including tutorials will not be available as recordings.
  • The course will not include live online events.
  • Attendance on campus is required for the test and exam.
  • The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

This course runs to the University semester timetable and all the associated completion dates and deadlines will apply.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

This course requires students to use the New Zealand design standards for loadings and concrete. Specific standards which are required are: NZS 1170.0, NZS 1170.1, NZS 3101. All of these standards can be freely downloaded from the Standards New Zealand website.

In addition to the NZS standards, this course has a course book.

Health & Safety

Students are expected to adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Health and Safety section of the Engineering Undergraduate Handbook.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

  • In previous years the course has not included a lab. Feedback strongly indicated students would like some level of hands-on learning, so this year we are introducing a beam lab.
  • Students requested that the course books in the first half and second half of the course be merged. This work is underway.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework, tests and examinations as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.