Written Report Format
Design of a Wooden Truss
(from David Hall’s Web Page)
The report must
contain ALL
of the sections listed below. All pages must be numbered, all figures and
tables must have captions and be referred to, and the report should be computer
generated (although minor handwritten additions are allowable if it is
difficult or impossible for you to do it in a computer generated way). An
excessively long report is not desired (10 pages should be more than enough),
excluding calculations in the appendix.
Title Page The Title Page must contain the project name, the
names of the students submitting the report, the course number and section, the
course title, the instructor's name, and the date.
Executive
Summary The Executive Summary should
be a clear and concise summary of the report which briefly describes the
problem and highlights the most important conclusions. The executive summary
should be as clear, specific, and quantitative as possible. No more than 1/2 to
1 page. For example, "A fifty pound load was applied to a cantilever
beam in increments of five pounds resulting in deflections ranging from 0.05
inches to 0.5 inches. The measured deflection was linearly proportional to the
applied loading as . . . ". Be quantitative and
direct, and avoid referring to the experiments as an exercise that is required
for ENGR 220.
Design
Objectives: Introduce the design
problem and state the constraints (listing of the types and amounts of
materials permitted, span, loading location, etc), the objectives to be
achieved, and any optimizations used to achieve the objectives. This
section should include a drawing of the support system and constraints as given
on the web page and by the materials furnished. This section should take
no more than one page.
Design
Assumptions: State all
assumptions made and the theoretical principals to be used.
Material Properties: State all material properties used in the
design of the truss, and reference their source(s).
Design
Alternatives Considered: Provide
sketches of all truss alternatives considered and the reasons for rejection of
those not analyzed in detail.
Design
Calculations: Embed your
design analysis in a text based format that refers to the plots and other
figures that summarize the results of the calculations. Provide a sample
calculation for each type of calculation performed (reactions, member force,
member stress and buckling), and refer to the remaining calculations in the
Appendices. The details for all members should be included in a single
table which summarizes the calculations. The required format for the
table is given here.
This section should also include a
dimensioned sketch of the truss. The members in compression should be
colored blue, the members in tension should be colored red, and the zero force
members should be colored yellow. All joints on the truss should be
labeled with letters (A, B, C, . . .), and these
letters should correspond to the member designations used in the discussion and
in the table required above.
Predicted Failure Load: Analysis
of the failure load should be completed in this section, and the calculations
should be summarized in a table whose format is given here. The estimated failure load should be provided,
and the joint(s) or member(s) which will fail first should be identified.
You should discuss the calculations that led to your answer.
Fabrication: Discuss the fabrication methods used to build
the truss(es) with
particular emphasis on the work done joining the members.
Estimated
Cost of Design: Based on an
hourly billing rate of $60/hr for engineering services and $35/hr for
fabrication work, estimate the total cost of the truss design.
References List the references in the order used. Use a
standard format to list the references such as:
Hall, David E., "Course Notes for
Engineering 220,"
Apendices In Appendix
1, provide all calculations for the final
design done by the method of joints and/or the method of sections. Give
each appendix in numerical order (Appendix 1, Appendix 2, etc.). Lengthy
calculations, lengthy data sheets, raw data, or other supporting material is often included as an appendix to a report. This
information may be hand written.
NOTE The report must be submitted
in an engineering folder which can be obtained at the bookstore. The
report must be stapled to the back page of the folder at the upper left hand
corner. Failure to follow these guidelines will result in a deduction of
10%.