Bend and Break

In this intensive minor you come to grips with structures used in civil construction and infrastructure. You will learn about the specific properties and potential applications of both new and recycled building materials. Examples include concrete, glass, plaster, cement, steel, asphalt, the dynamic interaction between train and rails and the failure mechanics of thin-walled structures. You will work together with a group of people from different departments to come up with solutions, analyse them and then build and test them in the lab. Workshops and lectures will provide support and background information. Learning about the various specific fields will help you to put what you have learned into its context. Important goals are to learn about construction materials, acquire experimental skills, gain experience of construction disciplines and learn how to work well in a small group. These experiences can help build your self-confidence for when you later encounter construction materials and structures in civil engineering.

In Bend and Break you will learn about construction materials and how to design and analyse civil engineering structures. You will build and test your own test pieces. You will experience for yourself whether your design and materials behave just as you expected, or show unpredictable behaviour. This is the kind of experience you need in making responsible decisions concerning civil engineering designs, and to be able to make a more considered choice from among the new or recycled construction materials available.

Lectures, workshops, and practical work (supervised or independent) in computer rooms and laboratory.

Assessment: Exact details will be announced by the responsible teacher during the first lecture and on Brightspace. At least 20% of the final grade must be related to individual assessment of the theory.

Check the detailed overview of courses, learning activities and study load at https://www.studyguide.tudelft.nl/

Registration for this thematic minor is on a first-come, first-served basis and available places. (No lottery draw).

For whom?

• BSc Students from Leiden and Erasmus with preknowledge of Mechanica and materials

• BSc students TU Delft: Bk, CT, IO, LR, MT, TA, TN, Wb, EE, TI

• BSc students TU/e and Utwente

Student at Leiden University, TU Delft or Erasmus University Rotterdam?
Check the eligibility matrix to see if your bachelor’s degree programme offers access to this and other minors at https://www.tudelft.nl/minor

Student at another educational institution?
External students cannot register via EduXchange. Interested in this minor, read the whole registration procedure at https://www.tudelft.nl/minor

For information about the courses, visit the TU Delft study guide.
For additional information on this minor, visit the TU Delft minor page.