UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

Department of Civil Engineering

College Park Campus

ENCE 302 ? Probability and Statistics for Civil Engineers

Required Simulation Project

Problem Statement

Teams of two or three are required to investigate the stress at the extreme fibers of a steel beam as given by

s =Mc/I < f(y)

where s = computed stress, c = distance from the neutral axis to the extreme fibers, M = applied moment on a section due to external loads, I = centroidal moment of inertia of the cross section, and f_y = yield stress. The variables c, M, I, and f_y are called basic random variables. The probabilistic characteristics of these variables are

Random Variable	Mean	Coefficient of Variation	Distribution Type
c	10	0.05	Normal
M	3000	0.30	Lognormal
I	1000	0.08	Normal
fy	50	0.15	Lognormal

1. Determine the probabilistic characteristics of s

2. Compute the yield stress exceedence probability.

3. Perform parametric analysis

4. Develop additional items of your own creation
5. Prepare a report

Report

Professional presentation of the project report is required that should consist of neat and organized solutions on one side of 8.5? x 11? papers. Computer-generated plots and printouts are required for all sample, and summary calculations. The report should include

Title Page, Executive Summary, and Table of Contents

Problem Description

Objectives

Methodology

Simulation Data

Probabilistic Characteristics of s

Yield stress Exceedence Probability

Parametric Analysis

Confidence Intervals

Additional Items

Conclusions

References and Appendices

Also, teams are required to setup a web page with all project details and report, and related links. The project is due on the last day of classes.