Universitat Internacional de Catalunya

Physics

Physics
9
7976
1
Second semester
FB
Propedeutic Introductory Module
Physics
Main language of instruction: English

Other languages of instruction: Catalan, Spanish

Teaching staff


Dr. CASARIEGO VALES, Pedro - pcasariego@uic.es

 

Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10:00 to 11:00, by appointment via the respective professor's email:

 

a) Classical Mechanics:

 

 

b) Installations:


Introduction

  • Mandatory subject corresponding to the Propaedeutic Module.
  • 1st Year Degree in ARCHITECTURE
  • 2nd Semester
  • 9 ECTS credits.
  • Responsible Professor: Dr. Pedro Casariego Vales
  • Professors: Dr. Pedro Casariego Vales, Juan Ignacio Eskubi, Roberto Aparicio, Ravil Gizatulin, Amaya Arizmendi,

The Physics course is divided into two parts: Classical Mechanics and Installations. Classical Mechanics, which falls under Classical Physics or Newtonian Physics, focuses on analyzing the behavior of bodies subjected to a system of forces. Installations focus on the analysis of Optics and Fluids, which are also branches of Classical Physics. The course lasts 15 weeks. During the first 11 weeks (80% of classes), Classical Mechanics is taught. The remaining 4 weeks cover Installations (20% of classes).

  1. Classical Mechanics This part introduces students to Statics, which studies the behavior of rigid bodies subjected to balanced forces, i.e., bodies that are at rest or in uniform rectilinear motion. Statics is a theory typically presented in the first year of Architecture and Engineering degrees, as many practical problems in building structures can be analyzed using its principles. It is important to understand that Statics is fundamental for correctly tackling the structural subjects taught in higher courses.

  2. Installations This part introduces students to the basic principles of optics, fluids, and heat transfer, which are essential for training in the field of architecture. First, the concepts of physics are explained. Second, they are applied to basic problems in architecture. Architects, given the scope of their profession, will have to deal with installations in any building throughout their careers. Therefore, to understand how installations such as ventilation, electricity, thermal comfort, and sanitation work, it is essential to understand the basic concepts of each. To internalize the theoretical concepts, a series of exercises related to installations in architecture are carried out, such as sizing air renewal ducts, distributing water pressure in a dwelling, calculating the number of lights needed in a space, etc.

 

Pre-course requirements

It is recommended to have a clear understanding of the basic concepts of physics and mathematics taught in high school and to have passed the mathematics subject taught in the first semester of the first year of architecture.

 

Objectives

  • Acquire the basic principles of Statics.
  • Fluently analyze the static equilibrium of a system of forces.
  • Correctly handle and apply the principles of the vector field.
  • Correctly obtain the internal force diagrams of isostatic planar structures.
  • Understand the geometry of masses and apply its principles.
  • Fluently handle the elementary concepts of Fluid Mechanics, Optics, and thermal transmittance and comfort.
  • Develop analytical-reflective capacity and adequately assess the information surrounding a practical problem.

 

Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme

  • 12-T - Ability to conceive, calculate, design, integrate in buildings and urban complexes and execute building structures
  • 15-T - Ability to conceive, calculate, design, integrate in buildings and urban complexes and execute foundation solutions
  • 17 - Ability to apply building and technical standards
  • 24 - To acquire adequate knowledge of the mechanics of solids, continuous medium and soil as well as the plastic, elasticity and resistance properties of materials for structural works

Learning outcomes of the subject

  • Ability to fluently handle the basic principles of Statics: a) Understand the principles of the vector field, b) Analyze force systems, c) Determine internal force diagrams of isostatic structures, d) Fluently handle the principles of Mass Geometry.
  • Ability to broadly predimension installations related to air renewal, enclosure transmittance, minimum lighting requirements, and the number of lights needed in a specific area.
  • Ability to broadly predimension the machinery needed to supply thermal comfort in a building and the necessary electrical power.

 

Syllabus

A) CLASSICAL MECHANICS. 11 WEEKS

TOPIC 1. INTRODUCTION

  1. Introduction to mechanics.
  2. Historical background.
  3. Newton's laws.
  4. Fundamental and derived quantities.
  5. Units of Measurement.
  6. International System of Measurements.
  7. Dimensional considerations.

TOPIC 2. VECTOR FIELD

  1. Introduction.
  2. Scalar and Vector Quantities.
  3. Types of vectors.
  4. Rectangular components of a vector.
  5. Vector operations: a) Vector addition, b) Vector subtraction, c) Scalar multiplication, d) Dot product and its properties, e) Cross product and its properties, f) Triple scalar product and its properties.

TOPIC 3. FORCES AND FORCE SYSTEMS

  1. Introduction.
  2. Forces and their characteristics: a) Force systems, b) Principle of Transmissibility.
  3. Concurrent Force System.
  4. Moment of a force. Characteristics. Vector representation of a moment.
  5. Varignon's theorem.
  6. Force couples and their characteristics.
  7. Decomposition of a force: Force and Moment.
  8. Equivalent Force Systems.
  9. Points of intersection between the line of action of a force and the coordinate axes.

TOPIC 4. EQUILIBRIUM OF RIGID BODIES

  1. Equilibrium of rigid bodies.
  2. Idealization of supports. Boundary conditions.
  3. Degree of statical indeterminacy of a Structure.

TOPIC 5. INTERNAL FORCES IN STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

  1. Internal forces. Introduction.
  2. Components of internal forces: a) Axial, Shear, Bending, and Torsion, b) Positive and negative stresses. Meaning, c) International sign criterion, d) Cuts, e) Determination of internal forces, f) Isostatic Structures: beams and frames.
  3. Summary.

TOPIC 6. GEOMETRY OF MASSES

  1. Introduction.
  2. Center of Gravity. Definition and location.
  3. Center of Mass.
  4. Centroid.
  5. Summary: Center of Gravity, Center of Mass, and Centroid.
  6. Second Moment of an Area or Moment of Inertia.
  7. Parallel Axis Theorem or Steiner's Theorem.
  8. Moments of Inertia of composite pieces.

TOPIC 7. STRUCTURES WORKING IN AXIAL

  1. Introduction: a) Trussed Structures, b) Work form, c) Supports, and d) Loads.
  2. Types of trusses.
  3. Calculation methods: Joint Method, Ritter, and Cremona.
  4. Spatial Trusses.

B) INSTALLATIONS. 4 WEEKS

TOPIC 8. THERMAL TRANSMITTANCE

  1. Heat transfer in steady-state.
  2. Heat transfer in dynamic state.
  3. Numerical methods for heat transfer.
  4. Thermal bridges.
  5. Thermal comfort.
  6. Psychrometric chart.

TOPIC 9. FLUID MECHANICS

  1. Density, pressure, and velocity of a fluid. Pascal's law.
  2. Buoyant forces and Archimedes' principle.
  3. Fluid dynamics.
  4. Streamlines.
  5. Bernoulli's equation.
  6. Venturi tube.

TOPIC 10. OPTICS, ELECTRICITY, AND LIGHTING

  1. Electricity.
  2. Charges.
  3. Distribution.
  4. Lighting.

 

Teaching and learning activities

In person



Classes are held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11.15h to 14.15h.

  • Tuesdays: Lectures interspersed with participative classes where exercises are conducted. The corresponding syllabus is posted on UIC Moodle after the class. Solved exercises related to the topics explained in class are also posted on Moodle.
  • Wednesdays: These are fully practical classes where students will have to solve exercises autonomously based on the theoretical and participative classes previously taught. 

The practicals are submitted at the end of the class and are graded. After the practical is submitted, the statement and its solution are posted on Moodle. 

The above methodology allows students to follow the classes, as what appears on Moodle is the point where the subject is at in real time. Additionally, students have all the material on Moodle: 

a) Theoretical classes (syllabus), 

b) Solved practical exercises, 

c) Practicals submitted on Wednesdays and their solutions.

TRAINING ACTIVITYCOMPETENCESECTS CREDITS
Class exhibition
07 08 09 11 2
Class participation
07 08 09 11 0,5
Clase practice
07 08 09 11 2
Individual or group study
07 08 09 11 4,5

Evaluation systems and criteria

In person



Final Grade for the Physics Course: The total grade for the course corresponds to 80% for the Mechanics part and 20% for the Installations part.

  • Classical Mechanics: Represents 80% of the final grade.
  • Installations: Represents 20% of the final grade. 
  • FINAL GRADE: 0.8 x Mechanics Grade + 0.2 x Installations Grade.

a) Evaluation of the Classical Mechanics Part

a.1) Passing Through Coursework: 

On the last day of classes for the Classical Mechanics part, there will be an exam, and the evaluation for this part will be conducted as follows:

  • Practical exercises conducted in class on Wednesdays: 15% of the grade.
  • Exam: 100% of the grade.

This means the total exam grade is combined with 15% of the grade obtained from the 9 practical exercises conducted in class on Wednesdays. Students with a score of 10 in both practical exercises and the exam will receive Honors.

Students who did not attend practical exercises without a valid reason and wish to take the exam through coursework can do so. In this case, the exam grade must be at least 6.5. A lower grade will result in failing the coursework, and the student will need to attend the 1st or 2nd exam session to pass the course.

Repeating students must complete the practical exercises without exception to pass the course through coursework.

a.2) Passing in 1st and 2nd Call

  • Exam: A minimum score of 5 is required to pass the Classical Mechanics part. The practical exercises conducted in class will not be considered for the final grade.

b) Evaluation of the Installations Part:

b.1) Passing Through Coursework: 

Among the practical sessions, two of them are partial exams. The grade for the installations part will correspond to the average of these two exams.

b.2) Passing in 1st and 2nd Exam Sessions:

  • Exam: A minimum score of 5 is required to pass the Installations part. The practical exercises conducted in class will not be considered for the final grade.

Considerations in the Evaluation of the Course:

  1. A no-show in any part (Mechanics or Installations) results in failing the entire course.
  2. A score below 4 in the Mechanics part, regardless of the final average being above 5, results in directly failing the course, and the maximum grade recorded will be a 4.
  3. The minimum grade to pass the Mechanics part is 5. The minimum grade in this part to average with Installations is 4.
  4. The minimum grade to pass the Installations part is 5. The minimum grade in this part to average with Mechanics is 4.
  5. Students who have followed the course can retake the failed parts in the 1st and 2nd exam sessions.
  6. The final grade to pass the Physics course is 5, averaged between the two parts.

 

Bibliography and resources

Compulsory bibliography:

Ingeniería mecánica. Estática. William F. Ryley, Leroy D. Sturges. Editorial Reverté, S.A.

Beer, Ferdinand Pierre; Johnston, E.Russell; Eisenberg, Elliot R.. Mecánica Vectorial para Ingenieros: Estática. 9a ed. Madrid: McGraw-Hill, 2010.

Estática. Problemas resueltos. Herrero Arnaiz; Rodríguez Cano. Editorial Reverté.

Mecánica para ingenieros. Estática. Das, Kassimali, E. Editorial Limusa.

Física, curso teórico práctico de fundamentos físicos de la ingeniería. Galvez, López, Llopis, Rubio. Editorial Tebar Flores.

Supplementary bibliography:

Beer, Ferdinand Pierre; Johnston, E. Russell; DeWolf John T.. Mechanics of materials.  New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2006.  

Análisis Vectorial y una introducción al análisis tensorial. Teoría y problemas. Murray R. Spiegel. Editorial McGraw-Hill. 

Física. Vol. I. Mecánica. Marcelo Alonso, Edward J. Finn. Ediciones Aguilar S.A. (Versión en espanñol de Carlos Hernandez Victor de Latorre). 

Lecciones de Algebra y Geometría. Curso para estudiantes de Arquitectura. C.Alsina, E. Trillas. Editorial Gustavo Gili, S.A. 

Curso de Matemáticas para ingenieros, físicos y químicos. E. Vidal Abascal. Editorial Dossat, S.A. 

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