Master of Engineering

            (Mechanical)

Assessment Instructions:

1. Please familiarise yourself with the EIT Academic Honesty and Misconduct Policy, in order to understand your requirements and responsibilities as a student of EIT.
2. Please refer to our Assessment, Moderation and Student Progress Procedure for information relating to extensions. Extension requests should be submitted to your LSO at least 3 days prior to the due date.
3. Assessments submitted via email will not be accepted.
4. Assessments must be submitted through Turn-it-in (unless otherwise stated). Your submission must:
   1. Be a single document (Word or PDF only)
   2. Include at least 20 words of machine-readable text, and
   3. Not exceed 10MB.
5. You must use the provided assessment cover page available on your Moodle student homepage. Submissions without a cover page will not be accepted.
6. You must correctly title your document/s. For example:

UNIT#_ASSESSMENT#_YOURNAME_DATE

E.g. ME501_Assessment2_SteveMackay_01Aug2019

1. You must reference all content used from other sources including course materials, slides, diagrams, etc. Do not directly copy and paste from course materials or any other resources. Refer to the referencing section of the EIT eLibrary on Moodle for referencing guides.
2. It is your responsibility to check that you have submitted the correct file, as revised submissions are not permitted after the due date and time.

Important note: Failure to adhere to the above may result in academic penalties. Please refer to the unit outline or EIT Policies and Procedures for further information.
 

Please complete your answers on the assessment cover page document available on Moodle.

Clearly label your question numbers (there is no need to copy the full question over). Include all working out.

Word count:

3,000 words excluding diagrams and references.

Task 1 (80 marks)

Today, fracture mechanics are continuously used in designs from joints on airplane wings, metal joists in buildings, car tire rims, the glass covering our smartphones, and the windshield protecting you from incoming projectiles. In conjunction with fatigue testing, understanding how an object or design will initially crack and eventually fail allows engineers to directly improve designs for both longevity of the product and system safety.

New nanoscale materials that are less likely to crack and fail, such hexagonal boron nitride, are expanding fracture mechanics beyond the macro. Developing crack-resistant materials from the atom up calls for the discovery of completely novel and world-changing materials.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deep learning models continue to improve our understanding of the core concerts of fracture mechanics while simulating how unproven materials will fracture, considerably speeding up the search for stronger materials.

Overall, fracture mechanics focuses on how cracks form and propagate. Since many mechanical failures derive from fatigue and eventually fracturing, fracture mechanics will continue to make the systems and products we use stronger and safer.

Fracture mechanics may not seem common, but it’s in everything, from safety mechanisms to large metal structures. Due to its vast use, fracture mechanics can have major consequences, like the SS Schenectady failure.
 

Source:  https://control.com/technical-articles/an-overview-of-fracture-mechanics-in-industrial-applications/

Question 1: (15 marks)

Select a real-life fracture problem in any industry either from your own industry that you are working in or from literature/history, i.e. mining, automobile, aerospace, construction etc. Give the background information and details of the fracture problem. Provide a diagram.

Question 2: (15 marks)

State the details of the findings of the fractured surface. Provide figures of the fractured surface.

Question 3: (10 marks)

Investigate and provide the metallographic details of the fractured surface.

Question 3: (25 marks)

Identify and analyse all possible root causes of the fracture problem. Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamentals and fracture mechanics understanding. Your report should contain all the required parameter data and calculations (if needed).

Question 4: (10 marks)

Recommend solutions in a logical and clear fashion to prevent or mitigate the identified damage of materials. Consider the environmental responsibilities and the need for sustainable development when searching for the solutions. Show the proof of literature search.

Format and presentation: (5 marks)

• Use of references and citations
• Format and presentation (cover page, index page, numbering, page setup, page numbers, figure numbers/titles and table numbers/titles
   

Task 2: (10 marks)

Deliver a 5-minute presentation

Important: This presentation is one of the mandatory requirements and if you don’t submit this video, your assessment marks will be zero.

The requirements are as follows:

• Prepare a PowerPoint presentation on the following topic. “Briefly explain and analyze the

fracture problem that you have discussed in the report.”

• Maximum 8 slides:
  • Slide 1: Add Title/Question + Unit Number & Name + Your Name and ID + Your Lecturer Name.
  • Slide 2: Objectives/Contents
  • Slides 3-7: Insert your answers: Solutions, Calculations, Simulation screenshots, etc.
  • Slide 8: References here in IEEE format.
• Record your 5-minutes presentation directly on PowerPoint or using Loom Video Recorder
• Introduce yourself and explain the Title/Question and Objectives briefly (1 minute)
• Start explaining your Answer/Solutions/Simulations (4 minutes)
• Paste the link of your recording within your assessment report.

Task 3: (10 marks)

What specific skills did I use during this project/task, and how did they contribute to the outcome? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you overcome them?

END OF ASSESSMENT

Marking rubric overleaf
 

Marking Rubric for Task 1

Marking Rubric for Task 2

Marking Rubric for Task 3