Mechanical Engineering Laboratories—their design, equipment and use: 13 A STRENGTH OF MATERIALS TEACHING LABORATORY

Many Strength of Materials teaching laboratories seem to be out of touch with the requirements of the modern mechanical engineering student. Interest in new materials, often for use under extreme conditions of temperature and varying load, is growing rapidly but the subjects of fatigue, creep and brittle fracture receive scant attention in many laboratory courses. Similarly, few courses make effective use of the great advances made in recent years in the techniques of experimental stress analysis. This article considers some of the factors involved in the design of a Strength of Materials laboratory to meet modern needs.