Internet-based Simulation and Virtual World for Engineering Education

Abstract

In this paper the use of an Internet-based structural simulation and a 3D virtual world to view structures for engineering education was investigated. The generic truss and frame structural simulation allows the user to construct a truss or frame structure, apply boundary conditions, and place forces to any joint over the Internet. The computational results are also visually presented. For trusses, both the displacement and member loads are displayed. Different colors are used to demonstrate the load level in each member. For frame structures, moment, shear and axial diagrams are constructed in addition to deflection curves. Finite element method is used to compute all results. Vector-based graphics are used for structure development and results presentation to reduce file size and downloading times. In addition to any general trusses or frames, a special case study of bridge construction was included in the simulation. The user can draw the bridge, analyze it, and animate a typical moving vehicle over the bridge. The user can also deposit the bridge into an Internet-based 3D virtual world, which provides a 'big picture' of the bridge. Assessment was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the simulation. The results showed that the simulation was helpful in visualizing the computational results and reinforcing the understanding of the concepts of the truss and frame structures. To develop the simulation and the virtual world, Shockwave, VRML, ASP, SQL, and Perl were utilized together and programmed so that they communicate smoothly with each other. The simulation and 3D virtual world is open to the public at www.vcity.ou.edu. The structural analysis simulation is just one component at this virtual world design web-portal.