An object‐oriented approach toward two‐dimensional engineering mechanics

Abstract

AbstractThe present work proposes an object‐oriented approach for the solution of problems in two‐dimensional engineering mechanics. New classes (in the terminology of object‐oriented programming) are proposed and implemented in the popular programming language ‘Python.’ These classes, along with the symbolic computation module of Python ‘sympy,’ enable one to reduce the solution of a large class of problems in undergraduate engineering mechanics to a set of Python statements. These statements are definitions of objects as instances of the proposed classes and calling of their relevant methods. If the thought process in the manual solution is represented by a flowchart, the present work can be viewed as a flowchart translator. As all the calculations are automatically performed, the present work relieves the student from the burden and fear of lengthy calculations. Different diagrammatic representations of velocity, acceleration, shear force, and bending moments are included for better physical understanding. It is believed that the proposed simple implementation would make problem‐solving and the learning process more enjoyable. Apart from a standard PC, the proposed work runs on a single‐board computer (tested in raspberry pi 4) and on an Android mobile device. A student feedback study ascertains the acceptability of the proposed method.