1. Unit 2: Engineering Design Process
Foundations of Technology
Unit 2: Engineering Design Process
Lesson 1: Engineering Design Process
Structural Efficiency

2. The Big Idea
Big Idea:
The Engineering Design Process is a systematic, iterative problem-solving method that produces solutions
to meet human needs and wants.

3. Who’s Stronger
Who’s stronger, the elephant or the ant?

4. Who’s Stronger
Asian elephants are often employed to lift thousands of pounds of timber for logging efforts.
Yet, an ant is much stronger pound for pound.
An ant can easily lift many times its own body weight due to their small size which creates a greater cross sectional muscle mass
An ant is a more efficient worker

5. What is Efficiency?
Efficiency is a ratio of your output versus your input.
Efficiency is the ratio of the resources developed versus the resource supplied.
Basically, efficiency measures the extent to which your device is functioning in the best possible manner.

6. Structural Efficiency
In structural engineering
efficiency is measured as
the weight being supported
divided by the weight of the
supporting structure.

7. Crane Boom Efficiency For our crane boom:
Efficiency = the breaking weight
the weight of the crane boom
The units must be the same!
They will cancel out!
Efficiency is a unit-less number (a ratio)