Bridge Building Competition
The Bridge Design project was for the Lincoln Chapter Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers Annual Bridge Building Competition. The bridge could only be made from a limited amount of bass wood strips and white glue. It also had to fit specific dimensional requirements or it would be disqualified.
The ranking and grade for the bridge was based on its efficiency. The efficiency was calculated by dividing the maximum weight held by the weight of the bridge.
The ranking and grade for the bridge was based on its efficiency. The efficiency was calculated by dividing the maximum weight held by the weight of the bridge.
For this project, I began by sketching four different designs. All of those designs were of truss bridges, with some of them being an arch shape. I wanted to make a bridge that was sturdy, but lightweight. I chose an arch-shaped design for my final bridge, and then calculated the measurements for each piece so that the bridge would be within the dimensional criteria. I made a full-size working drawing of each section of the bridge, then assembled the final product by using pins to hold each piece in place.
My take-away from this project was the importance of reinforced support. My bridge broke quickly because the supports were sparse and flimsy. The bridge itself looked aesthetically pleasing, but was very weak compared to the other bridges in the competition.
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