Week 9 - Bridge Process

As the term comes to an end, I have gained significant knowledge on the bridge designing process. One very important and interesting concept I have learned about the process is how to analyze the forces applied on the truss bridges. One method we use was called “Method of Joints” to calculate the tension and compression on each membrane. Along with the calculation done by hand, “Bridge Design” automatically computes the values, which serves as a back up for the calculations. Finding tension and compression is very essential for the design processes to make an effective bridge. According to the values, I was able to make areas of the web stronger or remove unnecessary membranes to save money.

Last week in lab we were given the majority of the time to build the three-foot spanning bridge. We had to take in consideration the new constrains, such as the inside of the bridge has to be hollow by 3 inches wide and 2 inches in height. My group had most of the bridge created before lab so all we had to do was fix it a little and test it. During the test, our bridge held 26 pounds and collapsed by twisting. For the rest of the lab we finished modifying the bridge and made it ready for this week’s lab, where the whole class is required to do the final test.