Bell Weekly Blog- Week 4

In week three, the group was given a challenge to make the cheapest, but still serviceable bridge my the end of class. We learned quite a few things about what makes the best design, the best materials, and the best diameter of the members; meaning we were able to get the members as close to their breaking point without breaking. In the coming week, the group will learn more aspects about bridges that will help us in the future have a better understanding about bridge designs. The one major accomplishment that our group had this week was building a decently cheap, yet serviceable bridge. Some issues that the team might run into could be arguing over different bridge designs.

I think that, for the most part, West Point Bridge Design is very realistic. Not only do you just connect members to pivot points, but you also change the material and thickness of the members. The program also allows you to reduce the cost as much as you can by maxing out the tension/compression values for each member for the cheapest cost.