Staquet Weekly Blog - Week 9

Last week we given most of the class period to work with the K'Nex and build our 36" span bridge.  Our group also had the chance to test the bridge to get an idea for how much weight it would be able to suspend.  With spending only $297,000 in K'Nex pieces, our bridge was able to hold 35 pounds before breaking.  My group and I have decided that for this coming week we will win the bridge competition for the second time and continue our reign as the Bridge Design Masters.  As a group we were faced with an issue on deciding on a specific design, but after testing we were able to settle with what we think is the better bridge.

During this term I have learned a lot about the design of bridges as well as some of the techniques used to test these designs.  Though there are many different types of bridges, this class dealt more specifically with truss bridge design and I was able to learn about how one can be constructed.  The top pieces of the truss are called top cords while the bottom ones are referred to as bottom cords.  The inner members are usually oriented in the form of triangles for strength purposes, and are crucial to the overall strength of the entire bridge.  I also learned that truss bridges experience tension on their lower most cords, and the force of compression on the top cords; whether the bridge is an overhead design or below deck design.  I was able to learn a lot about the behavior of bridges under stress thanks to the West Point Bridge Designer, which then aided in the design of my group's K'Nex bridges.  The combination of this program and the K'Nex bridges showed me a lot of different aspects that a truss bridge must be able to withstand when undergoing the force of a load.  One of the main things I learned from this class that designing a bridge is not an easy process, and that it requires a lot of thinking about anything and everything a fully constructed bridge will be faced with.  Most importantly I learned that bridges are in no way intended to fail to ensure the safety of anyone on or around it; Meaning a real bridge will be checked, double checked, tested, and re-tested, and  looked over by multiple engineers until it is perfect in all aspects of its design.