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Elissa Hoss, Stephen Henderson, Trang Nguyen 3 December 2013 Dr.

Bagley UNST 121A Bridge Documentation For this project our group explored the limits and strengths of different styles of bridges. We were working under the assumption of a bid for a bridge commissioned by Bridgetown, USA. Throughout the process of the project we learned how to build a bridge through a practical example, then we moved on to our own designs. Before our final design we conducted testing to determine the strongest materials and decided what specific members we wished to use. After testing we submitted a memo with our results to the city. We then moved on to the design process of our final bridge. Each of our individual designs were compared in a Pugh matrix to evaluate for the best design. Once the final design was decided upon we began the building process using member sizes determined in our earlier testing. All of these steps brought us to a better understanding of bridge design and construction bearing in mind the overall safety factors. Our practical example of a bridge was built using an existing design, accompanied by specific steps for overall construction. We learned how to, and how not to properly build members for our bridge, as well as the best methods of assembly. Through both construction and testing, we were able to see which points would need the most attention to detail in later designs. The results of our testing proved that the methods outlined by the example would hold at least 15 pounds.

The group drafted and submitted a memo detailing results of member strength testing. This data directed our decisions in what members to use for our final bridge. The memo is attached at the end of this document for reference. The individual team members split up to create some alternate designs of different bridges. We evaluated our designs against five criteria, and then chose our final design based on which design had the overall best Pugh matrix score.

Criteria Safety: 1 Bridge twists or bends dramatically when tested. 10 Bridge is solid during testing. Cost: 1 More than $800,000. 10 Under $200,000

Individual Design

3 Aesthetics: 3 Unappealing design. 10 More beautiful than the golden gate bridge. 7 Strength: 1 50% or more members appear dark red (unstable) during testing. 8 20% or less members appear dark red. Weight: 1 More 70% solid bar members. 8 Less than 20% solid bar members. 8 Total: 29

Elissa --^

Stephen --^

Trang

Our decision for the final bridge design was based off the fact that Trangs design was the strongest on the West Point Bridge program. It did not score highest, however, because it was heavier due to the use of all solid bars. Our group did explore the options of both through truss bridges as well as deck truss bridges. The final design is a deck truss bridge, as it proved to be the strongest overall.

In the attached memo, data tables and charts show that shorter tubes and wider bars are the strongest types of bridge members. We used wider bars and medium length tubes to fit our final design specs and look. Our design called for shorter members that would create a square shape, but we ended up lengthening the members to create a more rectangular shape that would distribute weight more evenly. Design choices were based mostly on the example bridge, due to the effectiveness of its design. We used cross-bracing similar to that of the example layout, and the construction layout of our final design was also similar to the first bridge. Results of the final bridge testing were as expected, although the actual bridge could have been made slightly stronger. It successfully held 20 pounds, but it could have held more weight if we had been more experienced with the particular design and construction process. The main stress area was at a gap between the top beams along the deck. A better knowledge of deck size and matching beam length may have prevented this weakness.

Over the course of this project, our group learned many unexpected new things. Specifically, we never would have expected manila folders to be as strong as they proved themselves to be. It is clear to us now that the strength of a bridge is based more on its construction and how materials are put together than what the material actually is. In the end we learned that safety factors are much more complex and tricky to understand than expected, and are imperative in the construction of a bridge.

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