Define a Problem
The purpose of this lab was to create a bridge that could carry a vehicle that weighed 480 lbs and that our bridge fit our budget of $400,00. The three goals for this project was to have a stable and strong bridge, for it to be under $400,000 and for it to be the cheapest bridge out of the class. Some constraints for our bridge was that it could only have 50 joints, and that the bridge had to carry 480 lbs.
Generating concepts
Construct and test a prototype
Evaluate the solution
Present a Solution
From this project i learned how important shapes can be to help support bridges Out of the shapes i researched, i learned that most civil engineers have used triangles in their bridges. The reason for this is because they can evenly distribute weight without changing their proportions. For members that undergo tension you would want materials that are capable of stretching so that they won't simply snap under all the pressure. However if it is under compression then you will want to use a material that is stronger and can resist deformation the most. However, by changing the cross sectional area the material can be stronger and can perform better in tension and compression. Tension and compression are the forces of a load that are spread out so that all the force isn't focused all on one point. If the members weren't under any force at all then the bridge would completely fail. The tension and compression forces act against each other and also help keep balance on the forces acting on the bridge so that the joints wont fail.