Bridge Project - Test Day

The final test day for the bridge project was today. We came in first! Our bridge held a maximum of 721.57 lbs and weighed only 240 grams. The main part that failed first was the supports that the bridge rests on when sitting in the metal test box, as seen in the following picture:

This is our test data. The second peak of the graph is when the bottom part of the bridge hit a small ridge on the box and was re-supported.

This is the aftermath:

Bridge Project - Day 8

We put the finishing touches on our final design today. We shortened the width of the bridge, and reinforced the supports connecting the two outer edgers of the bridge.

Bridge Project - Day 7

Today we continued constructing our final bridge. In addition to building our bridge, we also built an airplane. The airplane is so fast it was difficult to capture, but we managed to get this shot.

Also, here is our final bridge. The design is the same so far, what will change is the supports connecting these pieces.

Bridge Project - Day 6

We reinforced our prototype and conducted more stress tests to see which components would fail first so we could strengthen the weaknesses in our bridge. After, we began constructing the components of our final bridge using wood glue.

Bridge Project - Prototype Testing

We tested our prototype today. The first point of failure for our prototype was the platform at the top of our bridge. It held about 310 lbs before the platform started to buckle.

Bridge Project - Day 5

We finished our bridge prototype today.

Bridge Project - Day 4

We continued building our bridge prototype.

Bridge Project - Day 3

Today, we continued building our prototype and created another copy of our plan for the other side of the bridge.

Bridge Project - Day 2

Today we decided to expand our initial design into a full-scale prototype. Then we measured the length required of our bridge to fit within the project constraints. It turned out to be 16 inches.

Our full-scale prototype isn't completed, but began to take shape by the end of class...

Bridge Project - Day 1

Today we started on our bridge project. We ran compression and buckle tests on our components. The tests we ran focused on measuring the compression and tension strengths of the hot glue joints connecting two tongue depressors. We found that the compression strength is weaker than the tension strength for the joints. However, the measurements might not be correct due to uneven gluing. After we were finished with the measurements, we began designing our bridge and proceeded to make a simple prototype (shown).

Extra reinforced tower

Surpass the allowed limit for materials, and you get this.

Even Better Spaghetti Water Tower

Although it was very hard to do, we somehow managed to make an even better water tower. It's made out of corn spaghetti (which is much weaker than normal spaghetti) and uses duct tape to hold the joints together. Also, the water tower holds a fair amount of water. Amazingly, even more than our original tower.

Spaghetti Water Tower

Our spaghetti water tower project was a resounding success. It exceeded our expectations by holding more than twice the required weight of 2.5 ounces. Our design consisted of 4 bundles of spaghetti. Each bundle was created by taping 5 strands of spaghetti together at the two ends and middle.