ES120
ES120 is a course which explains how materials and structures stretch, bend, twist, shake, buckle, and break. We studied the stress-strain behavior of materials, statically determinate and indeterminate structures, beam theory with applications to buckling, and more!
Team members: Kade Kelsch, Tommaso Serafin, and Alessio Pignatelli.
Task
Construct a bridge that achieves all of the following:
- Is constructed from balsa wood and/or basswood of various cross sections, string, wood glue, or hot glue
- Supports at least 10 kg of weight, as a single load in the middle of the bridge
- Deflects less than 4 cm under a 10 kg load
Truss Design
After going through multiple iterations of our bridge design, we landed on a simple truss design. We created a bridge that combined a Pratt and Howe truss design. The lower and upper side beams were made with I-beams that we created using both balsa and bass wood for added structural integrity while keeping the overall weight low. The entirety of the bridge was joined using wood glue for added strength. Our final truss supported more than 10 kg of weight while deflecting less than 4 cm.
themiawright.com 