BRIDGE COMPETITION 2015

PROJECT TECHNICAL BRIEF BY PSAS 2

Design Brief
The objective of this project is to design and make a scale model of a
bridge structure. The structure is designed to counter the resulting
deflection, mainly caused by moment action from the reaction. This
design will be used in bridge building competition organized by Faculty
of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
Design Specification
The overall length of the structure is 1200mm (end to end) with a
height of 170mm and a 100mm width. The estimated weight of the
structure is 108gram. The structure will be tested with a 5kg loading
with a duration of 30 seconds and the design will distribute the load
across the twin arch structure that technically will prevent excessive
deflection of the structure.
Concept of Design
The design of this structure is inspired by the design of the Roman
bridges. As with the vault and the dome the Romans were the first to
fully realize the potential of arches for bridge construction . The Romans
built both single spans and lengthy multiple arch aqueducts, such as
the Pont du Gard and Segovia Aqueduct. Their bridges featured from
an early time onwards flood
openings in the piers, e.g. in
the Pons Fabricius in Rome
(62 BC), one of the world's
oldest major bridges still
standing.
An arch is a pure
compression form. It can
span a large area by
resolving forces into
compressive stresses and, in
turn eliminating tensile
stresses.
Entire structure will be build using balsa wood. Thread will be used to
connect the deck to the twin arch. Thread is used rather than balsa
wood to reduce the overall weight of the structure.
The Roman Bridge in Vaison-la-Romaine,
France built by the Romans about 1
century ago.

Construction
Constructing the model should be very straight forward once the
various components have been cut into size. Working on a flat surface
and the structure will be build side to side. The various joints and
support will be glued together in the correct place. Once each structure
has set, it will be glued together to become one structure. If necessary,
the structure will be pinned together through the joints.
Minor changes and modification will be done to the structure to correct
any mistakes as a finishing touches.