Problem 2.4.

1 Structural Design
Introduction
Structural engineering is the design of structural
elements and their connections that work together to
support loads and maintain stability within a system.
Structures vary by application and can range in
scale from complex bridge designs to massproduced cell phone enclosures. Regardless of the
structures scale or purpose, all structures are
designed to meet specific design criteria, including
operational environment, durability, aesthetics,
internal and external load handling, and cost. To
ensure that the optimal structural design is achieved
engineers with diverse backgrounds (e.g., material
science, statics, etc.) work together throughout the
design process. To aid engineers in the development
of complex structural design, computer-aided design
packages are used for design analysis and
verification.

Equipment

Engineering notebook

Research sources

Computer loaded with West Point Bridge Designer software

Procedure
Your team will design and create a bridge utilizing West Point Bridge Designer
software. West Point Bridge Designer is a simplified and scaled down computeraided design tool developed by Colonel Stephen Ressler, Department of Civil and
Mechanical Engineering, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York. The software
will allow you to apply engineering design, material science, and statics to the design
of a truss bridge carrying a two-lane highway that spans a riverbed.
Design Constraints

Minimization of Cost (Design success will be evaluated based upon structural

stability and overall costdecrease the cost and improve the design.)
Bridge Configuration
o The bridge may cross the valley at any elevation from high water level to
24 meters above high water level.
o If the elevation of the bridge deck is below 24 meters, excavation of the
riverbanks will be required to achieve the correct highway elevation.
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o To provide clearance for overhead power lines, the highest point on the
bridge may not exceed an elevation 32.5 meters above the high water
level (8.5 meters above the top of the riverbanks).
o The bridge substructure may consist of either standard abutments (simple
supports) or arch abutments (arch supports). If necessary, the bridge may
also use one intermediate pier, located near the center of the valley. If
necessary, the bridge may also use cable anchorages, located 8 meters
behind one or both abutments.
o Each main truss can have no more than 50 joints and no more than 120
members.
o The bridge will have a flat, reinforced concrete deck. Two types of
concrete are available:
Medium-strength concrete requires a deck thickness of 23
centimeters (0.23 meter).
High-strength concrete requires a deck thickness of 15 centimeters
(0.15 meter).
In either case, the deck will be supported by transverse floor beams
spaced at 4-meter intervals. To accommodate these floor beams,
your structural model must have a row of joints spaced 4 meters
apart at the level of the deck. These joints are created automatically
within West Point Bridge Designer.
o The bridge deck will be 10 meters wide, such that it can accommodate two
lanes of traffic.
Member Properties
o MaterialsEach member of the truss will be made of either carbon steel;
high-strength, low-alloy steel; or quenched and tempered steel.
o Cross SectionsThe members of the truss can be either solid bars or
hollow tubes. Both types of cross sections are square.
o Member SizeBoth cross sections are available in a variety of standard
sizes.
The bridge must be capable of safely carrying the following loads:
o Weight of the reinforced concrete deck.
o Weight of a 5-cm thick asphalt wearing surface, which might be applied at
some time in the future.
o Weight of the steel floor beams and supplemental bracing members
(assumed to be 12.0 kN applied at each deck-level joint).
o Weight of the main trusses.
o Either of two possible truck loadings:
1. Weight of one standard H25 truck loading per lane, including
appropriate allowance for the dynamic effects of the moving load.
Since the bridge carries two lanes of traffic, each main truss must
safely carry one H25 vehicle, placed anywhere along the length of
the deck.
2. Weight of a single 480 kN Permit Loading, including appropriate
allowance for the dynamic effects of the moving load. Since the
Permit Loading is assumed to be centered laterally, each main
truss must safely carry one-half of the total vehicle weight, placed
anywhere along the length of the deck.
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The bridge will comply with the structural safety provisions of the 1994 LRFD
AASHTO Bridge Design Specification (Load and Resistance Factor Design), to
include:
o Material densities
o Load combinations
o Tensile strength of members
o Compressive strength of members

Cost Calculations
The cost of the design will be calculated using the following cost factors:
Material Cost:
o Carbon steel bars$3.78 per kilogram
o Carbon steel tubes$6.30 per kilogram
o High-strength steel bars$4.62 per kilogram
o High-strength steel tubes$7.03 per kilogram
o Quenched and tempered steel bars$5.70 per kilogram
o Quenched and tempered steel tubes$7.95 per kilogram
o Connection cost$300.00 per joint
o Product cost$1000.00 per product
Site Cost:
o Reinforced concrete deck (medium strength)$4,850 per 4-meter panel
o Reinforced concrete deck (high strength)$5,500 per 4-meter panel
o Excavation$1.00 per cubic meter (see the Site Design Wizard for
excavation volume)
o Supports (abutments and pier)cost varies (see the Site Design Wizard
for specific values)
o Cable Anchorages$6,000 per anchorage
Explore West Point Bridge Designer Software
1. Launch
West Point
Bridge Designer
Application.
2. Select
Create a New
Bridge Design.
Select OK.

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3. Read the
design
requirements
overview.
Select Next.

4. Under local
contest code,
select No.
Select Next.

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5. Explore and
investigate the
impact of deck
elevation and
support
configurations
related to the
Site Cost by
completing the
deck elevation,
arch abutment,
pier, and cable
anchorages cost
impact tables.

Deck
Elevation
24 meters
20 meters
16 meters
12 meters
8 meters
4 meters
0 meters

Deck Elevation Cost Impact

Abutments
Pier
Cable
Anchorages
Standard
No Pier
No
Standard
No Pier
No
Standard
No Pier
No
Standard
No Pier
No
Standard
No Pier
No
Standard
No Pier
No
Standard
No Pier
No

Deck
Elevation
24 meters
24 meters
24 meters
24 meters
24 meters
24 meters

Arch Abutment Cost Impact

Arch
Pier
Cable
Abutments
Anchorages
24 meters
No Pier
No
20 meters
No Pier
No
16 meters
No Pier
No
12 meters
No Pier
No
8 meters
No Pier
No
4 meters
No Pier
No

Deck
Elevation
24 meters
24 meters
24 meters
24 meters

Pier Cost Impact

Abutments
Pier
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard

24 meters
20 meters
16 meters
12 meters

Cable
Anchorages
No
No
No
No

Site Cost
$62,700
$77,400
$88,400
$100,700
$110 ,400
$123,700
$134,000

Site Cost
$89,700
$83,500
$81,800
$80,800
$83,300
$80,200

Site Cost
$104,000
$101,200
$98,400
$95,600

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24 meters
24 meters
24 meters

Deck
Elevation
24 meters
24 meters
24 meters
6.

Standard
Standard
Standard

8 meters
4 meters
0 meters

No
No
No

Cable Anchorages Cost Impact

Abutments
Pier
Cable
Anchorages
Standard
No Pier
None
Standard
No Pier
One
Standard
No Pier
Two

$92,800
$90,000
$87,200

Site Cost
$62,700
$65,700
$68,700

Select:

Deck Elevation: 24 meters

Support Configuration: Standard Abutments
No Pier
No Cable Anchorages
Note that total site cost should be $67,350.00.
Select Next.

7. Explore and investigate the impact of deck material and truck loading
configurations related to the Site Cost by completing the deck material and truck
loading cost impact tables.

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Deck Material and Truck Loading Cost Impact

Deck Material
Loading
Medium-Strength
Standard 25kN
Medium-Strength
480 kN Permit
Loading
8.
High-Strength
Standard 25kN
l
High-Strength
480 kN Permit
:
Loading
Deck Material: Medium Strength

Site Cost
$68,700
$68,700
$73,100
$73,100

Se
ect

Loading: Standard 225kN Truck

Select Next.

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9.

Under Select a Template, select none.

Select Next.

10. Type your engineering team name into the Designed By field.
Type Exploring into the Project ID field.
Select Finish.

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11. Explore the design window.

12. Explore the toolbars.

13. Investigate specific member properties.

Select the Member Properties Report icon.

14. The Member Properties window provides you with detailed information related to
the currently selected member. Notice that the material type, cross section type, and
cross section size relate to the selected material in the toolbar. If you change the
member properties within the toolbar, the Member Properties Report will also change.
Investigate the different member properties by completing the member Material
selection comparison, member Cross Section Type comparison and member Cross
Section Size comparison.

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Material
Carbon
Steel

Cross
Section
Type
Solid Bar

HighStrength

Solid Bar

Quench
ed

Solid Bar

Material
Carbon
Steel
Carbon
Steel

Material

Member Material Selection Comparison

Cross
Yield
Modulus
Mass
Section
Stress
of
Density
Size
Elasticity
160 mm
250000 2.00E+8k 7850kg
kN per
N per sq per cubic
sq. meter
meter
meter
160 mm 34500kN 2.00E+8k 7850kg
per sq
N per sq per cubic
meter
meter
meter
160 mm
485000 2.00E+8k 7850kg
kN per
N per sq per cubic
sq meter
meter
meter

Member Cross Section Type Comparison

Cross
Cross
Yield
Modulus
Mass
Section Section
Stress
of
Density
Type
Size
Elasticity
Solid
160
250000 2.00E+8k 7850kg
Bar
mm
kN per
N per sq per cubic
sq.
meter
meter
meter
Hollow
160
250000 2.00E+8k 7850kg
Tube
mm
kN per
N per sq per cubic
sq.
meter
meter
meter

Carbon
Steel

Cross
Section
Type
Solid
Bar

Carbon
Steel

Solid
Bar

Carbon
Steel

Solid
Bar

Carbon
Steel

Solid
Bar

Member Cross Section Size Comparison

Cross
Yield
Modulus
Mass
Section
Stress
of
Density
Size
Elasticity
30 mm 250000 2.00E+8k 7850kg
kN per
N per sq per cubic
sq.
meter
meter
meter
160 mm 250000 2.00E+8k 7850kg
kN per
N per sq per cubic
sq.
meter
meter
meter
360 mm 250000 2.00E+8k 7850kg
kN per
N per sq per cubic
sq.
meter
meter
meter
500 mm 250000 2.00E+8k 7850kg
kN per
N per sq per cubic
sq.
meter
meter

Moment
of Inertia

Cost per
Meter

5.46E-5
meters^4

$864.13

5.46E-5
meters^4

$1125.38

5.46E-5
meters^4

$1205.76

Moment
of Inertia

Cost per
Meter

5.46E-5
meters^4

$864.13

1.88E-5
meters^4

$240.55

Moment
of Inertia

Cost per
Meter

6.75E-8
meters^4

$30.38

5.46E-5
meters^4

$864.13

1.40E-3
meters^4

$4374.65

5.21E-3
meters^4

$8438.75

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meter

15. Specify carbon steel, solid

bar, 100mm. Select the Joint
design tool and create a
series of joints above the
bridge road deck.

16. Select the Member draw

tool and draw members
between each joint.

17. After your bridge design is

complete, select the load test
icon from the toolbar.

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18. A simulated load test will

play for your bridge design.
Notice as the truck (load)
goes over the bridge, member
forces can be seen by the
change of color in each
member.

19. Examine the forces within

each truss member by
expanding the member list
located on the right side of the
screen. This detailed list will
allow you to optimize your
design. A completely
optimized design will have
member compression and
tension reading < 1. When the
member reaches 1, it will fail.
20. Spend time optimizing your current truss design by altering material properties.
When complete save your design as Exploring.
Begin Your Own Design
Utilizing West Point Bridge Design Software and the engineering design process, create
the lowest cost possible bridge design that meets all design constraints. When you have
completed your final design, register your design team for the official West Point Bridge
Design Challenge and upload your teams design at http://bridgecontest.usma.edu
Documentation Deliverables (Written or multimedia format)

Title Page: Include the title of the project, a picture of your final bridge design
and team members, team member names, course title, name of your school, and
the date.
Design Brief: Include a description of the problem and constraints.
Research Summary: Summarize your research related to material selection and
bridge truss design. The research summary should be less than one page.
Brainstorming Sketches/CAD Designs: Include copies or originals of your
teams brainstorming sketches and CAD designs.
Modification Sketches: Include copies or originals of all major modifications.
Final Bridge Design: Include copies or originals of the final design, including the
following reports: load test results report, member property reports for all member
styles used, and cost calculations report.
Final Design Justification: Include justification for material selection and truss
configuration.
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References: Use APA format to list all sources that were used to complete this
activity.

Conclusion Questions
1 How does the type and direction of stress applied affect the selection of the
material type and the cross-sectional area?
The more beams you put into the design the cross sectional area increases and
the stress is put unto the weakest beam and so on.
21. How can the forces of compression and tension work together to make a
stronger bridge?
Compressing in areas and tension in others. An example is when a bridge that
has a beam that has too much tension and is about to break, you can put a beam
that compresses and balances out tension and compression.

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