RECCS 2012 World Championship in Spaghetti Bridge Building RULES

MATERIAL - pasta: commercially available or homemade pasta, made solely of wheat flour and eggs. - adhesive: any appropriate glue can be applied. The usage is restricted to element bindings at the joints. Strengthening the pasta by glue coating or gluing together the neighboring parallel threads is prohibited. - loading platform: an M8 eye bolt, placed in the 9 mm, centrally drilled bore of a 100 x 50 x 10 mm laminated wooden plate. The eye bolt fastening to wooden plate is realized by an M8 nut, and a washer. The plate must not be altered in any way (neither by boring), and it is to be glued only at the places joining the pasta threads. The loading platform is to be positioned under the pathway (see below), in the middle of the bridge. DIMENSIONS (Figure 1) - distance between the highest (top) and the lowest (bottom) point must not exceed 600 mm - the bottom point must not be lower than 100 mm of the level defined by the points of the supports - the distance between the inner edges of the supports is 1000 mm, therefore the bridge has to be longer to bridge this gap, but no longer than 1300 mm, and less than 130 mm in width. - the total weight of the bridge (including the loading platform with M8 nut and the washer) must not exceed the limit of 1000 g.

Figure 1 Dimensions of the spaghetti bridge and the place of the loading element

PATHWAY(Figure 2). - the bridge must include a 50 mm wide pathway, stretching continuously between its two ends. - no longitudinal gaps are allowed. - it has to be within the distance closer than 50 mm to the level defined by the supports - a prismatic body of 50x50 mm2 in cross-section, and 100 mm in length must be able to be transported through the bridge, along the pathway.

Figure 2 The position of the pathway on the bridge

HANDING IN THE BRIGDE - checking the weight criteria of the bridge - checking the dimension criteria - ocular inspection of gluing. - checking the pathway function. The builder of the particular bridge must be able to push a prismatic body described above by a stick to the middle of the bridge. This is to be carried out separately from both ends of the bridge. - any failure in meeting of above conditions draws disqualification. After the breaking, the bridge will be inspected by the jury to rule out any inside irregularity of the structure. APPLYING THE LOAD - Supports can be used for holding vertical load forces only. Horizontal support of the bridge is not acceptable. See Figure 3.

Figure 3 Proper usage of supports

the load is applied to the bridge through the loading platform and it is vertical in direction the load is being increased continuously, until the bridge is broken. the (vertical and constant) movement speed of the loading platform during the process of load is 50 mm/min

Budapest, 16. January 2012.

Dr. Sndor Horvth dean

Dr. Lszl Legeza deputy department head