CE331,Summer2013 Balsawood Bridge Project 1/5

Workingwithapartner,designthelightestbridgefortheloadandspanshowninFigure1.Aspartof
thisproject,youwilldesignonebridgeperpartner,constructabridge,measuretherelevantmaterial
propertiesofthebalsawoodusedtoconstructyourbridge,testthebridgeinaloadframe,andprepare
anddeliveraqualitypresentationsummarizingyourwork.

1. Designthebridge.Yourbridgewillbetestedonauniversaltestingmachineusingtheloading
apparatusshowninFigure1.Eachteammembershoulddesignabridge(i.e.layoutmember
configurationanduseRISAandaspreadsheettodetermineoptimalmembersizes,bridgeweight
andpredictedfailureload).Boxbeambridgesarebestdesignedusingaspreadsheetandthe
strengthofmaterialsequationsforbendingandshearstresses.Useassumedmaterialproperties
foryourwood(forexamplefromtheinternet).Comparethebridgedesignfromeachteammatefor
predictedfailureload,weight,andconstructabilityandselectthebestdesigntoconstruct.
Deliverablesshouldincludesketchesofconsidereddesigns,predictedfailureloadandweight,
justificationofselecteddesign,andsketchesshowingthemembersizesandlengthsforthebridge
selectedforconstruction.
2. ConstructthebridgespecifiedinStep1.Donotconstructyourbridgeontablesinclassrooms,
computerlabs,orthestudyroom.Therearenolimitationsonsizeofmembers,lamination,ortype
ofglue.Jointreinforcementusinggussetplates,pinsoranyothermethodisencouragedsothatthe
bridgememberswillfailinthemembers(aspredicted),ratherthaninthejoints.Seethe
constructiontipsonPage3.
Yourdeliverablesarephotosoftheconstructionprocess(themorethebetter)andyourbridge.
3. Measurethematerialpropertiesofthewoodyoupurchasedtoconstructyourbridge.Perform
bendingtests(seePage4)onfourtosixpiecesofwood.Analyzethedatafromeachtestto
determinethemodulusofelasticity(E)andtheflexurestrength(Fb)ofthepiecetested.ListallE
values,indicateoutliersifnecessary,andaveragetheremainingvalues.Selectavaluefordesign,
Edesign,basedontheaverage.Repeattheprocessforflexurestrength(Fb).Updatethematerial
propertiesinyourstructuralresponsemodelandreviseyourpredictedfailureloadandbridge
weight.
Yourdeliverableswillbephotosofthetesting,rawdata,easytofollowanalysis,andresults(design
valuesforflexurestrengthFb,modulusofelasticityE,andunitweightu.w.)
4. Testyourbridgewiththehelpoftheinstructor.
Deliverablesincludethebridgeweightandfailureloadandphotosofthetestingprocess.Tryto
photographthefailedmemberresponsibleforbridgecollapseanddescribethefailuremode.
5. CreateapresentationdocumentingyourbridgeprojectasdescribedonPage5.Yourpresentation
shouldserveasaprojectreport,withdetailedinformationattheendofthepresentationinan
appendix.Saveyourpresentationusingyourlastnames(e.g.Richardson_Triche.pptx)andemailto
theinstructorbeforeyoupresent.

CE331,Summer2013 Balsawood Bridge Project 2/5

200 lb

8.5 8.5

21

8.5 8.5

21

CE331,Summer2013 Balsawood Bridge Project 3/5

TipsforBridgeConstruction
Thefollowingtipsarebasedonexperienceobservingstudentbuiltbasswoodstructures.

Keepinmindasyoudesignthatconnectionsaretypicallytheweakestpartofyourbasswood
bridge.Strongconnectionshavealotofsurfaceareaforthegluedconnection.Forexample,
theconnectionontheleftbelowcanuseonlyonegussetplatebecausethewidthsofthetwo
membersaredifferent;whereastheconnectionontherightcanusetwogussetplatesbecause
thebottommemberisrotatedflatwise.Ifthebottommemberneedstoresistbending
moment,however,thenrotatingitflatwisewilldramaticallyloweritsbendingstrength.In
somecases,itmaybebettertomakebothmembersthesamesize.

recommended
Figure2.Usinggussetplates

Anotherconstructionrecommendationistoarrangememberstotransferloadviadirect
bearing(below,right)ratherthanshearinagluedjoint(below,left).

recommended
Figure3.Transferloadviadirectbearingwhenpossible

Maximizethegluedsurfacearea:
o Ifthecutendofamemberistobeglued,makeitasflataspossiblebysawingcarefully.
Somestudentsrubtheendofthememberonapieceofsandpaperlaidonatable.
o Usegussetplatesatconnections(seeFigure2)toincreasethegluedsurfacearea.
Alignconnectionscarefullysothatyourstructureisstraightwhenfinished.Somestudents
buildajigtohelpalignconnections.
Ifbuildingtwoparallelstructures(e.g.twotrusses),makethetwostructuresassimilaras
possiblebyeitherusingthesamejigforboth,orbyconstructingthesecondstructureusing
thefirstcompletedstructureasamodel.Misalignedstructuresmaycauseyourbridgeto
twistwhenloaded,causingunevenloaddistributionandprematurefailure.
CE331,Summer2013 Balsawood Bridge Project 4/5

Usediagonalbracingineverysurfaceofyourbridge:top,bottomandbothends.Some
unevenloaddistributionisinevitableasloadingprogresses,andthebracingwillprevent
yourbridgefromdeforming,whichleadstoevenmoreunevenloaddistribution.

5to10 times.

Figure4.ProcedureformeasuringEandFbofabalsawoodpiece.

CE331,Summer2013 Balsawood Bridge Project 5/5

CreateahighqualityPowerPointpresentation.
Yourpresentationshouldprovideaninformativeandinterestingdescriptionofyourprojectto
youraudience.Sinceyourpresentationwillalsoserveasaprojectreport,informationsuchas
testresults,completedesigncalculations,etc.shouldbeplacedintheappendixofthe
presentation.GuidelinesforcreatinganeffectivetechnicalPowerPointpresentationare
providedathttp://writing.engr.psu.edu/.Theassertionevidencestructureisstrongly
recommended.Also:
Addcalculations,data,etc.asneededtoyourappendix.Youcanscanhandcalculationsand
copytheseintoyourpresentation.
Typenotesforyourpresentationasifyouwerenarrating(displayedatthebottomofthe
slide).
Putthetitleofyourprojectandyourname(s)onthefirstslide.
Practiceandtimeyourpresentation.Eachpersonshouldspeakfor5minutes(+/30
seconds).
Compressyourimagestoreducefilesizebyselectinganyimage,thenselect
Format/CompressPictures.SaveyourPowerPointfilewiththelastnamesofyourgroup,
e.g.Richardson_Smith.pptxandemailtotheinstructor.