This week in Structures and Material Sciences my classmate, Chris Tosti, has been working on the frame of his bridge. The triangle that makes up the interior of his bridge frame, as seen below, was originally going to be an arch. Chris thinks that this triangular shape will provide his bridge with more structural support. He is building four identical frame pieces and plans to finish these frames in the next couple of days. Today Chris built a bridge deck that the weight will sit on during testing. His next step is to attach the four frame pieces to the bridge deck. His construction schedule is on track and Chris plans to be finished with his bridge in the next couple of days.
I (Steph Strouse) have designed my bridge to extend down from the bridge deck as seen in the picture below. Although this is not a conventional bridge, I believe it will be able to hold a significant amount of weight. This week I am working to combine the sides, front and back of my balsa wood bridge. It has been difficult combining these pieces because the glue does not dry quickly. I found a solution to this problem by using masking tape to hold the joints together while the glue dries. Because my bridge is fairly large and needs as much support as possible, I plan on spending the remaining days of construction adding more structural support to the middle of my bridge.
-Steph
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