Xio Stafford
1) We initially knew our bridge wouldn’t carry very much weight because with our design we were aiming to be lightweight over being the strongest. We tried to use the least amount of material to execute our design. We actually initially estimated for it to hold about 5 kilograms (we don't have much faith in ourselves) so when it held more we were pleasantly surprised.
2) We predicted that our bridge would break in the middle of the truss where the A frame was and more than 2 sticks met with each other. We thought this because it would be difficult to join the sticks together with glue and make a strong joint.
3) Our bridge in the end was able to hold 11.7934 kg. It broke at the left side of the truss. It was one of the sticks that attached to the bracing on the arch instead of the arch itself. That is why it broke, it wasn’t able to absorb the full strength the arch gave to the bridge.
4) I liked how our bridge had a very different design. We decided to incorporate a lesser known truss design, which was the fink truss. We added our own spin on it which added to the originality of the design. I also liked how we were the only group to incorporate an arch.
5) I didn’t like how the end result was not clean. This was not because of the design, it was because of the way the building was executed. Unfortunately our group was not that skilled at bridge building. It was very hard for us to make precise cuts for the individual pieces of wood. That was our downfall.
6) I thought that building the arch would be the hardest part to build, mainly because we were unsure of the best way to go about bending the stick, whether to soak it or not. We predicted that we would end up having to go through a lot of sticks because they would break. That ended up not being the case.
7) In the end the most difficult part was making the one inch truss for the road deck. It was very hard for us to cut the triangles exactly so in the end our triangles were different heights which made it hard for us to make the plank touch all of the triangles to get the maximum amount of strength.
8) If we could do this again I would choose a more simple truss,like a howe truss. Even though our fink truss was more unique it was very difficult to actually build. I feel that if we had a more simple design we would be able to better execute the building in the allotted amount of time.
9) I feel like the road deck would have been the first to break because everything would have hopefully been stronger because we would have a simpler design so we would be able to spend more time on perfecting it.
2) We predicted that our bridge would break in the middle of the truss where the A frame was and more than 2 sticks met with each other. We thought this because it would be difficult to join the sticks together with glue and make a strong joint.
3) Our bridge in the end was able to hold 11.7934 kg. It broke at the left side of the truss. It was one of the sticks that attached to the bracing on the arch instead of the arch itself. That is why it broke, it wasn’t able to absorb the full strength the arch gave to the bridge.
4) I liked how our bridge had a very different design. We decided to incorporate a lesser known truss design, which was the fink truss. We added our own spin on it which added to the originality of the design. I also liked how we were the only group to incorporate an arch.
5) I didn’t like how the end result was not clean. This was not because of the design, it was because of the way the building was executed. Unfortunately our group was not that skilled at bridge building. It was very hard for us to make precise cuts for the individual pieces of wood. That was our downfall.
6) I thought that building the arch would be the hardest part to build, mainly because we were unsure of the best way to go about bending the stick, whether to soak it or not. We predicted that we would end up having to go through a lot of sticks because they would break. That ended up not being the case.
7) In the end the most difficult part was making the one inch truss for the road deck. It was very hard for us to cut the triangles exactly so in the end our triangles were different heights which made it hard for us to make the plank touch all of the triangles to get the maximum amount of strength.
8) If we could do this again I would choose a more simple truss,like a howe truss. Even though our fink truss was more unique it was very difficult to actually build. I feel that if we had a more simple design we would be able to better execute the building in the allotted amount of time.
9) I feel like the road deck would have been the first to break because everything would have hopefully been stronger because we would have a simpler design so we would be able to spend more time on perfecting it.
Marleen DeLeon
Marcella Marquez
1) I originally thought my bridge would carry about 5 kgs.. I didn't think my bridge would hold a lot of weight because: Ryan (the engineer) told us that our bridge would probably not hold a lot (so we tried to make our bridge have a light weight by using less materials), because some members of our fink truss were not attached to the arch, and because some members of our road deck truss were not attached to the top plank.
2) I thought my bridge would break near the "A" structure on the fink truss because that was the point where several members were suppose to come together. However, we did not cut our members, we made them cross each other instead.
3) My bridge broke at 11.79 kg. It first broke at one of the fink members that was closest to the edge of the arch. I think it broke at this member because it was one which we did not manage to glue to the arch, and had to glue to the top bracing instead. Gluing it to the top bracing probably made it be a bit angled and therefore less resistant.
4) What I liked about my bridge was that it had an arch (even though it was lopsided), and that it was a fink truss. These two aspects made our bridge different from the other truss.
5) What I disliked about my bridge was that the trusses were not connected/glued correctly, and that the arch turned out to be lopsided.
6) I thought that the hardest part of building my bridge would be to make the arch and specifically to double up the arch (put two sticks on each side).
7) What was actually most difficult part to build was the road deck truss. We did not give ourselves enough time, and did not have the patience to, build all the triangles in the same way. Therefore, we ended up with different sized triangles and ultimately with a truss that did not always touch the road deck.
8) If I were to do this project again I would definitively be more precise when making the triangles (so that they will all be the same size), and make sure that the arch is not lopsided.
9) If our road deck truss and our fink truss were perfect I think what would break would be the gussets. Specifically the gussets that would be on the "A" frame because that is where a lot of members come together.
2) I thought my bridge would break near the "A" structure on the fink truss because that was the point where several members were suppose to come together. However, we did not cut our members, we made them cross each other instead.
3) My bridge broke at 11.79 kg. It first broke at one of the fink members that was closest to the edge of the arch. I think it broke at this member because it was one which we did not manage to glue to the arch, and had to glue to the top bracing instead. Gluing it to the top bracing probably made it be a bit angled and therefore less resistant.
4) What I liked about my bridge was that it had an arch (even though it was lopsided), and that it was a fink truss. These two aspects made our bridge different from the other truss.
5) What I disliked about my bridge was that the trusses were not connected/glued correctly, and that the arch turned out to be lopsided.
6) I thought that the hardest part of building my bridge would be to make the arch and specifically to double up the arch (put two sticks on each side).
7) What was actually most difficult part to build was the road deck truss. We did not give ourselves enough time, and did not have the patience to, build all the triangles in the same way. Therefore, we ended up with different sized triangles and ultimately with a truss that did not always touch the road deck.
8) If I were to do this project again I would definitively be more precise when making the triangles (so that they will all be the same size), and make sure that the arch is not lopsided.
9) If our road deck truss and our fink truss were perfect I think what would break would be the gussets. Specifically the gussets that would be on the "A" frame because that is where a lot of members come together.