Tina Milz
1) Our bridge did not break. Our bridge held 167lbs and then the “s” rings that held the weights onto the bridge bent and the weights fell onto the ground. After watching the video the class decided that our bridge deflected two inches, this technically meant that it “broke” because if it was a real life bridge made for cars, it would be rendered unusable. In the end the only damage to our bridge was a cracked road deck, and a broken string.
2) I thought that it would carry around 100lbs because of the nature of a cable stayed bridge. In theory each of the cables would have held 30lbs, and we had 5 cables on each side. I thought that 600lbs (30x20) would be way too much weight.
3) I thought that the bridge would break at the pink lines on the picture below. I thought this because I from my research this is where they should break (in theory). The weight was applied to the middle of the bridge so the back stays (which were anchored to the outsides of the bridge) would take the brunt of the force because the tension is transferred throughout the cable.
2) I thought that it would carry around 100lbs because of the nature of a cable stayed bridge. In theory each of the cables would have held 30lbs, and we had 5 cables on each side. I thought that 600lbs (30x20) would be way too much weight.
3) I thought that the bridge would break at the pink lines on the picture below. I thought this because I from my research this is where they should break (in theory). The weight was applied to the middle of the bridge so the back stays (which were anchored to the outsides of the bridge) would take the brunt of the force because the tension is transferred throughout the cable.
4) Our bridge never broke, but it did deflect two inches at 168lbs.
5) It didn’t break but one of the cables snapped. We investigated the snap but we didn’t come to any plausible conclusions to why it broke.
6) We don’t know why it broke when it did, even after extensive investigation on the breaks.
7) I liked that our bridge was pink, and it slayed everyone else’s bridges. I also like that I proved myself wrong because I thought that my abilities to build a successful bridge were totally non-existent.
8) I disliked the fact that it was so physically and emotionally straining to build! The process of building was very very stressful.
9) I thought constructing the bridge would be easy, but the thought behind the engineering concepts would be difficult. I also assumed that solving problems that we encountered during construction would be difficult.
10) The most difficult part of actually building the bridge was solving problems as we went along, because of the limited time that we were allotted.
11) Looking back, I would have researched model bridges more for ideas.
12) If we made any changes I assume that nothing would really change. It would be a super bridge if we did more work on it because even our initial bridge didn’t break!
5) It didn’t break but one of the cables snapped. We investigated the snap but we didn’t come to any plausible conclusions to why it broke.
6) We don’t know why it broke when it did, even after extensive investigation on the breaks.
7) I liked that our bridge was pink, and it slayed everyone else’s bridges. I also like that I proved myself wrong because I thought that my abilities to build a successful bridge were totally non-existent.
8) I disliked the fact that it was so physically and emotionally straining to build! The process of building was very very stressful.
9) I thought constructing the bridge would be easy, but the thought behind the engineering concepts would be difficult. I also assumed that solving problems that we encountered during construction would be difficult.
10) The most difficult part of actually building the bridge was solving problems as we went along, because of the limited time that we were allotted.
11) Looking back, I would have researched model bridges more for ideas.
12) If we made any changes I assume that nothing would really change. It would be a super bridge if we did more work on it because even our initial bridge didn’t break!
Kyle Gainey
1) My bridge didn’t end up breaking, so I think the reason it didn’t break was due to the strength of our cables. We tensioned our wires really well on our bridge, and this made the middle of our road deck stronger. During the process of our bridge building I noticed a big difference between our bridge pre-tensioned, and after tensioning. You could see the middle of the road deck arching a bit due to the tension of the cables and the amount of extra support it provided.
2) I thought my bridge would break from the towers and then the cables would fail. During construction I saw that the ribs we put in between the towers were being put under a lot of pressure due the tensioning of the cables. When the weight was applied I thought they would give out because the stacked wood wouldn’t be able to take that much weight. However, I was proved wrong because they held up well under the pressure that was applied. I think this happened because we evenly applied our cables to our bridge so when the weight was being applied, it was being applied to all of the cables and not just one in particular. This allowed the ribs to get a little less pressure which lead to them surviving.
3) Our bridge started to make clicking noise when the weight being applied was roughly 140 pounds. I thought it was going to go down after that, but it held up even after being pushed down on with a stick. After applying another 28 pounds the rig ended up breaking first before our bridge did, which was pretty amazing. Our bridge took all the pressure and it bounced right back in its original place after the rig fell to the ground. Pretty amazing if you ask me.
3) What I liked about my bridge was that it stuck with our groups original sketch up design pretty well. Some groups took their bridge in a totally different direction from what they put on sketch up, but our group followed our design really well, which enabled us to have an unbroken bridge. A big thing that we changed was the thickness of our towers, and that was solely due to a lack of supplies and trying to stay under our budget. We also didn’t apply as many cables as we had on our design. I thought this would be an issue because our type of bridge is so dependent on our cables, but since we tensioned them so nicely it all worked out at the end. I also liked our bridge because it was aesthetically pleasing as well for our peers to enjoy.
4) I really didn’t dislike anything about my bridge because everything was executed so well, and as a group we worked efficiently. Maybe the one thing I disliked was that we didn’t finish all of our cables, but even then that wasn’t a big deal. In comparison to other cable bridges, we had a lot of cables then they did, so I don’t believe it was all that much of a big deal. All in all, I really don’t have any complaints.
5) The most difficult part about making our bridge was dealing with the wires to create our cables. Everything else before that was fairly simple, and had its tough moments. However, constructing the cables properly was something that was hard throughout. The biggest reason it was so difficult was because we needed to find a way to tension our cables because without doing that they weren’t really making all bridge all that much strong. This process alone took a whole day and a half to complete, and we dedicated the whole time to completing as many cables as possible to give our bridge the best chance of surviving.
6) The main thing I wouldn’t changed was making our ribs stronger because during the tensioning process they were put under a lot of strain. Some of the ribs were even starting to crack before any weight was applied because of the cables and the amount of tension needed in order to make them strong. I would’ve doubled the wood we used for the ribs we knew that would be under the most amount of pressure. I’m still shocked that none of the ribs on our bridge didn’t fail.
7) If we made this change it would’ve just made our bridge stronger as a whole. With the ribs being the main concern, reinforcing that issue would have just benefitted our group. The cables held up well, and our towers didn’t buckle under the pressure that was applied. The ribs were a big weak point and making them stronger was something that we should’ve maybe done, but it still worked out in the end.
2) I thought my bridge would break from the towers and then the cables would fail. During construction I saw that the ribs we put in between the towers were being put under a lot of pressure due the tensioning of the cables. When the weight was applied I thought they would give out because the stacked wood wouldn’t be able to take that much weight. However, I was proved wrong because they held up well under the pressure that was applied. I think this happened because we evenly applied our cables to our bridge so when the weight was being applied, it was being applied to all of the cables and not just one in particular. This allowed the ribs to get a little less pressure which lead to them surviving.
3) Our bridge started to make clicking noise when the weight being applied was roughly 140 pounds. I thought it was going to go down after that, but it held up even after being pushed down on with a stick. After applying another 28 pounds the rig ended up breaking first before our bridge did, which was pretty amazing. Our bridge took all the pressure and it bounced right back in its original place after the rig fell to the ground. Pretty amazing if you ask me.
3) What I liked about my bridge was that it stuck with our groups original sketch up design pretty well. Some groups took their bridge in a totally different direction from what they put on sketch up, but our group followed our design really well, which enabled us to have an unbroken bridge. A big thing that we changed was the thickness of our towers, and that was solely due to a lack of supplies and trying to stay under our budget. We also didn’t apply as many cables as we had on our design. I thought this would be an issue because our type of bridge is so dependent on our cables, but since we tensioned them so nicely it all worked out at the end. I also liked our bridge because it was aesthetically pleasing as well for our peers to enjoy.
4) I really didn’t dislike anything about my bridge because everything was executed so well, and as a group we worked efficiently. Maybe the one thing I disliked was that we didn’t finish all of our cables, but even then that wasn’t a big deal. In comparison to other cable bridges, we had a lot of cables then they did, so I don’t believe it was all that much of a big deal. All in all, I really don’t have any complaints.
5) The most difficult part about making our bridge was dealing with the wires to create our cables. Everything else before that was fairly simple, and had its tough moments. However, constructing the cables properly was something that was hard throughout. The biggest reason it was so difficult was because we needed to find a way to tension our cables because without doing that they weren’t really making all bridge all that much strong. This process alone took a whole day and a half to complete, and we dedicated the whole time to completing as many cables as possible to give our bridge the best chance of surviving.
6) The main thing I wouldn’t changed was making our ribs stronger because during the tensioning process they were put under a lot of strain. Some of the ribs were even starting to crack before any weight was applied because of the cables and the amount of tension needed in order to make them strong. I would’ve doubled the wood we used for the ribs we knew that would be under the most amount of pressure. I’m still shocked that none of the ribs on our bridge didn’t fail.
7) If we made this change it would’ve just made our bridge stronger as a whole. With the ribs being the main concern, reinforcing that issue would have just benefitted our group. The cables held up well, and our towers didn’t buckle under the pressure that was applied. The ribs were a big weak point and making them stronger was something that we should’ve maybe done, but it still worked out in the end.
Blake Ferguson
1) I initially thought that my bridge could hold 100 pounds because my road deck consisted of two sheets of plywood and had many fishing line cables which combined I thought would hold a lot of weight.
2) I thought the towers of my bridge would break because of all the tension in the the cables.
3) My bridge was unbreakable.
4) It cracked a bit on the bottom.
5) It was way too strong to break.
6) I like how my bridge looked with all of the cables and I liked how it looked exactly like my sketchup.
7) I didn't like how my cables were anchored to my bridge because it looked sloppy.
8) I thought that the most difficult part of building would be tensioning the cables.
9) The most difficult part was drilling slanted holes in my rig.
10) If I were to do this again, I would have less cables on my bridge.
11) I think it still wouldn't have broken even if I had made those changes.
2) I thought the towers of my bridge would break because of all the tension in the the cables.
3) My bridge was unbreakable.
4) It cracked a bit on the bottom.
5) It was way too strong to break.
6) I like how my bridge looked with all of the cables and I liked how it looked exactly like my sketchup.
7) I didn't like how my cables were anchored to my bridge because it looked sloppy.
8) I thought that the most difficult part of building would be tensioning the cables.
9) The most difficult part was drilling slanted holes in my rig.
10) If I were to do this again, I would have less cables on my bridge.
11) I think it still wouldn't have broken even if I had made those changes.