ENG 10003: Mechanics of Structures Final Project Semester 2 2021

Version 1.3 July 2021

Assessment Title: Design and Build Your Model Bridge

Due Dates: First submission: 20th September 2021 by 11:59pm AEST with peer-review feedback component to be completed no later than the 24th September (7%) Final submission: 7th November by 11:59pm AEST (33%) Total Assessment Weighting: 40% Assessment Type: Individual, with assessable peer review activity for first submission Individual or optional group of 2 for final submission Aims This project aims to further develop your understanding of the key learnings from this unit (and to exercise your brain to churn creative solutions while working from home.)

Project Learning Outcomes Students who successfully complete this project should be able to:

1. Identify an existing bridge (online) and explore the forces and/or other actions acting on the bridge and describe how the bridge maintains equilibrium and stability. Consider traffic load/ wind load or any other type of loads that you can identify. Reflect on a previous bridge failure and lessons learnt.

2. Plan and design your own bridge with materials that you can find from home – minimum clear span of 600mm. The bridge must sustain the loads for a minimum of 10 seconds. Minimum width of bridge (80mm). The total weight of your bridge should not exceed 1kg. Challenge yourself to create a bridge that can carry the heaviest load. Be as Creative with the built as you can!).

Theme of design: Heaviest load carrying, creative built

Your Tasks You have been contracted to design a bridge from materials from home (for example spaghetti, popsicle sticks, marshmallows, straws, toilet paper roll, Lego blocks or anything else that you can think of).

First submission report – mandatory Task 1: Background research (for submission in first stage and refined for final submission)

1) Research an existing bridge online. a) Describe the type of bridge, location, materials, span, member sizes, support type b) Identify type of loads acting on the bridge – direction of loads acting on the bridge

ENG 10003 Mechanics of Structures Final Project Semester 2 2021

Version 1.3 July 2021

c) Identify tension and compression members, sketch free body diagrams and describe how the bridge maintains its equilibrium

d) Identify 3 points of advantages and disadvantages for this type of bridge

2) Research on a bridge that has failed in the past a) Identify what were the causes of failure b) What are the lessons learnt? c) If you were the design engineer, what would you have done differently?

Task 2: Plan and design your own bridge (for submission in first stage and refined for final submission)

3) Do a search on Google if you need inspiration for DIY bridge (for e.g. Spaghetti bridge, straw bridge etc.)

4) Plan the design of your bridge a. explain selection of materials, b. identify how to connect pieces together, c. explain why you have chosen the shape of the bridge d. targeted span and loads that it can carry – do some trials if necessary to justify the

loads that you think your bridge can carry (Remember, your home-made bridge should have a clear span of 600mm minimum)

5) Explain how are you ensuring stability of the bridge, identify where could the bridge potentially fail, what are the perceived weak points? What are you going to do about it?

Final submission report and video – mandatory Task 3: Construct and presentation your own bridge

6) Construct your bridge, document step by step on how you have built your bridge (Remember to take a photo of you and your final bridge)

7) Identify what changes you have made since your first submission and why you have done so. 8) Provide calculations to explain the built of your bridge, to include the following:

a. Identify load path – explain how the load from midspan reach the supports b. Calculation of reactions to include point load and self-weight of your bridge c. If DIY bridge is a truss, analyse member forces near support and at mid span via

method of joint/section d. Draw bending moment and shear force diagram assuming bridge is a simple beam e. Calculate section properties of the main deck. f. Provide 3 suggestions on how you can improve the section properties to give your

bridge better performance g. Calculate stresses in main members -bending stress and transverse shear stress at

critical sections 9) Showcase your bridge in a video presentation, explaining how you have built the bridge,

video should show clearly the dimensions and weight of the bridge, the perform load test – start with a load of 1kg at midspan (hold it for 10s) and continue increasing the load (see video of how load was added incrementally in this competition). Clearly mention what is the

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