TheCantileverThroughTrussBridgeChallenge

TheRatPack

MacombMathematicsScienceTechnologyCenter
JoshuaAhearn,AbigailGonzales,andMahimaRahman
RosemarieCybulskiandGregMcMillan

TableofContents
Introduction1
Body...2
Conclusion....13
Acknowledgements..13
Bibliography.14
AppendixA:Scheduling..15
AppendixB:DailyJournal..16

Summary
Thegoalofthiscompetitionwastodesignandbuildacantileverthroughtrussbridgethat
wouldweighaslittleaspossiblewhileholdingasmuchweightaspossible.Ourteamwas
requiredtotestseveraldesignsthateachofuscameupwithforourbridgeinasoftwareprogram
calledModelSmart.Aftertestingthevariousdesignsandchoosingtheonethathadthebest
strengthtoweightratio,wecreatedadesigneddrawingofitusingBentleyPowerDraftCAD
software.Thenweproceededtoconstructthebridgeusingthematerialsprovidedtousinthe
TRACChallengeEntryKit.Thiskitconsistedofbalsawood,woodglue,andaPowerDraftCD.
Ourcompletedprototypebridge,whichweighedapproximately33.7grams,endedupholding
threetimesitsweight:3,155.3grams.Fromthis,welearnedwhatwewouldhavetodoasecond
timearoundinordertomakeourbridgestrongerandmoredurable.Thisentireprocesswas
importantbecauseitgaveusagreaterunderstandingofalltheworkthatgoesintoconstructing
somethingthatweareabletoutilizeeveryday.Inaddition,itgaveusaglimpseintowhata
possiblecareerincivilengineeringwouldbelikeandwhetherornotwewouldconsider
pursuingacareerinthatfield.


AhearnGonzalesRahman1

Introduction
Hello!WearetheRatPackandourmembersconsistofJoshuaAhearn,Abigail
Gonzales,andMahimaRahman.JoshuaAhearnisasixteenyearoldjuniorwhoattendsboth
CousinoHighSchoolandtheMacombMathematicsScienceTechnologyCenter(MMSTC).He
ismemberoftheNationalHonorsSociety(NHS)andamemberoftheStudentAdvisory
CommitteetoJimFouts,themayorofWarren,MI.Afterhighschool,heplanstoattendafour
yearuniversitywithhiseyessetonBostonUniversitytopursueapremedicaltracktoeventually
reachhisgoalofbecomingaplasticsurgeon.AbigailGonzalesisasixteenyearoldhighschool
studentatbothLakeviewHighSchoolandMMSTC.SheattendsMMSTCtobeacademically
challengedandbecauseofthegreatpeople.Someoftheextracurricularactivitiessheisinvolved
inareNHSandbothtravelandhighschoolsoccer.Shedoesnotknowexactlywhatshewantsto
doinlifeyet,butsheisconsideringthepursuitofacareerinbiology.MahimaRahmanattends
WarrenMottHighSchoolandMMSTCandisalsoamemberofNHS.Sheplanstoattendafour
yearuniversityaftershegraduateshighschoolandstudyinahealthrelatedfield.Allofourteam
membersarehardworking,conscientiousworkerswhoputtheirtimeintogettingagood
educationandcontributingtoourcommunity.WechallengeourselvesbyattendingMMSTC,a
rigorousprogramforadvancedmathandscience,whiletakinghonorsandAPclassesatour
homeschools.Takingonthechallengetobuildacantileverthroughtrussbridgewasan
interestingcollaborativeexperienceandagreatlearningopportunity.


AhearnGonzalesRahman2

Body
Background
Bridgesareclassifiedinmanyways,andthefourprimarycomponentsusedtodescribe
themaretheirspan,material,placementofthetravelsurfaceinrelationtothestructure,andtheir
form.Ofthemanytypesofbridges,thereisaspecificonecalledacantileverthroughtruss
bridge.Acantileverthroughtrussbridgeconsistsofcantileversspanswhichcanbe
constructedfromtwobeams,girders,ortrussesbutinthiscasetrusses.Somecantilever
throughtrussbridgesalsohaveasuspendedspaninthemiddleoftheothertwospansor
cantileverarmstofillinthegap.Outofmaterialssuchasstone,concrete,ormetal,cantilever
throughtrussbridgesaremadeoutofmetal.Trussbridgesandbridgesthatdonotconsistofa
simplespanareusuallyconstructedusingmetal.Inacantileverthroughtrussformofabridge,
thearchorcantilevertruss,extendsabovethedeck,orsomecasesbelowaswell.Archesthat
areactuallycantilevertrussesarecomposedofdiagonalbraces.
Inslightlymorestructuraldetail,acantileverthroughtrussbridgeiscomprisedofan
anchoredbeamwhichisconnectedtothelandononeendonly,andsupportbeamswhichare
placedinthewater.Toconnectthetwocantileverbeams,asuspendedbeamisplacedbetween
thecantileverarms,ortheouterspans.Somecantileverthroughtrussbridgeshavefour
cantileverbeams,twoofwhichareanchoredtolandandareknownastheouterspans,andtwo
whichfaceawayfromeachotherandareattachedtoafoundationinthemiddleofthebridge.
Thesecanbereferredtoasanchorarms.Suspensionbridges,orcantilevertrussesareplacedin
theremaininggapstocompletethefulllengthbridge.


AhearnGonzalesRahman3

Figure1.CantileverThroughTrussBridgeStructuralDiagram
Figure1isastructuraldiagramoftheuniquecomponentsthatmakeabridgeacantilever
throughtrussbridge.Theouterspanscanalsobereferredtoastheback(oranchor)spansand
themiddlesectionofthebridgewherethesuspendedspanliesbetweentheinnercantileverarms
canbereferredtoasthemainspan.
Cantileverthroughtrussbridgeswereoriginallybuiltthiswayformultiplereasons.For
onething,theywereabletospandistancesover1,500feetwhichwasabigfeatinthe17th
centurywhenthesekindsofbridgeswerefirstbuilt.Inaddition,theywereeasiertoconstruct
overdifficultcrossingswithlittletonotemporarysupports.Theyaremainlydesignedtohandle
roadandrailroadtrafficbuthavemanyotherusesaswell,suchasprovidingameansof
transportationforpedestriansandthelike.


AhearnGonzalesRahman4

Figure2.CantileverThroughTrussBridgeForceDiagram
Figure2aboveisavisualrepresentationofhowforcesactuponacantileverthroughtruss
bridge.Thecentralspanrestsonthe
cantileveredanchorarms
extendingfromtheouterspansit
carriesverticalloadslikeasimplysupportedbeamoratrussthatis,bytensionforcesinthe
lowerchordsandcompressionintheupperchords.Thecantileverscarrytheirloadsbytensionin
theupperchordsandcompressioninthelowerones.Innertowerscarrythoseforcesby
compressiontothefoundation,andoutertowerscarrytheforcesbytensiontothefar
foundations.Ifaloadisstationedonthebridge,normalforceandgravitykeepitinplaceandits
weightcausesanincreaseincompressionandtensiononthetrusses.
ScienceBehindourDesign
Outoftheseveraldesignseachteammembercameupwith,theprototypethatwas
constructedwasdesignedafterthebridgethatcameoutasthestrongestandlightestwhenbeing
testedinModelSmart.Wedecidedthatthelatticeworkwouldbemoreintricate,soweused
smallerpiecesthatcouldwithstandmoreforceandbemoredifficulttobreak.Themany
diagonalpiecesthroughoutthebridgehelpedtodistributetheweightoftheforcesmoreevenly
amongstit,demonstratingthemultiplespotsthatcantileverthroughtrussbridgesaresupported


AhearnGonzalesRahman5

by.Ourbridgewasdesignedtolookmorewiderthanitwastall,andthiswasbecausewewanted
ourbridgetoweighaslittleaspossiblethetalleritwas,theheavieritwouldbemeaningthe
forceofgravityonitwouldbegreateraswell.
ChallengesWhileDesigning

Duringthedesigningprocess,therewerevariousobstaclesthatwehadtoovercome.

Initially,wehadtodeterminehowwewouldcomeupwithourfinaldesign.Wedecidedthatin
ordertogetthebestbridgepossible,wewouldeachsketchadesignanddecidewhichonetouse.
Theindividualdifficultiesweallcameacrosswhensketchingoutourdesignsweredetermining
thedimensions,whatshapetomakeourbridgeoutof,andwhatthegeneralshapeofthebridge
shouldbe.Decidinghowmanybeamswouldbeinthetrusseswasalsoachallengemorebeams
wouldcorrespondtomoreweight,buttherehadtobeenoughtomakethebridgeasstrongas
possible.Wewerenotsurewhatanglesthebeamsshouldbesetat,orwhattheoptimalangle
wouldbe.Moreover,designingthebridgewasdifficultbecausepickingtherightspecifications
woulddeterminewhetherthestrengthofourbridgewouldbeoptimizedornot.


AhearnGonzalesRahman6

TestingtheDesigns

Figure3.BridgeDesignOneinTestingSoftware

Figure4.BridgeDesignTwoinTestingSoftware


AhearnGonzalesRahman7

Figure5.BridgeDesignThreeinTestingSoftware
Table1.BridgeTestingResults
BridgeDesign

WeightofBridge(g) BreakingLoad(g)

Ratio(Load/Weight)

9.655

4202.08

435.22

12.696

584.23

453.59

4.926

11184.23

2270.45

Figures3,4,and5showthreedifferentbridgedesignsbeingtestedinthe2D
ModelSmartsoftware.Table1showstheresultsofthetestingsoftware,completewiththe
weightofthebridge,thebreakingload,andthestrengthtoweightratioofthebridge.Justby
glancingattheresultsofthetable,namelytheratiocolumn,itiscleartoseethatbridgedesign
threeisthebestdesign,withthelowestweightoutofallthreebridges,andthehighestbreaking
loadofallthreeofthebridges.Thisdesignwasthedesignthatweusedtomodelourpreliminary
andfinalbridge.


AhearnGonzalesRahman8

Calculations
Afterwewerefinishedbuildingourpreliminarybridgedesign,itwastimetotestit.We
startedbyweighingit,resultinginaweightof33.7grams.Afterthisoccurred,thebridgewas
placedonwoodenblockstosimulatethePitscoTesterSupports.Awoodenblockweighing249
gramswasplacedonthetrussofthebridgeandsandwasaddedtoabucketattachedtothis
woodenblockviastringandcarabiner.Whenthebridgebuckled,weightwasnolongeradded,
andthemassofthesandofthebucketwasrecorded.Themassofthesandthatthebridgeheld
was3155.3grams.
Ratio = 3155.3
33.7 = 93.7
Figure6.WeighttoMassRatioCalculation
Figure6showsthecalculationusedtoshowtheratioofweightheldbythebridgetothe
massofthebridge.Bydividingthesetwonumbers,wecanseethatourbridgeheld93.7timesits
ownweightinourpreliminarytesting.
PreliminaryandFinalBridgeDesigns
Drawingsareattachedtotheendofthispaper.


AhearnGonzalesRahman9

BridgeDuring/AfterConstruction

Figure7.SideView
Figure7isasideviewphotoofourfinishedbridge.

Figure8.TopView
Figure8isatopviewphotoofourfinishedbridge.


AhearnGonzalesRahman10

Figure9.FrontView
Figure9isafrontviewphotoofourfinishedbridge.

Figure10.BridgeinProgress1
Figure10aboveisaphotoofusworkingdiligentlyonourbridge.Joshisfinishingone
sidewhileMahimaandAbbystartontheother.


AhearnGonzalesRahman11

Figure11.BridgeinProgress2
Figure11isanotherphotoofusworkinghardonourbridge.Joshisgluingbeamsinto
thesuspendedtrusswhileMahimaandAbbyworkonthecantilevers.
TestingtheBridgeandMakingImprovements
Wetestedourbridgewiththehelpofoursupervisors.Thefirstthingwehadtodoprior
toanytestingwasfindoutthemassofourbridge.Ourbridgesmassendedupbeingequalto
33.7grams.Afterthattaskwascomplete,oursupervisorshadusputourbridgeontopof
woodenblocksthatmimickedwhattheactualPitscoTesterSupportswouldbelike.Thenthe
woodenblockwasplacedontooursuspendedtrusswithastringhangingdownthroughthe
bottom.Followingthisstep,Mr.McMillanattachedabuckettothestringwithacarabiner.To
testhowmuchmassourbridgecouldhold,heslowlypouredsandintothebucketuntilour
bridgebuckled.Rightafterthebucklingofourbridge,oursupervisorsdeterminedhowmuch
massourbridgeheldwhichendedupbeingequaltoapproximately
3155.3grams,or93.7times
moreitsownmass.
Duringthetestingprocess,wewereinstructedtotakeaslowmotionvideoto
seeexactlywhereourbridgefailedwhichwouldthenhelpusdeterminewhatweneededto
improve.Fromthevideo,wesawthatourbridgeseemedtohavebrokenataweakpoint.This


AhearnGonzalesRahman12

weakpointwascausedbytheerrorofbreakingourmainbeamduringthebuildingprocessand
havingtoglueitbackonthebestwecould.Toimprovethis,weplanonusingmorecautionand
precisionwhilebuildinganotherbridge.Also,webelievethatifweweretohaveaddedmore
beamsacrossthetopandbottomofthebridge,thebridgewouldhavebeenstronger.
ChallengesWhileBuilding
Thereweremanyobstaclesthatwefacedwhilebuildingourbridge.Themostprevalent
issuemostlikelyhadtobethepins.Throughoutthebuildingprocess,wewouldusepinstohold
partsofourbridgeinplacewhilethegluedried,butwewouldhavetoleavetheminthereuntil
theglue
fully
driedduetotimeconstraints.Thiscausedanissuebecausewhenwewouldgoto
takethepinsout,theywouldhavedriedwiththeglueintoourbridge.Pliersthenhadtobeused
togetthemoutofourbridge,andsometimesnomatterhowcarefulwewere,partswouldstill
endupbreaking,splitting,orcomingoutalongwiththepins.Weattemptedtosolvethisissueby
takingoutthepinsbeforethegluewasfullydried.Also,keepingourdimensionstruetoour
designwaschallengingbecauseagain,duetotimeconstraints,wewerenotabletobeasprecise
aswewouldhaveliked.Wetriedtofixthisbycompromisingandjustdoingwhatwecouldto
keepourbridgeastruetoourdesignaspossible.
SafetyPrecautions
Thesafetyprecautionswetookwhilebuildingourprototypeconsistedofadult
supervisionatalltimesandcarefulhandlingofcertaintools.Scissors,pliers,andpinswereused
carefullyandwithcaution.


AhearnGonzalesRahman13

Conclusion
Overall,ourprojectwassuccessful.Weaccomplishedourgoalofdesigningand
developingacantileverthroughtrussbridgeandtestingit.Althoughweexpectedour
strengthtoweightratiotobelarger,theratiothatweachievedsatisfiedusandwasfairly
adequateforthehardworkandthoughtthatwasputintotheproject.Fromthetestingofour
prototype,weidentifiedtheflawsinourbridgeandthoughtaboutpossibleimprovements.By
takingpartinthiscompetition,eachofuslearnedhowtocombinehandsonskillswithour
knowledgeofsciencetodevelopanideaandbringittolife.Wealsolearnedaboutallthework
thatgoesintodesigningandbuildingstructuresthatweuseeveryday.Thisprojectgaveusan
ideaofwhatacareerinthefieldofarchitecturaldesignorcivilengineeringwouldbelike.Being
presentedwithauniquetasksuchasdesigningandconstructingacantileverthroughtrussbridge
gaveusanopportunitytoexplorenewsubjectsasidefromwhatwhatweencounterinschool
everyday.Weappliedourcriticalthinkingskillsandabilitytocollaboratewithclassmatesto
fulfillthischallenge.Furthemore,thisprojectwasagreatwaytolearnaboutcivilengineering
andbuildingbridgesusingsmallscalemodelsandcomputeraideddesign.Toend,weare
gratefulthatwewerepresentedwiththeopportunitytohavedonethisandthoroughlyenjoyed
ourtheexperience.
Acknowledgements
RoseCybulskiMrs.Cybulskikeptusontrackandhelpedustomakesurethatwemetallthe
necessaryrequirements.
GregMcMillanMr.McMillansuperviseduswhilebuildingandansweredanyphysicsquestions
thatwehadalongtheway.


AhearnGonzalesRahman14

Bibliography
"BridgeBasicsASpotter'sGuidetoBridgeDesign."
BridgeBasicsASpotter'sGuideto
BridgeDesign
.N.p.,n.d.Web.28Jan.2016.<http://pghbridges.com/basics.htm>.
"BridgesofDublin."
Cantilever
.N.p.,n.d.Web.28Jan.2016.
"Bridges_notes."
Kilmamolina
.N.p.,n.d.Web.28Jan.2016.
<http://kilmamolina.wikispaces.com/Bridges_notes>.
"CantileverBridge."
Wikipedia,theFreeEncyclopedia
.N.p.,n.d.Web.11Feb.2016.
"CantileverBridge|Engineering."
EncyclopediaBritannicaOnline
.EncyclopediaBritannica,
n.d.Web.28Jan.2016.<http://www.britannica.com/technology/cantileverbridge>.
"HistoryoftheForthBridge|ForthBridges."
ForthBridgesForum
.N.p.,n.d.Web.28Jan.
2016.
HowStuffWorks
.HowStuffWorks.com,n.d.Web.28Jan.2016.
<http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/civil/bridge3.htm>.
HowStuffWorks
.HowStuffWorks.com,n.d.Web.28Jan.2016.
<http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/civil/bridge5.htm>.
HowStuffWorks
.HowStuffWorks.com,n.d.Web.28Jan.2016.
<http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/civil/bridge6.htm>.
Metz,Laura,andAllegraJ.Lingo.
WiseGeek
.Conjecture,n.d.Web.28Jan.2016.
<http://www.wisegeek.com/whatisacantileverbridge.htm>.
"PontDeQubec."
(QuebecBridge)
.N.p.,n.d.Web.28Jan.2016.


AhearnGonzalesRahman15

AppendixA:Scheduling


AhearnGonzalesRahman16

AppendixB:DailyJournal
Date

JoshsComments

AbbysComments

MahimasComments

1/25/16

Chosegroupsbegan
researchingcantilever
throughtrussbridges

Chosegroupsstarted
researchoncantilever
throughtrussbridges

Competitionwas
introducedwentover
rulesanddeadlines
chosegroupsbegan
researchingfor
CantileverThrough
TrussBridgepaper

1/26/16

Continuedminiresearch
paperoncantilever
throughtrussbridge
finishedintroduction

Wroteaboutwhy
cantileverthroughtruss
bridgesareusedand
examplesoftheminthe
realworld

Wroteintroductionfor
paperwroteonebody
paragraphanswering
Whatisitsstructure
andwhyisitbuiltthat
way?

1/27/16

Finishedpaper

Wroteaboutthescience
behindcantileverand
beambridgesandmade
theforcediagram

Wroteonebody
paragraphinpaper
answeringWhatisit
mainlyusedfor?
describedandnameda
fewexamplesanswering
Howisitdifferentthan:
Beam,Arch,or
SuspensionBridges?
includedaforcediagram
ofaloadonacantilever
throughtrussbridgeand
explainedthescience
behindtheforcesacting
onthebridge

1/28/16

Editedpaperdesigned
RatPacklogo

Aidedineditingand
completionofourmini
researchpaper

Wroteconclusionfor
papercreatedWorks
Cited/Bibliography
pagefinalizedpaperand
turneditindesigned
teamlogoandchosea
teamname

1/29/16

Sketchedmyown
drawingforbridge

Sketchedmydesignfor
abridge

Determinedparameters
andconstraintsforthe


AhearnGonzalesRahman17

design

bridgebrainstormed
howwewanttobuild
ourbridgesketched
individualdrawingsofa
CantileverThrough
TrussBridge

2/1/16

Testedbridgedesignsin
ModelSmartsoftware

Testedallofourdesigns Beganwritingproposal
andchoseminetobeour madetitlepageandtable
final
ofcontents

2/2/16

Errorwasdiscoveredin
testingmethodand
correcteddesigned
prototypeinBentley
software

Testedalldesignsa
secondtimeandended
upchoosingmineagain

2/3/16

Preliminarybridge
buildingbegan

Istartedconstructionon Begantoconstruct
andthefirstcantileverof prototype
ourbridge

2/4/16

Bridgebuilding
Completedthefirstand
continuedIassisted
secondcantileveronour
AbbyandMahimainthe bridge
construction

Assistedincuttingand
measuringthepiecesof
woodtobeusedinthe
buildingofthebridge

2/5/16

Stayedafterschoolto
completebridge,buta
partfelloff,anddelayed
usbyoneday

Completedthefirstside
andbothcantileverson
theotherstartedthe
suspensionbridge

Assistedinputting
togetherbothsidesofthe
cantilever

2/8/16

Stayedafterschoolagain
toregluepiecesand
ensurecompletion
finishedbridgebuilding

Completedthe
suspensionbridgeonthe
secondsideand
connectedsidestogether
tocompletebridge

Assistedincompletion
ofthesuspensionbridge
connectedbothsidesof
thebridgetogether

2/9/16

Testedbridge

Partbrokebeforetesting Testedbridge
andhadtoattempttofix
itbeforetestedbridge

2/10/16

Beganworkingonfinal
bridgedesigninBentley
software

Beganworkingon
proposalpaper

2/11/16

Completedbridgedesign Completedtheproposal

Workedonintroduction
ofproposal

Beganworkingon
proposal
Completedtheproposal


AhearnGonzalesRahman18

inBentleysoftware
paper
assistedincompletionof
proposalpaper

andwentoverfinal
checklistand
requirements