Week 2- Research Question

During week two of the course we discussed possible bridge designs, and used West Point Bridge Designer to start working on a design to understand the in’s and the outs of the programs and to determine what steps are needed to make the best possible design. Before week three of class we have decided that we will each work individually on a bridge design, consulting our team members if we need help. Although A1 in an individual assignment we are not opposed to helping our team members succeed because if we are successful at this stage when we move into the team design portion of the course we feel that we will be that much better. The only issues that we face at this time are individual issues of getting to know West Point Bridge Designer and creating the best possible bridge to submit.

Mr. Jay Bhatt.

I have some questions regarding research that needs to conduct about bridges to be successful in finding the strongest and cheapest design for a bridge.

1. Where can I find information about different designs for truss bridges. Sub questions that come to mind that should be able to be answered under finding a comparison of designs are as follows: Is it better to have the deck of the bridge at the bottom of the truss, in the middle of the truss or on top of the truss? Does the shape of the truss matter (ie. X shape or just a single beam connecting 1 set of opposite corners in a /)? Is there a height to length ratio for the truss span that gives the most strength
2.  Where would be the best place to start researching the cost of the materials that are needed to construct a bridge, specifically I want information related to the breaking strength of different metals and an overall comparison to determine the metal or material that has the highest strength and lowest cost. In addition are there materials that should be avoided or that would be detrimental to cost to strength of a bridge?
3. What is the best place to start looking for tests of bridges and typical failure points, and ways to improve upon designs of bridges that are already tried and proven designs?