Week 7: Analysis Process

During the past week we experimented with some 3' bridge designs, in an attempt to come up with the best one possible. in addidtion to this search, each of us are also working on a truss analysis to help us better understand the loads and forces that a bridge goes through. By doing this, we will be better prepared and more knowledgeable when creating our 3' bridges. In the nextr week we plan to revise our plans and come up with a satisfactory final design that will hopefully perform well in the load test.

The method of joints system is a good way to better visualize and understand the physics behind a bridge design. It helps point out potential weak spots in a design and then show why it is weak. One of the biggest factors in a good bridge is its ability to resist outside force, such as wind, in addition to the loads traveling across it. This is something that the method of joints system lacks. Though this system may help one develop a structurally sound bridge, it cannot help in the question of how it will withstand outside force. If a bridge cannot handle all of these outside forces the design is no good.

I would like to see the effects of a bridge in the outside world. It is the only sure fire way to know if a bridge is going to make the cut. Obviously this is not possible to do in a full scale experiment, but it would be very intriguing to be able to run some sort of proportional small scale test. And even so, this is not a fully fail proof experimentation because it will still be hard to test the lifespan of a bridge. Not only does a bridge design have to hold up to brutal conditions, but it also has to last a long time. Finding a way to do this would be the only way to sucessfully perform a full test on a design.