In the previous week, the West
Point Bridge Designer was used by the team, again. We had tested many different
types of bridges in the program observing different factors. Designing a bridge
that was as safe as it possibly could be was very important to us. Another
factor we looked at was the cost. We designed many different types of trusses
to try and make it as safe as possible at the lowest price. After many trials
and errors, we then played around with using different types of materials for
different components of the bridge. Doing this brought down the cost of the
bridge substantially, however was more of a task choosing which pieces would be
made of what material.
After using the West Point
Bridge Designer for several weeks now, I have noticed some qualities of the
program that are not realistic. Although the program helps to facilitate the
thought and design process, some designs would never work in real life. When the
design for the bridge is completed, a test run is done, which is one of the
problems in the software. No matter what the design of the bridge looks like,
as long as it does not break or deform into so strange shape, the truck will
pass over it. This is a huge problem because although the bridge is safe in the
program, in real life it would be anything but safe. The program does not
account for the proper amount of bending that should be allowed. Also, the program
does not consider nature’s effects on the bridge. Finally, the West Point
Bridge Designer does not drawn into account the fatigue on the bridge and how
long it is supposed to last based on environmental conditions and usages. All
of these factors need to be considered in real life, otherwise many lives will
be at stake.
No comments:
Post a Comment