Week 9: Amanda Ngov

The previous week allowed my group to focus on improving the bridge more. We tested different types of designs with different members and realized that the design needed to be improved on dramatically. Although we were able to create a design that held 30 lbs on a three feet span, we wanted to create a more efficient bridge. Consequently, we decided to change the entire design for the upcoming week. Research on methods to improve any type of truss design during the week was taken to consideration while recreating a bridge. It was noted that more members attached to the gussets allowed a higher weight load for the bridge. The difficulty during the reconstruction of the bridge was finding a starting point. Some members of the group were unwilling to recreate a different design because the original design did extraordinarily well during the load test, but others were willing to create the most efficient bridge. After discussion, the group decided to create a new design and test it. The design that held less weight then the new design would not be used.

In this overall experience of designing and creating a bridge, I learned how tedious the process can be. One computer program or kit can be utilized; on the other hand, numerous resources, observations and research should be considered to design a bridge. New ideas are  constantly being discovered so research is needed to experience new materials or resource to create an efficient bridge. In addition, observations of other bridge failures and successes should be taken into consideration for designs. Also, there are pros and cons to any resource and tool to build a bridge. Computer programs can give numerical values and estimates of forces but hands on kit such as Knex can show how limited certain materials are to a purchaser. Lastly, research to find more design types or methods of improving a design is vital. Discovering a site where people have done studies on number of members used in a connection joint helped my group in creating the final design. The process has shown me to explore numerous methods of designing a bridge and approaching an idea.