BRIDGE
Welcome to the Morehead City Middle School 7th Grade Bridge Building team. This page is here for our team members to discuss their ideas and findings. It is my intention to approve comments on a daily basis so team members can quickly pass information back and forth since not everyone is on the same team. All of the rules and regulations can be found at the following location NCDOT Bridge Building.
Project Manger – Natalie P.
Marketing – Kris L.
Accounting – Rollie E., Miranda A.
Quality Control – Troy G.
Architecture – Hannah C.
Engineering – Harrison L., Michael D.
When’s the next meeting Anyone Know??????????
Next meeting will be 12/13/07 after school in Mr. Green’s room. We will be assigning some tasks to be done over the weekend.
Please pass the word on to your fellow teammates.
Thanks – Mr. Green
Will it end @ 4:00??
Yes we will end at 4 PM. We will set a project plan out for when things need to be done. That way over the holiday break, if people are so inclined, they can knockout a few tasks.
Mr. Green
Joint~a place where two things or parts are joined
Engineer~a designer or builder
Live Load~the load to which a structure is subjected in addition to its own weight
Tension~either of two balancing forces causing or tending to cause extension
Truss~to secure tightly : bind
~here are some of the definitions i tried to find the one’s that sounded like they had something to do with engineering.
~ Definitions thanks to…http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
Compression=The result of the sublection of a material to compressive stress, resulting in reduction of volume. The opposite of compression is tension.
OK – Below are some good bridge links. If you come across anything that is interesting/useful please post it here so everyone can see it. Most everything we need to be successful can be found somewhere on these sites!
1) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/bridge/truss_forces.html – Force Diagram
2) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/bridge/basics.html – Types of Bridges
3) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/forces.html – Tutorial
4) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/shapes.html – Tutorial
5) http://bellnetweb.brc.tamus.edu/res_grid/trussb/designs.htm – Types of Tuss Bridges with Pictures
6) http://www.garrettsbridges.com/building/25-bridge-building-tips/ – Bridge Building Tips
7) http://www.garrettsbridges.com/building/balsa-wood/ – Properites of Balsa Wood
8) http://www.garrettsbridges.com/building/bridge-joints/ – Types of Joints
9) http://www.abcdpittsburgh.org/kids/kids.htm – More Properties of Balsa Wood
10) http://www.jhu.edu/virtlab/bridge-designer/ – Bridge Design Software Instructions
11) http://www.jhu.edu/virtlab/bridge/bridge.htm – Bridge Design Software
Mr. Green
a polygon is “a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path or circuit, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments”. I got these from wikipedia.
Here are some of the important dates we need to work toward!
January 31st, 2008 – 1st Bridge needs to be built. Will test on this day.
February 14th, 2008 – Bridge Design Finalized.
February 21st, 2008 – Four copies of written report and design drawings mailed to Regional Competitions.
March 7th, 2008 – Regional Competition in Greenville, NC.
More dates apply if we succeed at regionals!
March 27th, 2008 – Four copies of written report, design drawings and PowerPoint presentation, if applicable, mailed to Final Competition.
April 11th, 2008 – Final Competition in Raleigh at 9:00 AM.
Mr. Green
How much money do you think that Rollie and I need to raise for the first few bridges?
Miranda – I would estimate about $75 to $100. This would include a nice X-Acto Knife set for cutting the wood, the balsa wood itself, and CA glue.
The other big expense I see would be Tee-shirts for the team which will be between $170 and $260. http://www.imagemarket.com has good prices! These prices include listing the sponsor’s names on the back of the Tee-Shirt.
Marketing people! We need to come up with about 4 slogan to describe our team/project. They need to be about 5 words or less. The team will vote on these and this can be what we put on our team shirts.
Mr. Green, Coming back from break do me and Hannah need to have the drawing done?
P.S. The thursday that we come back do we have a meeting?
You do not need to have the drawing done. However, you may want to have an idea of what your final conceptual drawing will look like.
Also, NO meeting on the Thursday we come back from our holiday break.
Mr. Green
Mr. Green do we have a meeting this thursday? Also I think we should come up with an agenda for every meeting so then we can get more accomplished in our time.
We will have bridge meeting this Thursday (01-10-2008) but not the following Thursday (01-17-2008). Neither Mrs. Rosen nor myself are available that day.
I love the agenda idea. Let’s develop a project plan and assign tasks and due dates.
Mr. Green
Mr green,
Is Mrs. Rosen Coming to the meeting tomorrow?
Also
Anything Harrison and i need to do. I know that our job isn’t the most active in the beginning but we’re always here to help if you need us
Mike – Yes Mrs. Rosen will be here. I do need to leave at 3:30 today though.
number 7 on those links gives really good information on balsa wood
I was messing around with the bridge building thing and i found some cool ideas for bridges.
1. Who is Ford???????????///
2. thx for the advice ford (whoever you are) i found some neat stuff about balsa wood
I’m Guessing that we have a meeting tomorow (1/24)
P.S. sorry i missed the last meeting, i had an orthodontist appointment ( Braces in 2 months) :(
Mr. Green, I got PHD Phurnichure to sponser the difference of how much money we need. So, tomorrow if u can tell me if anyone has any sponsers and how much money we need i can get it to you by wednesday at the latest.
Hannah – That’s AWESOME. I’m not sure I can get an update from all the team members in a day though. Can I update you with the amount after our Thursday meeting? I can post the amount here.
I have ordered the balsa wood (3 different sizes), glue (2 bottles – thin and medium), and a small wood-working kit. It should be here on 1/30/2008. Spent $69.60 (including shipping). To start building we will also need a roll of wax paper so everything doesn’t stick to our assembly surface.
Tee-shirts: I talked with Boardwalk Screen Printing. For light colored tee-shirts it will cost us $20 Set-up Fee, $15 Screen Charge, and $6.75 per Shirt (for a short sleeve shirt). For a dark shirt add $0.75 per shirt. We need a design for the back of the shirt as well as a small pocket logo for the front (shirts will not have pockets though). For the whole team (with dark shirts) it should cost us $141.44 after tax.
Mr. Green
The community college has a 11/17 printer we might be able to use my mom will be able to tell me later today
my mom said we can use it as long as we only need a few copies
Is it just a copier? Or, can you send a file to it to be printed as well?
i think she said you can but it is more work because they all come out on a long sheet
Balsa Wood, Glue, and knife set has come in.
awesome that rocks. see you tomorrow morn. mr. green
meeting tomorrow at 3 until 4 right??
Yes – Meeting 1/31/2008 from 3:00 to 4:00 – will do some building of the bridge and try to finalize Tee-Shirt design.
We will do a quick test of the load bearing section of the bridge and then we will test our bridge on 02/07/2008.
Cool
:-)
Wait, it sounds like the bridge is already built, am i missing something or is it like 1/2 way done
comment #99
Comment # 100 wahoo
Comment # 102
Mr. Green,
Do we have a meeting on Monday 2/18/08??
If we do, I do not think that I will be able to make it.
Also, where are the vocab words that we need to define???
Yes – Monday from 10:00 to 12:00. Don’t worry if you can’t make it.
The items that need research are listed below (they are first come first sever!):
- Bridge building history and construction.
- Identification of career areas used in the design and construction of bridges.
Definition and incorporation of the following vocabulary in the essay text (some of these are already defined above but may be incomplete):
- Compression Joint
- Engineer
- Live Load
- Span
- Tension
- Truss
- Top Chord
- Bottom Chord
- Dead Load
Students also may incorporate the following questions:
- Why do we need bridges? What purpose do they serve?
- How are bridges able to hold the tremendous amount of weight they hold?
- Why is it important to know whether parts of a bridge will be subjected to tension or compression?
- What is a polygon?
- Why is a triangle the strongest polygon?
- What materials are essential to design a scale drawing or blueprint?
- What geometric shapes did you use in the bridge model? Why?
- How does the strength of the bridge compare to the weight of the bridge?
- What should you do to design a bridge for the future?
- How can computers help design bridges?
Mr. Green,
Is it OK if I do these vocab words??
- Compression Joint
- Engineer
- Live Load
- Span
- Tension
- Truss
- Top Chord
- Bottom Chord
- Dead Load
Even though I won’t be able to make the meeting on Monday, I can still do these things over the weekend.
Kris L
Mr. Green,
These are some definitions I found;
COMPRESSION JOINT
1.Any joint formed by a fitting designed to join piping or tubing by means of pressure.
2. A joint having cup-shaped threaded nuts which, when tightened, compress tapered sleeves so they form a tight joint along the periphery of the tubing they connect.
ENGINEER
n.
1. One who is trained or professionally engaged in a branch of engineering.
2. One who operates an engine.
3. One who skillfully or shrewdly manages an enterprise.
v.
1. To plan, construct, or manage as an engineer.
2. To alter or produce by methods of genetic engineering: “Researchers . . . compared insulin manufactured by bacteria genetically engineered with recombinant DNA techniques to the commercial insulin obtained from swine or cattle” (Fusion).
3. To plan, manage, and put through by skillful acts or contrivance; maneuver.
LIVE LOAD
1. A moving, variable weight added to the dead load or intrinsic weight of a structure or vehicle.
SPAN
n.
1. The extent or measure of space between two points or extremities, as of a bridge or roof; the breadth.
2. The distance between the tips of the wings of an airplane.
3. The section between two intermediate supports of a bridge.
4. Something, such as a railroad trestle or bridge, that extends from one point to another.
5. The distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully extended, formerly used as a unit of measure equal to about nine inches (23 centimeters).
v.
1. To measure by or as if by the fully extended hand.
2. To encircle with the hand or hands in or as if in measuring.
TENSION
1.
A. The act or process of stretching something tight.
B. The condition of so being stretched; tautness.
2.
A. A force tending to stretch or elongate something.
B. A measure of such a force: a tension on the cable of 50 pounds.
TRUSS
n.
1. A rigid framework, as of wooden beams or metal bars, designed to support a structure, such as a roof.
v.
1. To tie up or bind tightly.
2. To support or brace with a truss.
DEAD LOAD
1. The unrelieved weight of a heavy, motionless mass.
2. An oppressive burden or difficulty.
3. The fixed weight of a structure or piece of equipment, such as a bridge on its supports.
I can not find TOP CHORD or BOTTOM CHORD.
Kris L
Kris – Thanks! These look awesome. We can definitely incorporate this information into the written and oral reports.
Mr. Green,
The thing that I was going to go to got cancelled today because of the weather. I will be able to make the meeting tomorrow.
Kris L
Mr. Green Here’s one about the triangle (part of it)
The triangle is the simplest polygon, and one of the most useful geometric figures. The triangle is also the strongest geometric figure, and is therefore used in the construction of buildings and bridges. Take a drinking straw, and cut it into three pieces. Then thread a piece of string through all three pieces, and tie the ends, tightly, in a knot to create a triangle. Do this again, with a second straw, but cut the second straw into four pieces so that when tied it will form a quadrilateral. Now hold each figure in your hand, and press the top. What happens? The triangle will not change shape, but the quadrilateral will “collapse”:
the sides of a triangle displace weight, therefore supporting each other. If you push down on a triangle, it wont collapse.
Engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and natural built environment, including works such as bridges, roads, canals, dams and buildings
It is traditionally broken into several sub-disciplines including municipal engineering, environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, water resources engineering, materials engineering, coastal engineering,[4] surveying, and construction engineering.
Accounting
Accountancy (profession) or accounting (methodology) is the measurement, statement or provision of assurance about financial information primarily used by managers, investors, tax authorities and other decision makers to make resource allocation decisions within companies, organizations, and public agencies. The terms derive from the use of financial accounts. Accounting is the discipline of measuring, communicating and interpreting financial activity. Accounting is also widely referred to as the “language of business”.
Quality Control
In engineering and manufacturing, quality control and quality engineering are involved in developing systems to ensure products or services are designed and produced to meet or exceed customer requirements.
Architecture
Architecture is the art and science of designing buildings and other physical structures. A wider definition often includes the design of the total built environment from the macro-level of also structure of how a building is builttown planning, urban design, and landscape architecture to the micro-level of construction details and, sometimes, furniture.
Marketing
Marketing is a societal process that is needed to discern consumers’ wants; focusing on a product/service to those wants, and to mold the consumers toward the products/services. Marketing is fundamental to any businesses growth. The marketing teams (Marketers) have the task to create the consumer awareness of the products/services through marketing techniques; unless it pays due attention to its products/services and consumers’ demographics and desires, a business will not usually prosper long-term.
Proj Manager.
The Boss. The one who is responsible for any mistakes and/or triumphs. The one in charge.
Mr. Green,
here’s a website that could help with history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-aided_design
How the roles need each other
Project Manager controls it all. Without the architects, the engineers wouldn’t have a design. And without marketing and accounting, the engineers and architects wouldn’t have a budget and the whole project would go down the toilet. Without quality control, the engineers might forget to calculate dead load, and the bridge would collapse. Also, without marking, none of the others would have a job because they wouldn’t get hired without people knowing about them. And, without any of these people, the project would be a failure.
Mr. Green,
i found some websites that could help us out, and here they are.
~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-aided_design
~http://www.jhu.edu/virtlab/bridge-designer/
Heres the
A) Hold weight
1) Tension vs COmpression
2) Shape
3) Loads (dead vs live load)
Bridges hold weight with either tension or compression and tension is where the bridge material that is made of is trying to be pulled apart. Compression is where to things are pushing on each other and it takes tension and compression to make a effective bridge. It is important to know which parts of the bridge will be subjected to tension or compression. If you did not know that something will be subjected to compression and it’s a week material and it just breaks on itself is a reason u need to know. Same thing with tension except it will be pulled apart and you might want your joints connected better or something like that. Bridges also are comprised of polygons, which are a closed figure bound by three or more line segments. The strongest polygon for a bridge is the triangle. This is the strongest polygon because the sides displace weight, therefore supporting each other. If you then push down on a triangle it will not collapse and it can support more weight. Another main key to the weight of a bridge is the dead load and the live load. The dead load is the weight of the bridge and materials on it and the live load is the weight being added to it, like cars and other vehicles. You need to know the dead load before the live load because if you have a really heavy dead load already you will not be able to support a big live load.
Edited version
Heres the
A) Hold weight
1) Tension vs COmpression
2) Shape
3) Loads (dead vs live load)
Bridges hold weight with either tension or compression and tension is where the bridge material that the bridge is made of is trying to be pulled apart. Compression is where to things are pushing on each other and it takes tension and compression to make an effective bridge. It is important to know which parts of the bridge will be subjected to tension or compression. If you did not know that something will be subjected to compression and it’s a weak material and it just breaks on itself is a reason u need to know. Same thing with tension except it will be pulled apart and you might want your joints connected better or something like that. Bridges also are comprised of polygons, which are a closed figure bound by three or more line segments. The strongest polygon for a bridge is the triangle. This is the strongest polygon because the sides displace weight, therefore supporting each other. If you then push down on a triangle it will not collapse and it can support more weight. Another main key to the weight of a bridge is the dead load and the live load. The dead load is the weight of the bridge and materials on it and the live load is the weight being added to it, like cars and other vehicles. You need to know the dead load before the live load because if you have a really heavy dead load already you will not be able to support a big live load.
Pratt truss includes vertical members and diagonals that slope down towards the center, the opposite of the Howe truss.[1] It can be subdivided, creating Y- and K-shaped patterns.
The Warren truss consists of diagonals that alternate between compression and tension (approaching the center), with no vertical elements. Elements near the center must support both tension and compression in response to live loads.
A whipple truss is usually considered a subclass of the Pratt truss because the diagonal members are designed to work in tension. The main characteristic of a whipple truss is that the tension members are elongated, usually thin, at a shallow angle and cross two or more bays (rectangular sections defined by the vertical members).
the baltimore truss is a subclass of the Pratt truss. A baltimore truss has additional bracing in the lower section of the truss to prevent buckling in the compression members and to control deflection . The baltimore truss is mainly used for train bridges.
My Paragraph On roles
For the duration of this project, we divided the team up into six roles. We had one or two people per group with one person as the boss. The six roles are Accounting, Engineering, Quality control, Marketing, Architecture, and Project Manager A.K.A. the boss. All of these roles are real jobs that are used in the process of making a bridge. Without on e of these jobs, the whole project would utterly fail. Each and every one of these jobs is just as important as another. For example, without the architects, the engineers wouldn’t have a design. And without marketing and accounting, the engineers and architects wouldn’t have a budget and the whole project would fail.
Mr. Green,
This is NOT my final copy! I just pulled out information and I will finish it at home.
The main tool that we used for designing this bridge was the computer. We used a virtual lab bridge designer to help us design our bridge. Trusses are composed of straight members connected at their ends by hinged connections to form a stable configuration. CAD used to mean Computer-Aided Drafting, now it means Computer Aided Design. CAD is used to design 3D designs of any kind, but it is also used throughout the engineering process from conceptual design and layout of products, through strength and dynamic analysis of assemblies to definition of manufacturing methods of components. Architectures now don’t have to do handmade designs, it saves them time and money. At first only large corperations could afford CAD when it first came out. Later on they made it more affordable so that more people could afford it. Teachers were worried that it would deprive kids of their hand made drawings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-aided_design
http://www.jhu.edu/virtlab/bridge-designer/
The Bridges we use today are used to transport people,resource, and other important things. Bridges are determined by the function they perform. Like an aqueduct use to take water from point A to point B. An over pass allows one transportation route, such as a highway and a Viaduct carries a highway over a land obstruction. The earliest bridges were just rope or logs thrown over a gap to get to where you were going. Things have changed over time though as construction has evolved over the years. The first major advance in bridge was the use of a stone arc this was invented by the Greeks, Etruscans and the chinese.
The ones who perfected it were the Romans. They used the arch design all over there empire.
The arch was the best bridge design until the steam locomotive in the beginning of the 19th century. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761561057/Bridge_(structure).html
this isnt all of it but there is alot more at this website
what do we need to where at the contest get me this asap
Our Tee-shirts are here. Mrs. Rosen will have them in the morning for those who couldn’t make the meeting today. We also have driving directions and an itinerary.
Dress for the competition is Team tee-shirt (red), Khaki pants, Dress shoes (NOT GYM SHOES), and possibly a blazer or jacket (if everyone has one). We want to all look the same.
We will meet between 6:30 and 6:45 in the school parking lot out front and try to leave around 6:45.
See everyone in the morning!
Mr. Green
That is a really cool power point that michael’s mom put together. do you know when you will have the videos on youtube?
Bye!
Mr Green you probably won’t get this but are we also doing the building bridges thing or is it just gonna be the Rocket thing. i was just wonderin because if we are doing the bridges thing i wont apply for the rocket thing to give other people a chance.