Jonathan Week 10 Blog Entry

Last week, we tested the 3" long bridge. We met the requirements and were able to hold 15 lbs. We estimated it to hold 13 lbs, so we definitely reached our goal. The bridge took a very basic design because we thought it was easier to get a lower cost/weight ratio if we kept it simple. It cost around $211,500 and its ratio was $13,914.47. We thought it was going to twist like our last bridge before it broke, but it kind of suddenly snapped at the gusset plates. This week, we will probably talk about our overall experience with this course and discuss how our bridges have improved. The major accomplishment was that we found that our bridge held more than we expected and it held about the average cost/weight ratio in the class. I don't believe we have any issues going on because we had a fairly successful day.

Thinking back to the first couple of weeks, I think teamwork is the most important thing I learned this quarter. After we learned the basics about bridges independently, we were able to come together as a group to build upon our ideas. We collaborated and found which ideas worked best to get the most efficient bridge. I think this skill is a pretty important skill because pretty much all jobs require some sort of teamwork. I think the least beneficial thing in this class was that we were only limited to knex. I understand that working with real pieces of wood would require a larger budget and probably more time. However, I think I would have enjoyed a better experience working with a hand-made bridge built from scratch rather than something a child can build. I really liked working with the physics analysis because it gave me a better understanding as to what goes on in the bridge. I knew that a lot of the forces were split between all of the trusses but I did not know the precise amount of forces in the individual areas. Using the software was also a beneficial thing to me because it really caught my interest with finding my creativity level to building bridges. If I was just given the Knex and was asked to build a bridge, I would not know where to start, but having the software such as West Point Bridge Designer helped me plan out and test which pattern worked the best. I think the course as a whole was a good idea. DJ and Deepak helped tremendously by answering our questions and guiding us in the right direction.