Category Archives: Updates

Competition Update

The competition took place on April 9th at the City College of New York. The team constructed the bridge with a total time of 10:19. The team incurred 3 15-second penalties; one for dropping a nut, one for dropping a tool and one for the support sliding out of the footing. Therefore the total competition construction time was 11:04. The bridge had a final weight of 235 lbs. The team also incurred a 100 lb penalty because the bolts extended 1/4 inch beyond the decking support surface. The bridge passed the lateral load test but ultimately failed during the vertical load test under a 2225-lb load. The collapse occurred due to shear in the bolts. The next step for the team is to perform a failure analysis.

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Fabrication Update

The bridge has been painted and the overall fabrication is complete! The team is now practicing construction as much as possible to be fully prepared for the competition on Saturday. We are excited to share our bridge with everyone and are trying to encourage as many TCNJ students and faculty to come and cheer us on!

 

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FABRICATION UPDATE

Over winter break the team has been working hard to fabricate the bridge in TCNJ’s machine shop. Currently the team is in the process of cutting the members. On Tuesday, the team will start to weld. Below is a picture of team member Patrick Waite putting the finishing cut on a truss member.

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SEMESTER UPDATE

The semester is coming to an end! As the semester wraps up we are finalizing our steel order and the connection design. Over winter break we are excited to begin the fabrication of the bridge! Below is a picture of the team after giving our final presentation of the semester.

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BRIDGE DESIGN UPDATE

The lateral bracing and support designs are complete. The supports were designed as single box-tube members. This design was chosen for ease of construction and fabrication and its high performance during the lateral load test. The lateral bracing designs consists of diagonal box-tube members on the ends of the bridge. The members are placed only at the ends of the bridge for ease of construction at the competition; the team is not allowed to step within a 6′-6″ river running through the construction site. This design was also selected for its high performance during the lateral load test and ease of fabrication. This completes the final bridge design. Our next step is to order steel and start fabrication! Our final bridge design is pictured below.

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Design Selection Update

The alternative truss designs have been tested in Visual Analysis software for deflection and self-weight. Based on the results, the team estimated the competition score for each bridge to determine the most efficient design. Alternative design 3 was selected. A Gantt chart and preliminary budget were created to track the progress of the project. The next step is to determine the support and lateral bracing design.