Designing a Bridge

Vyshnavi Ramandham 16985

Abdulla Samin MV 14449

SUSPENSION BRIDGE USING BENDED STRAWS

Objective:
To construct a bridge using sticks that undergoes minimum deflection on the application of
load in the vertical direction.

Constraints:
Maximum number of sticks that can be used are 10.
Length of the bridge =12’’
Width of the bridge =3’’

Materials Used:
Straws, Thread

Introduction:
Inspiration for the bridge model is got from the long suspension bridges, this type of bridge
has cabled suspended between towers & the cables support vertical suspender cables that
carry the weight of the deck below. This arrangement allows the deck to be level or to arc
upward for additional clearance. The suspension cables are anchored strongly to the towers
at end of the bridge.

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Model and Physics Behind It:

Our model is similar to suspension bridge instead of suspension cable we used bended
straws.

Bended straws

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The main external force acting on the bridge is the load(W) we applied in the middle. This
pull give rise to tension in the bended straws (straws were in tension before addition of
load). This tension can be resolved into its vertical and horizontal component. The vertical
force is maximized by decreasing the angle between the straw and pillar.

Since almost all the force on the pillars is vertically downwards they can be made quite
slender. Has we had more straws, bending of tower due to horizontal force is minimized by
making the tower using 2 straws. Most of the weight or load of the bridge is transferred by
the cables to the anchorage systems. The tread is wrapped multiple times to prevent the
cables from breaking free.

Transverse Beam

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The bottom of the bridge is made in a rectangular form.To reduce the deflection/flexibility
of the bridge the bottomwas of 2 straws wrapped in thread. To give uniform load on both
the horizontal support, transverse beams are made at regular intervals.

Result:
The bridge was loaded using differnent weight and deflection was measured.

SR No WEIGHT(pounds) DEFLECTION(cm)
1. 0.5 0
2. 1 0
3. 1.5 0.5
4. 2.2 2.5

Conclusion:
The bridge gave exceotionally good result. This is due to the suspended straws which were
in tension before loading. So the load has to first overcome the tension before start
deflecting.

References:
www.civil.uwaterloo.ca
www.studymafia.org
Google Images

https://www.wikipedia.org/