1.

CALCULATION REPORT OF A STICK BRIDGE MADE OF

WOOD

1.1. Introduction

1.2. General Objective

1.3. Specific objectives

1.4. State of the art

1.5. Methodology

1.6. Results

1.7. Analysis

1.8. Conclusions

1.9. Recommendations
1.1. Introduction
The civil structures present in each society affect human, social, ecological and
economic aspects. Thus, the good design and quality of these structures are
objectives of civil engineering.
Structures during their service life must provide safety against failure and the
previously established service functionality.

Therefore, poor design, poor construction and poor maintenance, coupled with
improper use and new environmental conditions or increased loads, can lead to
collapse of the structure or may require repair and/or reinforcement of the structure.
The objective of the present work is to realize a wooden stick bridge based on the
design of the Sioux Narrows Bridge in Kenora, Canada. With a maximum weight of
2 Kg. And to support a minimum load of 150kg, the construction of the bridge was
started with the structural analysis and with the results the arrangement of the main
structural elements was redesigned; this work is intended to recall, organize and
complement, under a form of practical application, the knowledge acquired in the
course of Structural Design in Buildings.
1.2. General Objective

The main objective of this work is to elaborate a bridge based on an already built
design and to verify the analysis and design of the structure in a wooden stick
bridge to support a minimum load of 150 kg. and thus apply the knowledge
acquired in the course.
1.3. Specific Objectives
In order to achieve this objective, it has been necessary to set more specific
objectives:

-Learn about the design of the Sioux Narrows Bridge in Kenora, Canada.

-Builda bridge of wooden sticks.

-Set up the bridge elements in such a way that they withstand a minimum load of
150 kg.

- Use computer programs for the analysis of the structure. (AutoCAD and
SAP2000)

-Use personal design criteria for the design and redesign of the structural elements
of the bridge.
1.4. State of the art
One of the areas where civil engineering has more work is Structural Design, which
is very interesting and has a very useful application in the industrial world. The
architect and designer are in charge of creating the structure and giving it the
correct proportions. In principle, structural design is in charge of investigating what
a material can offer and what characteristics make it unique, as well as the costs it
will have and its properties, such as thermal and acoustic insulation, waterproofing,
among others. Experts point out that this design is composed of two parts: the
creators' intuition and the scientific method.
The structural design is composed of the following five elements:
Structuring: locations and dimensions are proposed to refine a project.
Analysis: computer programs are used to provide the necessary information for
displacements and mechanical elements of the components of the structure.
Design: when the mechanical elements are already in place, the dimensions and
reinforcement of the members of the structure are provided.
Drawing: the plans are assembled.
Design report: dead and live loads are mentioned, as well as design examples.

1.5. Methodology
The different types of bridges were searched on the internet and a truss bridge was
chosen.
Truss bridges are composed of connected elements. They have a solid surface and
a framework of beams with hinged joints for the sides. Early truss bridges were
made of wood, but modern truss bridges use metals, such as wrought iron and
steel.
The design was chosen for the Sioux Narrows Bridge in Kenora,
Canada.

It was drawn in 3D in AutoCAD and some elements were redesigned for better
support. It was exported to SAP2000 and analyzed with the sections, materials and
loads corresponding to the wooden sticks.

Construction of the wooden stick bridge.

Materials:
-2 kg of wooden sticks.
-White Resistol 850
Once the analysis was completed, the wooden sticks were weighed and the
number of sticks per kilogram was counted.
The bases of the bridge have a height of 20 cm. The stringers were made from
base to base and left to dry for 24 hrs.
1.6. Results
With the bridge already modeled in 3D in AutoCAD and analyzed in SAP2000, the
bridge elements were redesigned according to our design criteria and reanalyzed to
obtain greater efficiency in our bridge to withstand the loads to which it will be
exposed.

The elements of the bridge are:

Totals:
Top rope:
Lower rope:
Diagonal elements:
Vertical Elements:
1.7. Analysis

BRIDGE DEFORMATION DIAGRAM

BRIDGE SHEAR DIAGRAM

BRIDGE TORQUE DIAGRAM

MOMENT DIAGRAM OF THE BRIDGE

1.8. Conclusions
We obtained a structure created by us, based on existing bridges, taking as a point
of balance all the advantages of each one, having a resistant bridge of tension and
compression; the weight of the bridge is approximately 1.7 kg and the maximum
supported load is around 300kg.

We are aware that the shape and structure of the bridge is favorable for the result
we want, which is to support the highest load with the least possible weight of the
bridge.

1.9. Recommendations
Make a global study of the bridge model and try to calculate the stresses on the
main elements in order to dimension them proportionally and not to use more
weight where it is not needed. This will optimize the use of the material and there
will be no waste of weight. Ideally, at the time of bridge failure, all elements of the
model would be working at maximum and would break at the same time.

Good joints. Most of the failures of the models occur at the joints since these are
points of stress concentration and constructive weakness. In compression joints the
construction is appreciably easy and it is only necessary to verify that there is good
contact between the elements. Tensile joints are more critical; for these, the
thickness of the elements in the part close to the node could be increased or the
joint could be reinforced with additional elements. It is always better that the joint is
made from the sides and not end to end, in this way there is more contact surface,
which, with Resistol white, will resist as shear stress, the traction between the main
elements of the joint.