Annual Bridge Bust Competition 2017 Official Rules

Transcription

1 Annual Bridge Bust Competition 2017 Official Rules PROBLEM STATEMENT Using only balsa wood and glue, design and build a bridge that is aesthetically pleasing, demonstrates sound structural concepts, and maximizes the ratio of the load capacity to the bridge mass. DATE & TIME Date of competition: Friday, February 24, 2017 Registration: 8:30 AM 10:00 AM All changes must be made to qualifying bridges by 10 AM. Please try to arrive by 9:15 am (at the latest) so the registration process can be completed by 10:00 am. Guest Speaker: Brad Bobich 10:00 AM 10:30 AM Bridge Breaking / Lunch: 10:30 AM 1:30 PM Schools will be split into two groups; one group will begin the bridge breaking while the other group be released for lunch. Groups will switch half way through breaking. The order of breaking will be determined by the order that schools register upon arrival. Guest Speaker: TBA 1:30 PM 2:00 PM Awards: 2:00 PM 2:15 PM LOCATION France A Cordova Recreational Sports Center 355 S. Martin Jischke Drive West Lafayette, IN DIRECTIONS / PARKING Students and materials must be dropped off in front of the France A Cordova Recreational Sports Center (CoRec). Buses and other vehicles are not allowed to park near the building. Buses and other vehicles must drive to the Discovery Parking Lot and park there. University vans will be transporting drivers from the Discovery Parking Lot to the CoRec. From Interstate 65 (See Picture 1) 1.) Take Interstate-65 to Exit #175. Turn left onto IN-25 S (signs for Lafayette). 2.) Continue straight onto Schuyler Avenue. Continue straight to stay on Schuyler Avenue. 3.) Turn right onto Sagamore Pkwy N. Use the left 2 lanes to turn slightly left to stay on Sagamore Pkwy N. 4.) Turn left onto Yeager Rd. 5.) At the traffic circle, take the 2 nd exit onto Northwestern Avenue. 6.) Turn right onto W Stadium Avenue. 7.) Tturn left onto Martin Jischke Drive. 8.) Follow that road until you see a giant glass building on your right. That building is the CoRec. Park off to the right side and drop the students off. (See Picture 2)

2 Picture 1 (Overview from Interstate 65) Picture 2 (CoRec)

3 From Interstate 74 (See Pictures 3 and 4) 1.) Take Interstate 74 to Exit #25, IN-25 toward Waynetown/Wingate. 2.) Turn left onto IN ) Turn Left onto S Vine St. 4.) Turn Right onto IN-25. Drive for about 20 miles. 5.) Use the left 2 lanes to turn left onto US-231 N / US-52 W. 6.) Turn right onto Airport Road. Continue onto McCormick Rd. (Note: Airport Road turns into McCormick Road after you pass the first intersection. This is okay.) 7.) Turn right onto W Stadium Drive. 8.) Turn right onto Martin Jischke Drive. 9.) Follow that road until you see a giant glass building on your right. That building is the CoRec. Park off to the right side and drop the students off. (See Picture 2) Picture 3 (Overview from Interstate 74)

4 Picture 4 (From Interstate 74: Steps 3-6) Picture 5 (Overview from CoRec to Discovery Parking Lot) From the CoRec to the Discovery Parking Lot (Picture 5) 1.) You are in front of the CoRec right now. Travel south down Martin Jischke Drive. 2.) At the traffic circle, take the 1 st exit onto Nimitz Drive. 3.) Turn left onto Arnold Drive. 4.) Turn left into Discovery Parking Lot. 5.) Park your bus and/or vehicle and please wait patiently. A University van will pick you up from Discovery Parking Lot and take you to the CoRec. Note: All of these directions are from Google Maps.

5 INFORMATION For questions or additional information about the contest, our committee chairs, Casey Rodgers or Trevor Moore, at OBJECTIVES All bridges will be judged and scored in three categories: structural strength, aesthetics, and presentation. I. STRUCTURAL STRENGTH Bridges will be assessed according to the provided specifications with the greatest efficiency calculated by the following equation: Efficiency = (maximum weight supported) / (weight of bridge) Bridges will be tested for MAXIMUM weight supported (e.g. when the bridge breaks no more weight is added). II. AESTHETICS Bridges will be assessed according to the provided specifications, quality of craftsmanship, use of sound structural design, and originality. This award is determined using the attached rubric. III. PRESENTATION - Participants must give a 3-5 minute poster presentation about their research and their bridge s structural components and aesthetics. This award is determined using the attached rubric. JUDGING 1. Members of the ASCE Bridge Bust Committee will inspect the bridges and judge them based on aesthetic qualities and engineering principles. 2. It is not the intent of the judges to cause undue stress to the participants, but all bridges MUST meet the construction specifications in order to compete. 3. If a bridge fails to meet all of the provisions during registration, participants may make slight modifications prior to the presentation made by the guest speaker. Failure to make such changes will lead to disqualification. 4. All required changes must be completed prior to the presentation at 10:00 AM. 5. Decisions by the judges will be FINAL. MATERIALS 1. The ONLY materials allowed in this competition are the twenty 1/8 3/16 36 balsa wood sticks and one bottle of wood glue provided in the kit. 2. Any bridges exceeding the total weight of the above materials will be disqualified. 3. All unused materials (wood and glue) should accompany the bridge in case of any last minute adjustments the judges may find necessary. 4. Competitors must utilize their own tools for building the bridges. Recommended tools include: ruler, safety razors, pins, saw, X-Acto knives, etc. Students are encouraged to bring these tools to the competition for making unexpected modifications. 5. Prototypes are permitted and encouraged for design and testing, however keep in mind that only the materials provided to competitors may be used in the competition. DIMENSIONS (See attached Figures 1 and 2 for clarification.) 1. Bridges must span a distance of 24 inches. 2. Bridges must meet a minimum length of 26 inches and must not exceed a maximum length of 30 inches 3. Bridges must not exceed a maximum height of 8 inches. This is the total height, and includes any part of the bridge below the level of the supports. 4. Bridges must not exceed a maximum outside width of 6 inches

6 Figure 1 5. A 2 x 4 block of wood (actual dimensions 1.5 x 3.5 ) simulating a vehicle must be able to pass through the bridge and across the bridge span. Bridges are not required to have the bridge deck covered. They do not need a roadway, simply an opening that can accommodate a 2 x 4 block to pass from one side of the gap to the other, approximately level with the table surface. Bridges will be tested using the assumption that the car passing through is 4 wide and 2 high; all bridges must accommodate this. Bridges only accommodating a 2 wide by 4 high car are unacceptable. 6. IMPORTANT: The block of wood must pass through the entire length of the bridge and remain horizontal across the entire distance. This means that the bridge deck may not be sloped or curved, ie. must be flat. Please understand that the deck of the bridge is: (1) the planar surface of the bridge (2) spanning the entire length of the bridge (3) approximately level with the supports. Figure 2 GLUING, JOINING, AND SPACING OF MEMBERS (See attached Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6 for clarification.) 1. Only the glue provided may be used to bond the pieces of wood together. 2. Glue may be placed on the inner face of joints, but it may not be spread on the side face. (see Figure 3) 3. Bridges may not be painted, coated with glue, or treated in any form. Figure 3

7 4. Maximum overlapping of members is 0.5 inches (½ inches) (see Figure 4) 5. Lamination of members is not permitted. (Lamination is gluing 2 pieces of wood parallel to each other to create a thicker piece of wood.) (see Figure 5) 6. Minimum spacing between parallel members is inches (⅛ inches) (see Figure 6) Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 LOADING CONFIGURATIONS (See attached Figures 7, 8, and 9 for clarification.) 1. Bridges will be simply supported. The distance between the supports will be 24 inches. Butting-up against the supports will not be permitted. (see Figures 7 and 8) Figure 7 Figure 8 2. The load will be applied at a single point that is centered on the deck of the bridge. Loading will not be permitted from the top of the bridge. (see Figure 9) 3. The load will be suspended below the bridge. 4. The support apparatus includes an iron bar with dimensions 1 x 1 x 9 that will be placed perpendicularly on the center of the bridge deck. Chains will be hung from the ends of the iron bar from which the weight will be suspended. The configuration can be adjusted, but the load WILL be applied at the center of the bridge deck and design accommodations must be made. Figure 9

8 5. Bridges will be loaded until failure by filling buckets with sand. The rate of sand added will be slowed upon visible deformation or cracking to ensure the exact weight is measured. 6. The official weight supported by the bridge will include the bucket, sand, chains, and bar supports. AWARDS 1. A $100 prize will be awarded to the first place team in each category (Strength, Aesthetics, and Presentation). 2. A $50 prize will be awarded to the second place team in each category. 3. Purdue University apparel will be awarded to each person in the third place team in each category. 4. In the event of a tie in: i. Strength = The lightest bridge wins the tie. ii. Aesthetics = The most efficient bridge wins the tie. iii. Presentation = The bridge with the highest aesthetic score wins the tie. 5. Awards will be mailed to the students after the competition. 6. Monetary awards will be divided among team-members. 7. The scholarships will be distributed as a check made out directly to the student with the intent of being used for educational purposes. *Note* - Winners of monetary prizes must turn in a completed W-9 form (with social security number) before they leave the competition that day or fax in a W-9 form to BOSO at with a title page stating ATTN: Purdue ASCE- Bridge Bust Winner. If this form is not received within two weeks of the competition date, winners will be unable to claim their prize money and will not receive a check. If for some reason you need to contact the BOSO office, their phone number is Their hours are 8am-5pm Monday through Friday. CLOSING Again, if there are any questions please feel free to contact Trevor Moore or Casey Rodgers at PurdueBridgeBust@gmail.com. We would like to thank the students and teachers for participating in this fun-filled and educational event. We are very excited about this year s competition and wish all the teams the best of luck! Sincerely, The ASCE Bridge Bust Team