Personal Statement In Structural Engineering

First, we take a look at all the years of research and designs that are completed over the years; thus, we have to trust that we are receiving the most up to date research and findings. On January 28, 1979, just 7 years to the date began the start of the structural assembly of the

Several students are doing Science Fair projects at Woodstock Middle School and I am one of the seventh grade students. The topic I shall be doing is on how bridge structure affects the weight bearing capacity. I chose this specific topic to guide bridge builders in the right direction on what bridge is safest for public use. The key topics I plan to research on include the following: Beam, Warren Truss, suspension, cable-stayed, and arch bridges. I shall use the scientific method to guide me through this process.

Clark Eldridge, an engineer from Washington State, had designed a trusted, conventional suspension bridge that would cost eleven million dollars. He requested that amount from the Federal Public Works Administration. However, Leon Moisseiff developed a design modification that would make the total cost of building the bridge much less- only eight million dollars. He swapped out the twenty-five feet long sturdy trusses as the form of support for the much cheaper alternative of 8 foot long girders, which were proven to be an insufficient form of support from the collapse of this bridge. His design accounted for an overall thinner bridge; and since his was the cheaper option, it was chosen for construction. However, the width of the bridge in comparison to the length, as well as the absence of trusses which would provide stability, are both part of Moisseiff’s “cost-effective”, yet impractically unsafe design. Since his design was flawed, he is mainly responsible for the bridge collapse. However, the board of engineers who approved his design are also partially responsible for the bridge collapse, as this unsafe design was allowed to be constructed. Meanwhile, it is imperative to remember that theories on aerodynamics were not fully developed as of the time that this bridge was constructed. Therefore, the full effect of oscillating forces was not properly accounted for due to the

Today, some building codes may require a more rigorous structural design methodology than is associated with conventional construction. This requirement may result from a need for better building performance when the structure is exposed to moderate-to-high wind, seismic, and snow loads. An example of published

Hecox (2011) says that the arch structure of the Tillman Bridge makes the canyon walls hold the weight of both vehicles and the bridge itself. In addition, the arch structure allows a better vision of the canyon for the drivers, which was a request of the population to the engineers of the project. In the other hand, according to Jones (2015), the truss structure of the new St. Anthony Bridge also was requested by the population because they wanted to keep a truss bridge in that place. The author also affirms that the St. Anthony Bridge is a truss, but the project team proposed adding a posttensioned concrete bottom chord to the steel truss in order to reinforce it. The project team made this choice because one bridge in Minnesota has collapsed in 2007, and the engineers wanted to lessen the fracture-critical issues to avoid a new catastrophe. In addition, this posttensioning approach wiil make the structure redundant for both resiliency and long-term durability. In conclusion, both bridge's structures were right chosen in order to provide safety and beauty in both

Bollman truss had many independent tension elements that makes a strong bridge which is easy to assemble.

The structure of a truss bridge is, by design, large and spanning a large gap. The interconnecting triangular components need to be large to bear and distribute heavy forces applied to the truss. This means in certain conditions (restricted spaces), the truss bridge may not be the best option.

Bridges are structures that are quite fascinating to me. They are very useful in the real world, in terms of carrying weight across a previously uncrossable path. I decided I would investigate how to design structures that carry weight without collapse. I have thought of designing some structure that would stretch as far as 100 meters or so. I believe this to be theoretically possible and maybe someday applied in the real world. When designing such structure one must account for all the math one will encounter. This investigation will involve various concepts of math including geometry, trigonometry, and physics.

We can see that loads are transferred from the trusses to the columns then into the foundation of the building. Engineers always assume that the loads are uniformly distributed through any building they design. I was impressed that the roof trusses are well design in the building, which shows a significant engineering work. The exposed features of roof trusses give its own uniquely design and show the glory of such engineering work.

The book Structures: Or Why Things Don’t Fall Down is aptly named, as it is an inviting title for people who have not had any exposure to tedious engineering classes. If a person were to see the book in the bookstore and flip through the pages many diagrams and pictures would be seen. However, the almost four hundred page book seems a little daunting as society today lacks avid readers who want to learn about the world. Many people would rather read about history or biology. J. E. Gordon, the author, was smart in this way to include history, ancient and more recent, as well as biology and even dressmaking in his lengthy book. It is the history and wide range of examples that makes Structures bearable to read.

Prior of this time, most bridge design were based on trusses, arches, and cantilevers to support heavy freight trains. Automobiles were obviously much lighter. Suspension bridge design had been envolving into producing bridges of maximum grace, lightness and flexibility which actually was more suited for carrying lighter cars and not heavier train. Unfortunately, engineers did not fully understand the response of the suspension bridge design to these poorly understand forces. The second reson was due to the excitation of torsional mode. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was built with shallow plate girders instead of the deep stiffening trusses of railway bridges, in which trusses allowed wind to pass through but plate girders, on the other hand, present an obstacle to the wind. As a result of its design, it was proved that the bridge was too light and unstable. And causing alloping Gertieaction which were driven by the wind were being experienced by the bridge.

The history of building truss bridges in the United States goes back to the late eighteen century, when in 1792, Timothy Palmer built in Massachusetts, his Newburyport Bridge, across the Merrimack River, thus proving the possibility of “fast and inexpensive” construction of a bridge. Very quickly, the “new” idea of bridge design was incorporated into repertoire of many designers, and a number of truss bridges, mostly across the Eastern coast of a country, was built. The majority of early truss bridges were single span, statically determinate structures, built out of timber, with the design aspect based mostly on the engineering intuition of their creators. Throughout the next two centuries, many types of truss bridges were designed and built,

This course will allow me to explore an alternative construction material, which would potentially add to my knowledge and experience with engineering. Recently, I have been studying the structural and thermal performance of these structures,

In our design, it was determined that a base following a triangular pattern made of bundles of spaghetti, would be required for a strong foundational support. Initially, we planned to use tape to hold these bundles together, however tape was not permitted. We therefore had to use glue to construct the bundles together. Every feature of the bridge was constructed using these bundles, from the triangles in the base, to the supporting poles, which held and connected all the features together.

This quantity relates loads or forces to the ensuing structural deformations. Familiar relationships are readily established from first principles of structural mechanics, using geometric properties of members and the modulus of elasticity for the material. In reinforced concrete and masonry structures these relationships are, however, not quite as simple as an introductory text on the subject may suggest. If serviceability criteria are to be satisfied with a reasonable degree of confidence, the extent and influence of cracking in members and the contribution of concrete or masonry in tension must be considered, in conjunction with the traditionally considered aspects of section and element geometry, and material properties (ACI 318,