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WILTON MAK
Truss Bridge
This project aimed to design a truss bridge for a high seismic region and to fabricate a model for structural testing under simply supported restraint. The primary goal in the designs was to maximize the strength of the structure while maintaining aesthetic appeal. Materials consisted of wooden birch sticks and wooden glue.
The conceptual designs of the truss bridge took a modern approach and focused on incorporating aesthetic appeal and stability. The truss bridge largely incorporated an arched formation and cross trusses, as can be seen in the following images.
Since material selection was limited, materialistic properties played an important role. It was found that the wooden birch sticks worked well under tension but not under compression. Hence, the members under compressive forces were reinforced. Thus, the arches of the beam were reinforced with more material.
With this modern design, form of the bridge followed function and was able to sustain over 250 pounds and ranked 4th among 64 groups.
