A1- Zhu

2D Design Image

Truck In the Middle of the Bridge Image

Load Test Result

My bridge design was based on simple truss bridge. The purpose of designing this bridge was to ensure that the bridge is strong enough so that the standard 225kN truck can drive through. Initially, my design only consisted of carbon steel bars with a size of 140mm and joints connecting the members. The rough cost of that original bridge turned out to be about $386,000,000—which I thought was a nice price. Later I learned from my group members that I might be able to lower the cost by possible substitution of hollow tubes in place of steel bars. I replaced 24 solid bars into hollow tubes, and changed the thickness of the beams. Right now the solid bars have a thickness within the range from 140mm to 55mm, and the hollow tubes have a thickness within the range from 130mm to 80mm. After all the changes were made, the new cost came out to be $268,799.24. I believe that with further time and knowledge, the price could still be reduced by a few thousand dollars. Overall, this bridge design was really challenging but also a very good experience. I never dealt with this kind of designing before, but I am learning bit by bit as I move along. I learned the importance of the interconnected triangles within a truss bridge, and I also learned a few techniques on how to improve a bridge design.