Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Week 4 - WPBD

For the past couple of weeks we have been designing different bridges using the West Point Bride Design software. This software an effective guide to creating the structure behind bridges, and taking the constraints into account. The main goal in this competition is to create a serviceable bridge with the lowest cost. With the WPBD, it calculates the cost of the bridge as it is being built. It is realistic because of all of its features. It takes into account the material type, its dimensions, compression force, and tension force. It also tells the user where there are errors in the design that causes the bridge to fail. The WPBD also contains a bridge simulator which shows a little animation of a truck driving through the bridge that you designed. If the truck makes it pass the bridge then it is considered a success. If not, then the WPBD will show you where the errors in your bridge are.
Some factors that the WPBD does include are the effects of the environment on the bridge. It shows what happens after a truck passes through once, but would it be able to withstand multiple trucks. And if so, how long would it be able to withstand such weight. Also, will the bridge be able to stay durable with winds up to 30 mph.

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