Over or Under

Overview

Objectives/Goals The goal is to determine whether an overhead Warren truss bridge or an underhead Warren truss bridge is capable of holding more weight. Methods/Materials Aircraft grade western spruce and three-ply plywood were used to construct four identical Warren trusses. Two of the trusses were tested upright and two were tested upside down. Bricks were applied evenly on the bridges until they collapsed. Results The overhead truss bridges held more weight than the underhead truss bridges. The first overhead truss held 225.5 pounds and the second held 258.5 pounds. The first underhead truss held 181.5 pounds and the second held 214.5 pounds. Conclusions/Discussion The research conducted on this subject showed that the underhead Warren truss bridge should have held more weight, but the tests results showed that the overhead truss bridge consistently held 44 pounds more than the underhead truss. The results were suprising but gave an obvious answer to the question: the overhead Warren truss bridge can hold more weight than the underhead Warren truss bridge.

Competition history

• CSEF 2005 Structural Capability & Strength of Materials (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1816

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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