Group 3 Section: 1-25

Members Rating ___________

FLESTADO, Joshua C.
FLORES, Margaret E . Date submitted: Mar, 06, 2019
FRANCO, Laurence S.
GAVINA, Jan Vincent P.
GOMEZ, Kyle Eric Francis L.
ACTIVITY # 2
Improvisation of Simply Supported Truss
I. Objectives
At the end of this activity, the students should be able to:
1. Improvise a truss bridge using common materials (such as popsicle sticks) ,based on
the given parameters
2. Determine the factors that may influence the efficiency (and failure) of the improvised
truss bridge by testing using static loads
II. Design

II.A: Diagram of Design

Img II.A.1: Primary Truss Design Img II.A.2: Remodeled Truss Design
 The design of the truss bridge was greatly influenced by a triangular-shaped
model considering triangle design as the efficient manner of arranging the assigned
material – popsicle sticks. Moreover, when the triangular-shape object was applied to a
push-pull action will result to a non-rotating and/or moving reaction unlike other
possible design shapes. Moreover, the action-reaction happens because of “degrees of
freedom” where triangles has a zero degrees of freedom – all of the popsicles are fixed
in a particular location thus will not rotate or deform the structural design. Also, the
application of vertical and diagonal popsicles acts in compression or strain where all the
members of the bridge reacts to any tension thus enabling to withstand deformities and
failure at a specific weight.

II.B: Rationale and Difficulties

The relevance of the experiement is through the application of structural analysis

of the engineering design field. Background on structures of trusses is considered as a
first element of modeling a bridge wherein the relevance of the efficiency of the bridge
is determined through tension present on every member.

 Structural Constraints
The experiment has dimensional constraints where there are maximum and
minimum allowed measurements – as seen below in Table 1. The bridge will be
better if only the allowed height will be 5 cm taller since the diagonal-shaped
support at the both edges should be more inclined. The efficiency of the
prototype will significantly increase according to prior conducted experiments.

 Construction Constraints
The allowed materials are only limited to popsicle sticks, scissors and glue
sticks. Thus, will essentially affect the resiliency and effectiveness of the truss
bridge. Also, popsicle sticks where manufactured through machineries resulting
to uneven and deformed member which affect the compatibility of between the
members.

III. Data and Results

Table 1. Dimensions of the Truss Bridge

Actual Dimensions Required Dimension Remarks
Bridge Length 54 cm 50 cm (min)
Bridge Height 15 cm 15 cm (max)
Bridge Span 12 cm 10cm (min)

Table 2. Calculated Structure Efficiency

Actual Weight at Failure Weight of the Bridge Structure Efficiency, E
 45 kgs
0.905 kgs
(DID NOT FAIL) = 47.36

The structure efficieny of the truss bridge is undetermined since the actual weight
at failure is unknown.

IV. Observation and Summary

Img IV.A.1: Truss Bridge with Fire Img IV.A.2: Truss Bridge with 45
Extinguisher and 45 kg s weights kg s weights

The deformation of the bridge was undertermined for the actual weight at failure
of the truss bridge is unknown. Furthermore, the method used in the construction of the
bridge enables to withstand stress concentrations. As such, the computed structure
efficiency was only because of the limited and availability of weights present during the
presentation. As seen in Img IV.A.1 and 2, the bridge was simplified in abeam where
the load from the platform acts in the center and has a two diagonal support system at
both ends. In addition, the original level and the level after the experiment weren’t
evident since the bridge was able to withstand the available weights and is expected to
hold up to 553 lbs with an efficiency of 695. However, there may be variations between
the expected capacity because of the remodeling of the truss bridge but more or less
within the range of the expected load at failure. In conclusion, the experiment has a
significant variable which is the symmetry of locations of the materials; for the angle
and the placement of the diagonal popsicles and triangle were well distributed.

References:
I. Garrettsbridges.com. (2015). New Bridge design – 553lb (695 efficiency) | Garrett's
Bridges. [online] Available at: https://www.garrettsbridges.com/photos/popsicle-
bridges/new-bridge-design-553lb-695-efficiency/ [Accessed 5 Mar. 2019].
II. Buddies, S. (2017). Popsicle Stick Trusses: What Shape Is Strongest?. [online] Scientific
American. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/popsicle-stick-
trusses-what-shape-is-strongest/ [Accessed 6 Mar. 2019].