The Physics of a Truss Bridge Essay

Words: 994
Pages: 4

Truss Bridge
Physics 141
Robin Hoffmeister

There is many reason that we need bridges in every day of our life, from sufficient means to pass over a roadway, waterway, railway, or other structure. You don’t even think about them because it takes no effort to get over them and they are just there for your use. So if you don’t think of them for everyday use I highly doubt that you would think of the physics that is involved in putting one together or the kind of force the bridge can actually take. I am going to show you the max force a truss bridge can take by demonstration it to you in class and also by trying to calculate it. I am also going to go over the many ways that truss bridges can fail and come to a tumbling crash. Before

When I am going to test the maximum force of my paper truss bridge, I have calculated that it should hold 5 kilograms with no problems and probably will even get up to 10 kilograms. My bridge weighs about 55 grams so my bridge should have a strength-to-weight ratio of over 90, which is very good and if I can get it to hold 10 kilograms it will be wonderful. Once we hit the maximum load we are going to see my bridge come to a crashing end. My crash will be due to over loading, but there is many more reason why bridges come to crashing ends. Some of the more common ones are overloading, collisions that cause damage to the bridge, poor construction, and wear and tear. There are many other things that could make a bridge fail but they get particular, like a bolt in a joint rusting out causing the whole structure to become unsound. Overall we have learned the physics that it takes to keep truss bridges stands, which is a lot. We also came to understand that there is a lot of tension and compression in a truss bridge and that it is a key component of the bridge even though you can’t really see it happening. Plus how bridges will eventually come to a crashing end and what cause them too and hopefully that what we will see happen to my bridge when I demonstrate it in class.

Bibliography
Boon, Garrett. Model Bridge design. 2010. 30 11 2010 .
Britannica, Encyclopeadia. truss bridge. 2010. 31 12 2010 .
Buzzle.com intelligent life on the web. 2009. 31 11