WVU Fundamentals of Engineering Program Fall 2019
ENGR 101: Engineering Problem Solving I Project 1: Truss
Bridge Design
The first project in Engineering 101 this semester is to design a bridge in a variety of ways. One way is to physically test
scale models to evaluate different truss configurations, with the results of this initial testing being utilized for a real world
application using the West Point Bridge Designer software package. There are multiple deliverables for this project that will
be submitted at various times during the 5 weeks over which the project will be completed. Several of these deliverables will
be completed individually, while other aspects are team based. If a deliverable does not indicate, always assume it is a task
that is to be completed as an individual
PHASE ONE: INDIVIDUAL
After coordinating with your team mates, each member of the team will design a truss bridge configuration that will span a
29 inch wide gap. The intent here is that there will be four different truss styles investigated by each team. The informatio n
from this initial testing is to be used by the team to help in the team in the design of the bridge in Phase Two. Coordination
between team members should extend beyond just the type of truss, other factors that should be agreed on include, but are
not limited to, how much load to apply to the truss and the locations (minimum 3) that forces need to be measured.
Each team member must evaluate a different truss style the following list is of potential designs but not inclusive of all
possible designs:
•
• Warren truss
•
• Pratt truss
•
• K-truss
•
• Fink truss
•
• Parker truss
•
• Waddell “A” truss
•
• Pennsylvania truss
In addition, the following topics must be divided such that each team member researches one item, thus the combined
background research for the final project report address all four items.
•
• History of Truss Bridges
•
• Structural Analysis
•
• Pier/Bridge Abutment Designs
•
• Other Applications for Trusses
Thus, each member of the team is expected to conduct background research on at least one truss style, and one of the
additional topics at the beginning of the project. This background research is expected to cite at least 5 sources, using MLA
8 citation style.
Before arriving in the lab to conduct your testing, please review the PASCO SparkVue Getting Started Guide handout. This
preliminary testing should lead to a ranking of the four truss designs considered for application in Phase Two. And resulting
in the second deliverable from the project, the intermediate report.
In the FEP Build Lab (176 ESB, one floor above the Eugene Cilento Engineering Learning Center) are kits of the PASCO
Structures System, along with Bluetooth force sensors that will connect with the SparkVue app that is a free app available in
Apple and Android AppStores. Having the app installed on your phone would make getting the data faster as you could take
it with you when you leave. An iPad with the app installed will be available but shared between all testing areas.
In each of the component kits there will be a variety of beams as shown in Figure 1, and a variety of connectors. Before
arriving in the lab to test, you need to document what you want to construct as entries in your engineering logbook (Honors
Sections) or engineering/graph paper (Non-Honors Sections) as a minimum. Within a one-hour time span, you are expected
to build, test, and disassemble your truss. Trusses typically do not have uniform forces in all of the beams, WVU
Fundamentals of Engineering Program Fall 2019
thus the requirement for at least 3 different locations tested within the truss.
Figure 1: PASCO Structural Beams (24, 17, 11.5, 8, and 5.5 cm) Available in 176 ESB
PHASE TWO:
In the second phase of this bridge design project your project team is responding to a request from the Department of
Transportation, designing a new truss bridge to carry a two-lane highway across the river valley shown in Figure 2. The river
valley is 24 meters deep, with an average incline of 63 degrees resulting in an opening at the top of 44 me ters. The results
from Phase One are to be used as a means for selection of the basic truss configuration that is to be used in the bridge design.
Figure 2: Elevation View of the Proposed Bridge Site
The West Point Bridge Designer 2019 software (2016 or newer is sufficient) is to be used to estimate the loads within the
truss bridge, as well as the total project cost. Both of these factors will be utilized in the evaluation of which design is the
best in the class. Where the Force to Strength Ratio to be used in the calculation is going to be the furthest from a value of
0.5, which corresponds to the target factor of safety of 2.0 as the Force to Strength Ratio is the reciprocal of Factor of Safety.
The design score for each bridge design, will be calculated for all bridges that has to successfully withstand the passage of
the commercial vehicle at the completion of the project by the instructor.
The bridge design software allows for the creation of nodes, or joints between beams, as well as the beams them selves.
There are also, a variety of settings that can be changed in the software, such as the type of concrete, the size of the beam s
used in the trusses, to name a few. It is up to the design team to choose which values to use for all settings in the West Point
Bridge Designer software, as all parameters are factored into both the bridge cost and force to strength ratio.
The West Point Bridge Designer 2016 can be downloaded at: http://bridgedesigner.org/download/ WVU Fundamentals of
Engineering Program Fall 2019
PROJECT DELIVERABLES: Title
Team Charter (Agreement) - Team
Initial Gantt chart - Team
Background Research Summary, 5
sources minimum - Individual
Mid Project Update (Introduction,
combined Background, Phase 1
Results) - Team
Project Final Technical Report Team
Project-1PowerPoint Slides - Team
Project-1 Presentation - Team
Design Score – Team *Calculated by
Grade Category
Assignment
Assignment
Project 1 (15%)
Due Date
Sept 3
Sep 6
Sept 8
Assignment
Sept 15
Project 1 (35%)
Sept 25
Project 1 (20%)
Sept 29
Sept 30/Oct 2
Project 1 (20%)
Oct 6
Project 1 (10%)
Oct 6
instructor
Peer Review - Individual
Name: ____________________________
Task
Points Points
Possible Earned
1. Body text 12 size font, Times New Roman, 1” margins, double spaced
2. Proper and appropriate grammar and spelling are used throughout
3. Summarizes relevant literature (research). The idea here is to set the stage for the
reader to completely understand your report.
4. Tells what research or experimentation on this topic has been done in the past
5. At least 5 scholarly sources. Confirm the source is listed on reference page AND in
the text.
6. Each reference is in alphabetical order
7. Proper use of in-text citations (author’s last name page number). No comma
between the last name and year of publication, just a space. If author is not found →
(title of source) and this should match the works cited page. YOU MUST HAVE IN TEXT CITATIONS! E.g. (Shetterly 1) https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
8. Proper MLA 8 formatting for each resource. Here are some examples…
1
5
6
Kolata, Gina. “Who Needs Hard Drives? Scientists Store Film Clip in DNA.” New York Times. New York
Times, 12 July 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/12/science/film-clip-stored- in-dna.html
4
2
2
1
4
Stewart, Robb M., and Tim Higgins. “Tesla to Build World’s Biggest L ithium-Battery System,” Wall
Street Journal (Online), 07 July 2017, US Newsstream.
Grade Total: _______
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