Bridge - Test the Strength of Members

We tested different bridge members to find their strengths below is an excel document outlining all of our data about the strength of the different members. We tested both tension and compression. I have included the designs for creating our test members. We tested them by placing weight on one end of the tool until the member broke.

Here is a video of one of the test runs:

Here you will see all of the data spread out. There are two pages: one for members that experience tension and one of the members that are under compression.

I have also included the third graph in a jpeg version below because the lines of best fit do not show up on the spreadsheet.

Results:

The results show that lengths affect the compression. The longer the length of the member, the lower the compression strength. Additionally, we learned that the width the member influences the amount of tension a member can withstand. The greater the width, the greater the amount of tension a member can hold. Our data also suggested the shape of the 6mm by 10mm tube for compression was able to withstand more weight which was very interesting. This supports a hypothesis that the rectangular shape is stronger than the square shape.