Week 1: Civil and environmental engineering

(Left: Paper and connects windmill, Right: Index card bridge and bridge designer)

Requirements:

 Build a 4-foot balsa wood bridge, which spans a 3-foot space between 2 tables, with a minimum clearance of 1ft across the span. Bridge will be tested to see how many red bricks it supports while the bricks are rolled back and forth on a wheeled platform. Bridge to be composed only of:

1. • 150 balsa wood strips (1/8” x 1/8” x 36”), 

   • 15 balsa wood planks (1/8” x 3” x 36”), and 

   • 15 hot glue sticks

Bridge held six bricks (4.5 lbs/2.0 kg each) on the rolling cart

1. Describe the plan your group used to complete the projects.

Our group divided up the bridge and windmill projects to have three people working on the bridge and two people working on the windmill. We also divided up who would do the CAD, research papers, website, reflections, bridge designer, and AI chatbot. 

2. How did you incorporate the Design strategies from the textbook (Ch 21-26)?

During the activities phase of the project with the index card bridge and the windmill made of paper and connects we were able to test our ideas on a smaller scale. When something didn’t work it was easy to improve the design and retest before building on a larger scale. We also created detailed designs whether it was in CAD or in drawing on whiteboards.

3. Describe the process your group used to accomplish the task.

Our group would set goals for how much we wanted to get done during a class period, but other than that we all would try to come in with a good attitude and be ready to work together. Since we were all able to work so cohesively together, there was less of a need to have a specific process to complete our tasks, and we were able to make changes as we went.

4. Describe the principles you used to build the project and apply to the engineering fields you studied.

Both groups heavily focused on stability. In the real world having a bridge or windmill fall could cause death and destruction. Our windmill team worked to make sure the base was strong enough and had enough support to the ground to stay upright and in place while the wind was coming from the fan. Our bridge team needed to look at stability not in the way of having it fall over, but instead in the way of not having the bridge collapse. We attempted to add a second layer of planks on the main roadway of the bridge along with putting supports from the legs to the middle of the bridge. However, these didn’t keep our bridge from collapsing. Civil engineering requires a greater level of stability because the creations the engineers make require a resistance to adverse conditions whether its crowds, weather, or any other poor condition.

5. Each member’s role in the project.

On the bridge, Emily worked to create our bridge within the bridge designer application while Becca created the CAD for the actual bridge. Derinsu created our rough design and then began to work on our website and the AI chatbot. All three of us worked together to build the bridge during class. Nolan made the CAD for the windmill while Rocco did the KidWind simulation. They also worked together to build the physical bridge in class. We split the research papers between the five of us so everyone could participate in the area that they were most interested in.

6. Describe the successes and the obstacles your team encountered and how your team overcame the obstacles.

The windmill team had an issue with their blades not catching enough air to spin. This almost caused them to switch from using the small motor to the larger one. However, they decided to make their blades wider before giving up on the small motor, and this allowed them to catch the needed amount of wind. Our bridge team didn’t face many obstacles until after our test did poorly compared to what we had expected. Afterwards, we talked through it and tried to identify what we should have done differently which allowed us to not feel like our bridge was a failure and instead a way for us to learn.

7. What would your next steps be to improve your project?

For our windmill, there isn’t much to improve. We were able to create a windmill that stayed stable while running an LED on the smaller motor. If we were to change something, we would create a stronger base and attempt to have it run more consistently. Our bridge was less successful when we tested it. We needed to improve our supports in the middle, and either make stronger trusses or not have them at all. The trusses began to cave in as soon as we put weight on the bridge which hindered our ability to pull the cart across smoothly. When the bridge broke, it broke right down the middle meaning that making stronger supports in the middle may have allowed us to hold more weight. 

8. Describe the lessons that you learned and how you will apply these lessons to future projects.

Our windmill team learned that finishing fast can be beneficial, especially when there is a second team that also needs extra help. They also learned that it’s okay to change your design and allow it to evolve if the original one isn’t working as planned, and in the future they won’t be as stingy with changes. Our bridge team learned that even though our truss didn’t matter as much to keep it stable, our neglect of it likely hindered our performance on our test. We also learned that in the future testing more designs instead of going with our gut will lead to a better performance.

9. Knowing what you know now, how would you start your project differently?

For our bridge, we would have studied more bridge designs instead of picking the first one that worked. Our windmill turned out successful and quickly, so there isn’t much they would change from the start. However, they would have begun with designing the blades of the windmill wider from the start instead of having to make them wider at the last minute.