In Straws We Trussed - Page 7
THE COMPUTATIONAL CHALLENGE
Your challenge is to build a bridge structure, using the Truss Applet, that will minimize the maximum tension and compression. It will be measured by the selecting the largest tension or compression value from all the members of your truss. The person with the smallest biggest number wins!
The Rules:
- You must have two nodes as supports on either side of the structure.
- You cannot place any loads on your supports.
- One of your supports must be a fixed node.
- The other support must be a horizontal rolling node.
- You can have no more than 25 members.
- You can have no more than 14 nodes.
- Your structure MUST hold 100 'pounds' in the form of load(s) downwards. This load can be divided up into smaller loads that add up to 100.
- In addition, your structure MUST hold a 20-pound load to the right.
Example:
To compare two trusses, first find the largest value for both compression and tension on the first truss model. Do the same for The second model. Compare these two values - the smaller one is 'better'. For example:
Looking carefully at the above truss, you should be able to see that the largest compression value is 83, and the largest tension value is 74.
In this second truss, the largest compression value is 121 and the largest tension value is 72. In the first case the maximum of the two is 84, in this case the maximum is 121. Even though the first truss has a higher value in tension, it has a lower overall value, and is the better structure for this challenge.
How low can you go? Create a few different trusses and record their maximum stress values - make sure you are following all the rules! How do your results compare to your classmates?
| Apply what you've learned in the Physical Challenge! |