A1-HOWARD

                     Bridge Design:

                     Bridge Test with Truck:

                      Load Test Results:

The design goals that I started out with when designing this bridge were for it to be safe to use, cost efficient, and  aesthetically pleasing.  All of these factors were important but the most important was safety, second was cost, and third was the appearance.  I experimented with many different designs to find which types and components work the best for carrying loads before deciding to incorporate different components into a final design.  I started out using the templates that West Point Bridge Designer provides and building off of them in order to make them functional and unique.  I then began experimenting with my own original designs to make a design that was functional and creative.  I experimented by adding joints and beams in different places on the bridge where I thought they would be effective.  Occasionally there were parts on the bridge that were not necessary to include.  I designed my bridge using symmetry and patterns, I used a series of triangles to construct the bridge.  My current bridge is estimated to cost $468,308.63.  I predict that the cost can be decreased significantly by experimenting with size and material used.  The cost could be lowered by decreasing the thickness of certain members and using material other than solid carbon steel bars.  I overcompensated for the size of the members in relation to the stress put on them.  I have learned that triangles are the strongest shape and reinforced this fact by testing other shapes that failed.  I experimented with one design that incorporated parallelograms into it however when I slightly changed the design to use triangles instead of parallelograms, the design was much stronger and used a significantly lower number of members.  This program has also taught me a lot about the design process and about changing the design slightly to be significantly stronger.