Posters

CODE 2121

Week 3 – Vertical Stabilizer

For week three we had to create a reasonably high tower than would withstand a ‘blow test’. The aim was to build the tower as tall as possible and as stable as possible. We had a deck of cards and paper clips to complete this task. Our group decided to waffle the design, believing that this would enable us to reach a reasonable height and construct something that would be reasonable stable.

How and where the structure failed? The structure was quite stable and withstood two ‘blow tests’, however it was not very tall. 

Dimensions?
Height - 450mm
Base dimensions - 150mm x 150mm


Diagram

Height/Width of Base?
450/150 = 3

VIDEO LINK

CODE 2121

Week 2 – Horizontal Spans

Structure 1

Similar to week 1, we needed to generate a structure using sate sticks and hot glue; however, this time the structure needed to be 2 cm tall and sit flat on the ground. After brainstorming possible ideas, we decided to weave or hatch the design and glue the joints together. The design was approximately 2.6cm off the ground. 

Weight? 67g

Weight it held? Approximately 157kg

How and where the structure failed? The design didn't fail after a mass of 157kg was applied on top. This design was extremely successful.

Diagrams

Weight of supported load/weight of structure? 

157000.00g / 67.00g = 2343.28g

Structure 2

We again used the weaving method for construction however instead of glue, we grouped 10 sate sticks together to generate height (2cm) and strength. We then joined them together with rubber bands and nylon. Using nylon and rubber bands allowed the joints to be flexible and reminiscent of a pin joint. 

Weight? 75g

Weight it held? Approximately 90kg

How and where the structure failed? This design was quite successful, similar to the first structure, however it did fail. The structure was squashed by about 2mm, due to the sate sticks being forced into the ground. This was because of the flexible materials holding the sticks together; the flexibility allowed for movement and therefore the sticks to be pushed to the ground.

Diagrams

Weight of supported load/weight of structure?

90000.00g / 75.00g = 1200.00g

Structure 3

Structure three could only be created using purely paper. For this task, we decided to use the same design as week one as we believed it to be successful. In week one we folded numerous pieces of paper that had a length of 40cm when folded and a height of 5cm. They were then grouped together to make a dense structure.

Weight? 51g

Weight it held? Approximately 197kg

How and where the structure failed? The structure collapsed at its weakest point on one side, this may be due to the weight not being distributed evenly. 

Diagrams

Weight of supported load/weight of structure? 

197000.00g/51.00g = 3872.55g

VIDEO LINK

CODE2121

Week 1 - Horizontal Support

Structure 1 

The first structure was generated using sate sticks and hot glue. After looking at examples of bridges during the week 1 lecture, our team believed a triangular structure would be the most suited design using these materials. We also believed that building the bridge with a small amount of height would be beneficial as a flat bridge may cave in on itself in the centre. 

Weight? The weight of the structure itself was approximately 65g. 

Weight it held? The bridge itself had no damage, but the weight fell off the top at approximately 6kg. 

How and where the structure failed? The bridge may have failed due to the top being too narrow; the plate on top barely balanced before any mass was applied. Another possible reason would be the materiality. The sate sticks where very thin and quite flexible. This enabled the bridge to bend when weight was applied, making the bridge fall over. There was also a lack of triangulation in the structure. For the bridge to be successful, it should have resembled a space frame structure; however a lack of materials and a time frame made that concept unrealistic. 

Diagrams

Weight of supported load/weight of structure?

6000.00g / 65.00g = 92.30g

 

Structure 2

Again after viewing bridges in the lecture, we attempted to create a suspension bridge using sate sticks, rubber bands and mono filament. We thought that the use of triangulation in the first structure was the correct idea, it just wasn’t executed properly. Therefore, we decided to generate a triangular base for the plate to sit on. Originally, the design was flipped the other way; however, we decided to flip it the way it is shown as it utilised the mono filament and generated more tension and therefore generated a better solution. 

Weight? Approximately 120g

Weight it held? 12kg, we then ran out of paper reams and used our own body weights to push down on the structure (approx. 30kg)

How and where the structure failed? The structure failed due to the way the sate sticks where connected. The sticks were purely connected with rubber bands and once a force was pushed into the middle, these connections snapped. 

Diagrams

Weight of supported load/weight of structure?

42000.00g / 120.00g = 350.00g

Structure 3

Structure three was created from paper only. This bridge design was difficult due to the lack of materials involved. The structure needed to be dense due to the bridge having to span the full 30cm without collapsing on itself, and hold up some weight. We cut and folded numerous pieces of paper that were 5 cm high and when folded where approximately 40cm long. We then grouped these together as close as possible to create a dense structure. 

Weight? 50g

Weight it held? Approximately 6 kg

How and where the structure failed? It appears that one folded piece collapsed when the last weight was applied, making all the other pieces of folded paper be unbalanced and fall. This may be due to the weights not being placed on the plate carefully, or one of the folded pieces being weaker than the others.  

Diagrams

Weight of supported load/weight of structure? 

60.00g / 50.00g = 1.20g

VIDEO LINK