This question is about the current spaghetti contest. This year the bridge has to span one meter but it also has to go 42cm upwards. To test the bridge there is a point load applied in the middle of the bridge. Again the bridge has to carry its own weight as many times as possible.
For more info (in Dutch): http://spaghetti.tudelft.nl/index.php
So the question is:
What is the best construction for this spaghetti bridge?
Preconditions next to the normal contest rules could be a restriction in two types of construction elements. A hollow tube constructed out of spaghetti for compression, and a massive spaghetti rod for tension.
Bridges have to carry several loads, its own weight, dynamic forces of vehicles, and some other smaller loads like for example wind. In the current bridge designs you can see that these forces are being dealt with separately making it a very 2D construction as mentioned earlier. And if not, the ‘integrated’ solution is always a very heavy but cheap concrete construction, which adds nothing to the landscape besides its function where it could be a real sculpture of structural design.
The question here is:
How do you design a lightweight integrated bridge construction?
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Research Management PDF
By:Jan Andersen,Kristel Toom,Susi Poli,Pamela F. Miller
Published on 2017-11-15 by Academic Press
Research Management: Europe and...
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That's a good, clear statement on your topic of interest, Bart. Observing something in your environment which is not satisfying and trying to improve upon it is often a strong and simple motivation for designers of all kinds.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenIn terms of focusing this interest (and also your initial idea of a possible direction for solutions: i.e. try making the structure more 3-dimensional than in the conventional solutions) you need to structure your research question in a way that helps you to study it systematically.
One possible way of doing this is to express it in terms of hypothesis-and-test, as we discussed in the introductory lectures. So please try framing two or three statements in this way, explaining your hypothesis (basically, that 3D bridge structures are better) and how you would test that hypothesis.
André
I find really interesting what you want to research. I have also been in spaghetti bridge contests, and as you are, I was trying to deal with a nice interesting shape along with the functional matters of the bridge. So I know it is quite a challenge. It would be nice if you could share your final outcome if you keep on this track.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenPerla