I. BRIDGE BUILDING

Rules

(The only difference from the 2010 rules is that the maximum mass has been increased to 500 g.)

A. Objective

To build the bridge within our specifications that will support the greatest load.

B. Apparatus (Each team of 3 members may enter one bridge)

    Building Materials:

  1. Standard size popsicle sticks. They may be shaped in any manner.
  2. 1/8" thick Balsa strips may be used for the deck surface only. Balsa may not be used to reinforce the deck.
  3. The wood may not be saturated by the bonding agent.
  4. NO other materials may be used.

    Dimensions:

  5. Clearance - Clearance Testing Template must pass under the bridge while parallel to the planes formed by the sides of the bridge.
  6. Max Total Height - 60 cm - includes deck and any substructure.
  7. Deck Surface must be continuous and flat.
  8. Deck Length - 50 cm - min.
  9. Deck Width - 5 cm - min.

    Other qualifying factors:

  10. The bridge must be able to support two 5kg masses - each placed 1/4 of the way in from each end and placed on the bridge at the same time. The bridge is to be free standing but with its legs in the platform indentations in the loading apparatus.
  11. The bridge must be able to stand on its own.
  12. Total mass of the bridge plus glue shall not exceed 500 g.
  13. The bridge must have two end support piers, the bottoms of which will fit into 5 cm x 5 cm x 1 cm deep indents in the loading platform. The indents are separated by 45 cm.
  14. Bridge design must permit placement of the loading structure. The loading bar will be a block 5 cm wide x 30 cm long to be placed at the center of the bridge surface with a crossbar 3 cm in. diameter to go across the bridge at its midpoint.
  15. Bridges must be submitted for certification 1/2 hour before scheduled loading time.

C. The Competition

1. Teams must report before or at the specified time. If the bridge does not meet required specifications, students will have a maximum of one-half hour to fix and report back for a final testing and loading.

2. Certified bridges will be placed on the "Destruction Device" by the team members, who may make final adjustments in its position.

3. Bridges will then be subjected to loading by a hydraulic device.

4. The dimensions of the loading bar are 5 cm wide x 30 cm long.

D. Judging and Scoring

1. Ten (10) points will be awarded all bridges that meet the physical dimension Specifications.

2. The greatest load prior to fracture will be a bridge's Event Score.

3. The Maximum Team Score (40 points) will be awarded the team with the highest Event Score. Other teams will receive Team Scores based on their ranking in the Event Scores (40, 39, 38, 37, etc.). In the event of an extraordinarily large crushing force difference between two adjacent entries, the judges may, at their discretion, assign one extra point difference between the event scores for those two teams (40, 39, 38, 36, 35, etc).

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