OUR PROGRESS
Take a look at the work that we are completing and follow along as we progress on our steel bridge!
The team competed in the 2023 Regional Student Steel Bridge Competition at Rowan University. Overall, the team was able to successfully assemble the bridge within the time constraints. The construction time was 36 minutes and the bridge weighed approximately 470 pounds. However, there were discrepancies during the load testing due to horizontal sway, and the team was ultimately disqualified. During the Dinner and Awards Banquet, the TCNJ team was awarded first place in Aesthetics. Although the team would have liked to successfully load tested the bridge, the team is satisfied with the results and gained a lot from the Senior Project.
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The team has been hard at work at building their bridge after finalizing their manufacturing in the machine shop. They attended the Senior Project Poster presentation where they were able to show the rest of their peers and faculty members the designs, analysis, material, and the sequence of how the bridge will be constructed. The team practiced various construction techniques and sequences to cut assembly time down. The team utilized ratchet straps in order to hold the overtruss in place, while constructing the rest of the bridge. This method allows all five builders to assemble the bridge together in comparison to the old technique which required two builders to hold the bridge in place. The team has set a goal of 40 minutes of construction time. Additionally, modifications were made to the center panel of the bridge in order to move the center of the bridge away from the center of the river. This will allow construction workers to easily reach members of the bridge.
The team has been working on fabricating the bridge throughout the winter break as well as the start of the spring semester. The team began by cutting members to size and drilling holes for the bolts as well as to align the plates to be welded. By the first half of February, the team completed welding portions of the bridge together, as seen in the images, in order to make construction as efficient as possible. The team is making great progress on the bridge, and the team is now investigating the most efficient sway frame design in order to prevent increasing the weight and assembly time too much. The team is preparing to put the finishing touches on the bridge as well as prepare practicing assembling the bridge together. The team presented the Fall 2022 Design Presentation which included details regarding the project objectives, alternative designs, final design, and final design specifications and details. The team has begun preparing CAD drawings for the Machine Shop in preparation for fabrication. Additionally, the team ordered materials from McKnight Steel Inc. The team ordered 1 inch and 1.5 inch tubing along with one-quarter inch plates to use cut for connections. The team is excited to start fabrication! The team prepared the project Gantt Chart, Fabrication Schedule, and Engineering Services Cost in order to evaluate team progress as well as estimate the engineering cost for the project for the fall, winter, and spring semesters. Additionally, the team finalized the analysis for the stringer connections and started the calculations and analysis of the connections of the overhead truss. Lastly, the CAD Lead developed the 3-D bridge model along with preliminary connection designs in AutoCAD. The team is preparing for fabrication by becoming more familiar with the Machine Shop equipment. The team attended Joe Zanetti’s (TCNJ’s Professional Service Specialist) Welding Clinic in the Machine Shop to gain a better understanding of effective and safe welding practices. The team got to practice welding lines as well as tacking. Additionally, the team has been making progress on connections by starting hand calculations as well as finalizing the 3-D bridge design in Visual Analysis. The team started refining the final bridge design. Initially, the team used Visual Analysis to analyze various member sizes in order to decrease deflection while also minimizing bridge weight. The team tested various rectangular tubing ranging from 0.5”x0.5”x0.065” to 1”x1”x0.12” and analyzed the bridge under conditions where the larger sections are in tension. Additionally, the team began discussing strategies and approaches in regard to the bridge connection. The team began preliminary sketches and designs for the connections.
The team has been working on the alternative designs for the competition. Specifically, the team is implementing changes to the alternative designs to decrease the amount of members and connections in order to increase constructability and build time. Additionally, the bridges’ weight, number of members, number of connections, deflection, and distribution of axial forces have been analyzed and compared among the five bridge designs in order to determine the most optimal bridge design. Using this criteria, a design matrix and decision matrix were created to determine the most optimal bridge. The team has completed preparation for the September and October fundraising events. Paige Rocco coordinated the Rita's Fundraiser for September 23, 2022, where we raised $120 for the TCNJ Chapter of ASCE. Connor Conyngham organized the Chipotle fundraiser for October 19, 2022. Additionally, team members coordinated with the ASCE editor to create flyers and posts for the fundraising events. Lastly, the team has started developing alternate designs with the assistance of the faculty and industry advisors. The team has also been coordinating with the industry advisor to become familiar with Visual Analysis software to prepare preliminary alternate steel bridge designs for the competition. The members have designed two overhead truss designs, two under truss designs, and one design refurbishing last year’s competition bridge design. The team has started its fundraising campaign to meet the competition budgets for the ASCE Steel Bridge and Concrete Canoe. Members of the Steel Bridge team have started networking and sending out fundraising letters as well as organizing ASCE Chapter fundraising events. Additionally, members of the Junior team have gotten involved in the fundraising campaign by sending out additional letters to leaders in the civil engineering and construction industries. Additionally, the team has met with their advisor, Dr. Al-Omaishi, industry advisor, Dr. Strafaci, as well as the professional service specialist, Mr. Zanetti to organize this year’s competition goals, timelines, etc. Preliminary research has started based on this year’s competition rules and regulations, which were released September 6, 2022. At the machine shop, the team was able to make an inventory of any extra steel that could potentially be used for this year’s project. |