A2-Mercado

1)

The design of my bridge is fairly simple. I wanted to keep the design simple to lower the cost which is what I learned from experimentation with West Point Bridge Designer. My truss consists mostly of alternating triangles according to the side. All the triangles point inward and the center square is an X. The top are all X’s inside squares.  I also tried to utilize smaller beams because they were cheaper. My design is very abstract and based on how I perceive loads to be experienced thus the X  centers are at areas where there is more load.  My main concern is the question as to whether my abstract idea will work at all.

2)

 Elevation View

3)

 Plan View

4)

 Bill of Materials

5)

As of right now my bridge did not change much because I have not tested it yet. If and when I get to test my design I will change the design accordingly.  I took

6)

                I learned that designing a low cost bridge is not easy at all. Many of the gusset plates are very expensive especially the connection plates.  This makes the price of the bridge skyrocket.  In order to make a good bridge that is low in cost a lot of testing must be done.