Week 1 - Course Introduction (Structure building activity)
Exercise 1 - Horizontal Supports
Team Members - Sang, Emily, Simon
Part 1: Skewers + Hot glue + Super-glue
The requirements of this project was 4cm high off the table and we focused our design entirely on meeting that requirement. As a result, our design was flawed since we didn't put much consideration into making the structure stable.
The A shape design worked to an extent, since both sides aren't equal, extra stress was put on the tip of the A, resulting in the structure collapsing sideways. However, the supports were actually pretty strong on its own when placed sideways.
Number of reams sustained: 6
Here we designed the bridge with a flexible self supporting structure in mind. A structure that can support heavy weights by bending itself to sustain stress. By using rubber bands to hold the joints together, it allows for a certain degree of movement before springing back to shape or snapping. The fishing line also helps reinforce the rigidity of the structure.
Unfortunately, our intended design failed as soon as the first ream was put on it. However, the flexible structure bent itself downwards and transformed to what was essentially an upside down version of the original. Sadly it did not hold itself for too long and collapsed as a few more reams were stacked.
Number of reams sustained: 3
Part 3: Paper Bridge
The greatest challenge about this build is we were limited to only paper as our material to construct a bridge that can withstand multiple times its weight. We approached this by creating the strongest object that capable of withstanding pressure from different angles. We built the structure by rolling up paper straws and extending them so they would span across the gap, securing 2 long straws with a paper binder.
We were surprised that it worked at all, since we didn't put much consideration in the ends of the structure, if it had a better grip or surface area on the table it would have withstood more weight.
Number of reams sustained: 1
Week 2: Principles 1: Interactive Structures: Systems: Trusses + Beams + Columns + Frames
Exercise 2: Horizontal Spans
Part 1: Skewers + Super glue
Without the restrictions of the table gap in the previous exercise, we've designed a structure that is small yet strong enough to withstand weights hundreds times its size. The structure consists of stacked triangles rotated between each layer to disperse the tension amongst the entire structure.
Load Efficiency = 193.5/36g = 536250kg
The structure did amazingly well in the test, it withstood all the reams of paper we could find and an additional 2-3 people on it. The structure stayed intact so im sure we could put more weight on.
Part 2: Skewer stick + Rubberbands
In this design we based it off a pyramid structure. Again we snapped the skewer sticks in half to reduce material used. However, the snapped sticks were not in uniform length, resulting in the joints unable to be connected properly. The joints flexed easily even with minimal force applied. When the first ream was placed on, the structure was already on the verge of collapsing.
Load Efficiency = 7.5kg/103g = 72.8155339806kg = 72.8kg (1d.p.)
For this final model, we were again tasked to create a structure made entirely of paper. We approached this by constructing the largest surface area possible. The core of the structure was composed of separate strips of folded paper in a zig-zag pattern. This enables the structure to withstand force applied from all 4 directions, A square frame is placed around the stripes to complete it. The distribution of weight among each strip gave surprising results, being able to withstand not only all the reams of paper available, but a person standing on it too. However the structure did break, this was due to uneven force applied to a certain area of the structure when the person stepped off.
Load Efficiency = 131kg/128g = 1023.4375kg = 1023.4kg (1d.p.)
Week 3 - Principles 2: Lateral Stability lateral forces and moments, lateral supports
