Author2022 TCNJ Steel Bridge Team |
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Construction Practice3/27/2022 The team was running around endlessly for the second half of March. This is no joke because let me tell you building a bridge is tiring. The team was up for the task though because we were able to get our construction time down to 23 minutes from the first time of 40 minutes.
For the steel bridge competition each team is required to build their bridge as fast as they can. This construction time is calculated into the final score. For our team we are opting to have 5 builders. This allowed us to get under the 30 minute mark. After 30 minutes there is a penalty that anything over counts as 180 minutes of construction time. After the 45 minute mark the bridge construction has to be stopped. Our team had to come up with the best way to construct the bridge to cut down as much time as possible. The Construction will start with two people on the West side of the highway and three people on the East side. The West Side will build the North stringer extended to east side of the highway, simultaneously the East side will build the South stringer extended to the west side of the highway. Once the East Side has finished the south stringer portion, they will build the North stringer from the east footing to the highway. The West side North stringer will be swung across the highway for the East side to connect the stringer’s entire back span between the two North footings. The West side will then construct the South stringer to connect with the already built and tightened East side of the back span. The East side constructs the cantilever portion of the stringers, while the West side begins placing lateral bracing. The diagonal lateral bracing is then placed and then all of the stringers and bracing is fully tightened. For the next two weeks the team will continue to practice building the bridge as well as painting it to make the bridge aesthetically pleasing.
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