PREDICTED FAILURE

Warren Truss & Arch Joint

Although the structures have been linked together successfully to create one bridge should a
great enough load be applied its likely the structure could break here. The bridge as two separate
structures has had more time to dry and set, the weakest joints will be found where the structures
meet.
Upper Chord Members of the Arch
The strength of the upper chord depends upon where the load is positioned during testing. Should
it be placed on top of a joint the arch will be able to withstand a large load, the forces will
transfer directly into the warren truss through the arches vertical members. If however the weight
is applied between the joints, the load the bridge is able to carry depends greatly upon the
strength of the straws and not the structural design. The straws are strong when a force is applied
through them vertically, but when transferring across them in a fairly horizontal manner they can
crush. For this reason we chose to use the thicker and stronger of the straws for using within the
chords on both bridges in an attempt to strengthen these areas without stacking straws. We could
have doubled these straws within this area, we didnt think this would strengthen this section of
the bridge much and would just add weight to the structure, reducing our load : weight ratio.
Joints Collectively
Joints include areas where materials meet. Our model could break at these points, dependent
upon the rigidity and strength of the glue used. The joining material has differing physical
properties to those of the straw, different forces will have different effects upon each and could
shatter the structure.
Model Weight: 2.5 kg
Held Load: 400g
Ratio: 1g bridge: 6.25g load
Failure: The net was positioned across the arches members, the bridge itself remained fine the
straws however crushed under the loads weight.

PREVENT PREDICTED FAILURE

Over stress of an individual element - The actual forces in the members (elements) must be
less than what the individual members can withstand.
Straw bridge analyzes the structure to determine the actual forces (axial - tension or
compression, bending, shear & torsion) that are generated in each individual member. Separately,
tests were conducted on a typical elements to determine what a single member can withstand (the
allowable forces).
Each member is then checked using this equation:
Actual forces < Allowable forces
Our goal is to construct (with careful attention to detail) a model that fully utilizes the allowable
forces in the most critically stressed member.We don't want the structure to fail before your
member analysis predicts the failure should occur.
PROBLEM
The problem areas below can cause premature failure before the predicted load:
Bad joint geometry - the longitudinal axes of members connecting at a single joint should be
concurrent. If they are not you will create an eccentricity in the connection causing a possible
bending failure of a member.
Tension connection Failure - premature failure of a joint usually by pulling the gain off of an
adjoining member
Sometimes it takes careful examination to determine the real cause of failure.
Loss of a connection can cause a redistribution of load that breaks a member away from the
actual failure point (the joint - see picture above right
Lateral torsional buckling - bridge flopping over due to inadequate lateral support. The
structure needs some resistance to load perpendicular to the main truss.
Inadequate bracing of a compression member - bracing a compression member to increase its
load carrying capability and not bracing it in at least two orthogonal directions. That is, the
member ends up buckling in another direction. Local failure - failure at the location where the
load is attached.

Failure of the glue - the joint could fail because not enough adhesive is present at the interface
between the adjoining members thus causing the glue material to be over stressed and break or
stretch so much that it causes a redistributed of load followed by a secondary failure away from
the joint.
Wrong supports - Try so select supports that represent how the actual model will deform when
the load is applied.
Do not cut members if the actual geometry does not require it. To describe our structure to
straw bridge it is necessary to draw members from joint to joint. Therefore, the member may
appear cut on the computer screen. Do not cut members when you actually build your model if
you can avoid it. For example, usually the bottom chord of a bridge truss can be continuous, even
though, when you draw the bottom chord into the program, you must draw it as individual
elements that span from joint to joint.