970lbs IS impressive. I wonder how much it weighs. Engineering colleges have these kinds of contests every year. The goal is to support the most weight while weighing as little as possible. Although the concrete canoes are just crazy, but that's civil engineers for you.
That popsicle stick bridge is pretty cool. You can tell the builder is familiar with structural loading.
When I was in high school, we had a similar contest, using balsa wood. My little balsa wood bridge held almost 100 pounds. I wish we could have used popsicle sticks; they're a lot stronger than balsa wood.
Our senior drafting class designed and built bridges and towers made of bass wood. Very fun projects I got 2nd on the tower and 1st on the bridge. The weight was a bucket hung below the structure via cable (fishing steel leader). You loaded free weights until you thought it was near its limit, then switched to sand until it snapped. I snapped the cable for the bridge. A neighbor kid said the teacher still had the intact bridge in his office 4 years later
... the concrete canoes are just crazy, but that's civil engineers for you.
Concrete barges were used extensively for shipping cargo during WW-II. Structural steel was in short supply, and concrete was both plentiful and fast to build with.
Concrete barges were used extensively for shipping cargo during WW-II. Structural steel was in short supply, and concrete was both plentiful and fast to build with.
Yup. That's also why the Hughes Hercules was built out of wood.
