Balsa Wood
Bridge

For my design project in Architectural and Engineering Design, we were tasked to build a strong balsa wood bridge.

This College, Career, and Technical Education (CCTE) course focuses on preparing students for life after high school.

We would be scored by the ratio of bridge weight to load weight.

Plans

Strength and Weight

Estimated Weight: 20g of balsa wood + 5g of glue = 25g

Actual Weight: 28g = 0.0617 lbs

Load Ratio

Ratio = Maximum Load / Bridge Weight

Ratio = 31 lbs / 0.0617 lbs

Ratio = 502.6

Engineering Design Process

I developed the design for my bridge using the truss simulator to figure out a design and saw that the strongest bridges curved up. They also had two beams crossed in each section to make four triangles to make the bridge sturdy.

My bridge held 30psi and weighed 28g. There were about 80 students total ranked by the ratio of bridge weight to load weight and total weight carried.

Overall, I placed 3rd by the ratio and 4th place by total weight.