12th Annual BSCES/MassPEP

Model Bridge Competition

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 2006

CERTAIN QUESTIONS KEEP POPPING UP WITH EVERY TEAM.  ONLY QUESTIONS THAT PERTAIN TO GENERAL INTERPRETATION OF THE SPECS OR OVERALL CONTEST ADMINISTRATION WILL BE ANSWERED HERE.

A: It may be a good engineering lesson to students to track down material safety data on the items specified.  I have not, but I'm willing to bet that all three materials give off toxic fumes when burnt.  Teachers and mentors are strongly encouraged to make safety the top priority, and if students take materials home they are not to play with fire.  I do not want this to be the final competition, and if anyone inhales those fumes or sets a fire, I am willing to bet the contest, and most of the other activities our group undertakes, will cease to be.

Q:  How much does the loading device weigh?

A: It is not yet known, but will weigh less than 10 pounds.

Q:  Can students work on their bridges at home or in study halls?

A: There is a tough line here.  Students can bring materials home or in spare time at school, but students cannot be collected by a teacher to have an organized session during school time.  All the rules on the registration form hold; teachers and their teams cannot overstep the limits set, or the contest will be unfair.  The contest aims to be fun and educational; the competitive edge is secondary to us.  We also have fun with this, and overstepping the limits makes an unfair playing field, which makes people upset, which makes our group not have fun.

Q: How exactly does this loading device work, and does the clearance envelope shown in the specs need to run the entire length of the bridge?

A: We place the load on the bridge in several steps.  The first step is to put the "truck" somewhere within the center 1'-0" of the bridge deck.  If your deck is on the top of your bridge, you have a wide open clearance and don't need to worry about anything, but otherwise the clearance must be enough to allow a 4.5" wide x 6" high block to be passed through the structure from either end.  Our logic is that there will be many bridges being tested that day, and we want students to be able to quickly set up the device on their bridges, and a 6" height seemed enough to get the "truck" and an arm through the end at the same time.  Once the truck is placed, a crossbar will be bolted to the top of the truck centered between the front and back wheels.  Once the bar is on, the same loading device shown in all the pictures on the main page will be attached, and then the weights applied to the device.  We did our best to write the specs in such a way that the testing apparatus will not need to be modified for each model.