Balsa wood Bridge

Engineering Report

By Alvin Wong
10Eng1
Mr Wallace
August 2015
Abstract
In this report, I will explain how to design and construct the most
efficient Balsa Bridge by using limited material in a limited time
period. I need to find an engineering process which allows me to
design and construct a Balsa bridge when I do not have any
constraints on how the Balsa Bridge must be manufactured.

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Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Design Brief ............................................................................................................................................. 5
Work Breakdown Structure .................................................................................................................... 6
Balsa Wood Bridge Design ...................................................................................................................... 7
Production plan - sequence of proposed steps ...................................................................................... 8
Bridge specifications ............................................................................................................................... 9
Equipment ............................................................................................................................................. 10
Evaluation ............................................................................................................................................. 12
Final Evaluation ................................................................................................................................. 12
Recommendations ................................................................................................................................ 14
Appendix ............................................................................................................................................... 15
Appendix 1: Rules and Guidance ...................................................................................................... 15
Appendix 2: Construction Rules ........................................................................................................ 16
Appendix 3: Important tips ............................................................................................................... 17
Appendix 4: Further tips for bridge construction ............................................................................. 18
Appendix 5: Safety precautions and hazards .................................................................................... 19
Appendix 6: Types of bridges ............................................................................................................ 20
Appendix 7: Types of force ............................................................................................................... 23
Appendix 8: Live Load and Dead Load .............................................................................................. 24
Glossary ................................................................................................................................................. 25
Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 26

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Introduction
The year 10 engineering class received a project known as the Balsa
bridge where we were given a set amount of materials to design and
construct a bridge which could hold the most weight and have the
best weight to load ratio. We must solve many problems in this Balsa
bridge before constructing the most efficient Balsa bridge. Some
problems are the availability of each materials and time constraint.
In the end, it is up to us, the engineers to solve the question of ‘how
best to make the bridge?’ This project involves planning, decision
making, creative thinking and innovation.

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Design Brief
For this Balsa wood bridge project, we had to complete these things:
1. Bridge draft
2. Balsa wood bridge model
3. Progressed folio

Aim: to understand the characteristics of the balsa wood bridge, to

develop skills on bridge building, forces, technical terminology, how
to use a certain equipment and how to make a wood balsa bridge
efficiently.

For my balsa wood bridge model, I had specifications to follow to

comply with the bridge specifications.
Some examples of these were
 The length of the bridge
 The width of the bridge
 The amount of materials provided

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Work Breakdown Structure
Balsa Bridge
Project

Research Design Make Test Evaluate

Similar First Cutting Weight Evaluation

Designs sketch Balsa

Award
Drafts File to the
winning Final test Final
right
designs Evaluation
measure-
ment
Westpoint Final
Bridge Design
Gluing
Designer

Add on
decking

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Balsa Wood Bridge Design

Figure 1 My Balsa wood bridge

Figure 2 My Balsa wood bridge's side drawn to scale

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Production plan - sequence of proposed steps
1. Research and evaluate designs
2. See pros and cons
3. Choose the designs I want
4. Come up with the final design I want using research
5. Draw the final design (pencil, ruler, A3 paper)
6. Cut balsa wood into pieces to a length of 50mm (Stanley knife)
7. Draw design to scale on the A3 paper
8. Cut out gusset pieces
9. Glue pieces together with gusset pieces (hot glue)
10.Cut balsa wood into pieces to a length of 60mm (Stanley knife)
11.Glue pieces together with pieces glued together in step 9 to complete
one side of the bridge
12.Repeat step 6-11
13.Cut out pieces of balsa woods of 50mm in length
14.Put the pieces from step 13 at the bottom of the 2 bridge sides
15.Glue them together
16.Cut out pieces of balsa woods of 50mm in length
17.Glue them on top of the bridge
18.Put on decking
19.Glue on decking
20.Smoothen the edges with file or sandpaper
21.Weight the bridge
22.Test the bridge

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Bridge specifications

 Truss Bridge or whatever

 Bridge must be 300mm in length
 50mm wide (block of 50mm x 50mm x 50mm can pass along
the whole length)
 Maximum height of bridge is 60mm
 Cannot use more than the material provided
 One decking sheet (balsa) which is 50mm x 300mm x 1.5mm
 4x915mm lengths of 5mm square balsa
 Only hot glue (or PVA wood glue)

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Equipment
Stanley knife- a retractable-blade knife that is used for utility
purposes. This was used when cutting the balsa wood. (See figure 3)

Figure 3 A Stanley Knife

Hot glue- a type of glue typically used for crafting. This was used
when gluing the bridge together. (See figure 4)

Figure 4 Hot glue sticks

Hot glue gun- a gun designed to melt hot glue in order for it to stick.
This was used when melting the hot glue. (See figure 5)

Figure 5 A hot got gun

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File- a tool to fine amounts of materials in workplace. This was used
when smoothing the balsa wood bridge’s edges. (See figure 6)

Figure 6 A file

Sand paper- another tool to fine amounts of materials when crafting.

This was also used when smoothing the balsa wood bridge’s edges.
(See figure 7)

Figure 7 Sandpapers

Ruler- an instrument used to measure distances or draw straight

lines. This was used to measure the length of balsa wood pieces and
to draw the draft of my bridge on the A3 paper. (See figure 8)

Figure 8 A metal ruler

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Evaluation

Final Evaluation
I did the balsa wood bridge after finishing the spaghetti bridge
project. They are both quite similar but the spaghetti bridge project
only allowed very limited materials and it was more challenging than
the balsa wood bridge because spaghettis are easier to break.
My balsa wood bridge met the specifications that I was given. My
bridge was 300mm in length, 50mm in width and 60mm in height.
(See figure 1 and 2). My bridge was above average, it reached a load
to weight ratio as 787.815 which was the 4th strongest bridge in my
class. My bridge was 19.04 grams which was relatively light if you
compare it with other bridges and it handled 15 Kilograms of weights
which was quite a lot. The strongest bridge was built by James Wong,
his bridge was not only the strongest, and it was the lightest as well
with 14.58 grams only. I was amazed at his result as his bridge
handled 14 Kilograms with such a light weight.
My bridge was poorly built due to lack of time and experience,
especially most of the edges were not glued properly and not all the
members were exact 50mm in length. This was resulted in failing
early in the weight test. This also caused the bridge to look uneven
on both sides and made the bridge unbalanced. The reason that I did
not apply that much glue on my balsa wood bridge is that I believed
that it would make the bridge much lighter and the hot glue would
spread very well, I also thought the hot glue we were using was very
strong.

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I missed out a couple of lessons due to illness and other activities
such as peer support, these are some reasons that I had to rush in
order to finish my balsa wood bridge. I was also distracted by my
friends easier during class which made me spend less time on
building the bridge. I did not spend my time efficiently because I was
spending too much on one particular area of the project, such as
researching on bridges. Another problem that led to my failure was
forgetting to use the Westpoint bridge program, this program would
allow me to test my bridge virtually first.
I believe I should have done a lot better if I had spent more time on
this project. Even though I did my research on bridges, I did not put
good uses of them. Some strengths about my bridge are it reached
the 700-1000 weight to load ratio which are the main focus of the
project, it looked quite aesthetic even thought it was unbalanced, it
was relatively light comparing to other bridges and it was quite
successful. I have learnt a lot from this balsa wood bridge project and
I think I would definitely improve if I do this project again.

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Recommendations
After finishing the balsa wood bridge project, I have learnt a lot
knowledge about building bridges, forces and many technical
terminologies. There would be many changes to how I handle this
project if I was given a 2nd chance.
Some things I would do are making a Gnatt chart which is timeline
for project, it would allow me to show the steps of each stage that fit
into the weeks available for researching, analysing, production and
evaluation. Making a project milestones chart would allow me to
write down the deliverables for each week with a comment. A better
structured work breakdown structure which would have helped my
project significantly as it would be able to counter the time
constraints and the things need to be done.
Spending more time on building the balsa wood bridge itself is
another thing I would definitely do. My bridge did not achieve the
best result in the class due to lack of time on making the bridge.
Gluing and cutting balsa members are the two most significant jobs
in the production section. I did not spend a lot time on these two
areas, I would take my bridge home and spend more time on it next
time. This would make my bridge more stable and possibly result in
a better weight to load ratio.
More researching would give me more knowledge on building
bridges. Using the Westpoint bridge program would allow me to test
the bridge virtually and possibly make changes to my design. I need
to know more about my tools and materials, so I can construct my
bridge with the correct techniques.
If the recommendations above are used, the balsa wood bridge
would definitely have a better weight to load ratio and improved
significantly.

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Appendix

Appendix 1: Rules and Guidance

 Bridge must be made with only of the balsa wood and glue
supplied in class
 Bridge must be 300mm in length
 Bridge must be 50mm in width
 Bridge’s maximum height is 60mm
 There must be 1 decking sheet on top on the bridge which is
50mm*300mm*1.5mm
 Only allow 4 of the 915mm lengths of 5mm square balsa
 Only allow hot glue or PVA wood glue
 No part of the bridge may touch anything except the top
surface of the chair within 50mm of the edge of the gap, and
the equipment used to test the bridge
 Bridge must rest freely on the table tops. It cannot be attached
to the table tops with glue or screws, for example
 Bridges will be designed and built by 1 person only.
 Each person must submit a photo of their bridge and video of
the test to the teacher

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 Appendix 2: Construction Rules
The bridge must rest simply on top of the supports at each side and
not rely on the testing support frame of lateral support. Side thrust
onto the vertical faces of the frame is not permitted. (See figure 9)

Figure 9 Bridge on top of the support

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Appendix 3: Important tips
 Plan and sketch the bridge on paper before cutting balsa wood
to ensure the availability of material to achieve the design.
 Pay attention to the joints between the balsa wood elements.
 Lack of glue or inadequate contact between the two surfaces
may lead to bridge failures.
 Cut small notches to connect bridge components
 Fewer pieces mean fewer problems
 Design for strength at the load application point
 Most bridges bend inwards
 Double-check the length of the bridge. It should be 300mm.
 Do not cover the bridge with any material. Glue should be used
only to join components.
 Use sandpaper to clean the bridge and remove excess glue.
 Align connections carefully so that you structure is straight
when finished.
 Balsa is unlikely to be same strength throughout its entire
length.

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Appendix 4: Further tips for bridge construction
Connections are typically the weakest part of Balsa Bridge. Strong
connections have a lot of surface area for the glued connection.
Using gusset plates when constructing can strengthen the bridge.
The connection on the left below can use only one gusset plate
because the widths of the two members are different. The
connection on the right can use two gusset plates because the
bottom member is rotated flat-wise. (See figure 10 & 11)

Figure 11 Gusset plates Figure 10 Gusset plates

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Appendix 5: Safety precautions and hazards
 All construction and decoration work must be done within the
workshop supervised by a teacher at all times.
 Wear safety goggles while creating your bridge.
 Ensure the workspace is well ventilated at all times, particularly
while gluing your bridge.
 Take great care when carrying out cutting on a clean, flat and
stable surface when working with sharp tools.
 Be extremely careful when handling hot glue as it is very hot
and a strong adhesive, so avoid contact with skin, eyes and
clothing.
 Protect the surfaces you will be working on from both glue and
accident cutting.
 Need to clean up work area after each bridge building lesson.
 Keep your hands away from the bridges during testing.

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 Appendix 6: Types of bridges
Type of Illustration Description/example
Bridge s
Beam Simplest bridge
Bridge structure supported
by a pier at each end.
Can be made with
timber, iron, steel,
reinforced concrete,
prestressed concrete.
 Manchac
Swamp Bridge
 Tianjin Grand
Bridge
 Lake
pontchartrain
Causeway
 Donghai Bridge
 King Fahd
causeway
Truss A bridge of connected
Bridge elements forming
triangles, maybe
stressed from
tension, compression
or both. Can be made
with timber, iron,
steel, reinforced
concrete, prestressed
concrete.
 Ikitsuki Bridge
 Astoria-Megler
Bridge
 Francis Scott
Key Bridge

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Arch A bridge with
Bridge abutments at each
end, shaped like a
curved arch. Can be
made with masonry,
concrete, wrought
iron, cast iron,
timber, structural
steel.
 Halfpenny
footbridge
 York Millennium
footbridge

Suspensio Bridge with deck

n Bridge hung below the
suspension cables on
vertical suspenders.
Can be made with
steel rope, steel wire
strand cables or
forged or cast chain
links
 Verragano-
narrows bridge
 Golden Gate
bridge
 Mackinac Bridge

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Cable- Bridge has 1 or more
stayed pylons from which
Bridge cables support the
bridge deck. Can be
made with steel rope,
steel wire stranded
cables or forged or
cast chain links
 Sutong Bridge
 Stonecutters
Bridge

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Appendix 7: Types of force
There are 2 types of force, they are compression and tension.
Tension force is a force that is exerted equally on both sides of an
object, such as a rope or a cable and is transmitted between the ends
of the object. (See figure 12)

Compression force is the force generated from squeezing an object.

An example of this would be placing an object on a spring, when the
spring is compressed and then released, the object is ejected into the
air. (See figure 12)

Figure 12 Compression and Tension force

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Appendix 8: Live Load and Dead Load
Bridges must be able to support 2 types of forces, called loads or
they will collapse. Dead load (See figure 13) is the weight of bridge
itself, such as its columns, beams, nuts, bolts, trusses, cables, etc.
Live load (See figure 14) is the weight or force of temporary external
elements acting on the bridge, such as people, vehicles, wind, etc.
Environmental factors such as temperature, earthquakes and wind
also contribute the loads on bridges. Hot and cold temperatures
cause parts of the bridge to change.

Figure 14 Dead load

Figure 13 Live load

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Glossary
 Span- Distance between 2 bridge supports whether they are
columns towers or the wall of a canyon
 Force- Any action that tends to maintain or after the position of
a structure
 Compression- a force which acts to compress or shorten the
thing it is acting on
 Tension- a force which acts to expand or lengthen the thing it is
acting on
 Dynamic forces- force that make something accelerate.
 Static forces- a constant force applied to a stationary object.
 Beam- a rigid, usually horizontal, structural element
 Pier-a vertical supporting structure, such as a pillar
 Cantilever- a projecting structure supported only at an end, like
a shelf bracket or a diving board
 Load- weight distribution throughout a structure
 Truss- a rigid frame composed of short, straight pieces joined to
form a series of triangles or other stable shapes
 Stable- ability to resist collapse and deformation or
characteristic that is able to carry a realistic load without
collapsing or deforming significantly
 Deform- to change shape
 Buckling- is what happens when the force of compression over
comes an objects ability to handle compression.
 Snapping- is what happens when tension overcomes an object’s
ability to handle tension
 Dissipate forces- to spread forces out over a greater area
 Transfer forces- to move the forces from an area of weakness
to an area of strength, an area designed to handle the forces

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