EK 301 Truss Project

ENG EK 301 Design Project Description1 for Fall 2011

1. General Description
Working in teams of three students within your section, you will design, construct, and test a plane simple truss made from soda straws (structural members), foam core gusset plates, and Tpins (pin connectors). The truss must span a fixed distance and support at least a minimum load at a specified point (see Section 2 below), all while costing less than a specified amount. Your final design and build will be evaluated based on its theoretical maximum achievable load, the accuracy of your theoretical load with respect to the actual maximum load, and the cost of the truss. This effort will require material testing to determine the strength of the straws, failure analysis, and a final physical test of the maximum load bearing capability of your final design. The project will not only test your understanding of trusses, but will also require you to interpret and utilize test data and to judge the merit of alternative designs, all while exposing you to the merits of teamwork and allowing you to exercise your creative muscle. The project timeline will consist of five main stages: 1. Materials analysis: This stage involves measuring, analyzing, and reporting the relevant physical properties of the straws. 2. Preliminary design: This stage involves using your creative and analytical skills to design your truss. 3. Construction: Once youve chosen a final design, use the materials to build your dream truss. 4. Final report 5. Test: You and your group will load your truss with increasing weight until it fails. Read this handout carefully before you begin. Good luck and have fun! Important dates: October 6th, 7th, 14th (in B01, 110 Cummington St): Straw testing November 1st/2nd (in lecture): Straw testing report due November 16th/17th (in lecture): Preliminary design report due December 9th (in ME Dept office): Final design report due by 4 PM December 10th (PHO 203. Note: This is a Saturday!): Truss testing

2. Truss Specifications
1. Materials: A bag containing straws, pins, and gusset plates will be given to your group. Since these materials are to serve for all aspects of this project (straw testing and truss construction), do not throw out the extra straws after the straw testing component. More straws are available upon request. 2. The truss must span a distance of 47 cm 1cm. Trusses longer than 46 cm or shorter than 48 cm will be disqualified (you will get no credit). 3. The truss must be a single, upright, planar, SIMPLE truss, with no truss member designed to extend below the line connecting the two end joints. Triangles are your friend! A SIMPLE truss is defined as three members and three joints that form a triangle. The truss is built up by adding two more members and one joint each time to complete an additional triangle. (Note: If your truss has a square formed by the members it is
1

Project originated by M. Isaacson and J. Grace, 1996. Major revisions: C. Farny, G. Holt, D. Wroblewski, M. Isaacson, T. Melamed, S. Grace, A. Tomboulides, T. Murray, and J. Sullivan

EK 301 Truss Project

incorrect!) Members are not allowed to cross each other, whether or not they are joined where they cross. Members can only be joined to other members at their ends. Doubled-up members are not allowed. The number of joints J should correspond to the number of members M by: M = 2J - 3 4. Gusset plates may be any geometry, but no more than 16 cm2 per gusset. All gusset plates must be made from the foam core material provided to each team. Gusset plates must be used on both sides of the straws. Truss performance is improved by using the smallest gusset plates possible. The ends of the straws should be as close together as possible without actually touching. The straws must not extend along a gusset plates more than 2.5 cm from the point of concurrency. Note that for testing, pins will be placed through the center of the end joint, to act as a pin joint. In order for this end to fit into the tester, the gusset plate for this joint should be trimmed so as to not extend past the bottom of the adjacent

5mm

Figure 1. Schematic of truss joints horizontal straw. A testing apparatus will be available for inspection at the straw testing lab. 5. The members must be joined concurrently at joints using T pins and gusset plates. Each straw should be double pinned to the gusset plates, with the outer pin 5 mm from the straw end and the inner pin 5 mm from the outer pin (see Figure 1). You must make sure that the axes of the straws joined by the gusset plates are concurrent; otherwise a moment will be exerted on the straws, which could cause premature buckling. The straws should be sandwiched between the gusset plates and should be centered on the pins (i.e., same length of pin on both sides). All pins must have their points on the same side of the truss. Pinning jigs will be available for use during tutoring center hours. 6. All joint-to-joint distances must span at least 8 cm but be no longer than 15 cm. 7. The total cost of the truss must be less than $315. The cost of the truss is defined to be Cost = ($10)J + ($1)L where J is the number of joints and L is the total length of the straws (in cm). This does not mean that you should try to minimize the cost to keep it as low as possible! Points will only be deducted if the total cost exceeds $315. Use all the resources you have available to you. 8. The unloaded truss must not sag more than 2 cm below a line connecting the end joints. 9. The truss must support a load of at least 3.92 N (or 0.4 kg mass) placed on a joint located 26 cm 0.5 cm, measured from the pin-jointed end, along a line connecting the two end joints. Note that this implies that there must be a joint at this location on the bottom of the truss (on a straight line through the two end support joints).

EK 301 Truss Project

10. The loaded truss will be judged to have failed if any individual member buckles or if the truss sags more than 6 cm below the end joint line during loading. 11. The members that make up the bottom of the truss must all be horizontal, to simulate a road or train tracks on the truss structure.

3. Computational Analysis
As you have learned in class, the analysis of a truss structure with known load and support reactions leads to m linear algebraic equations (where m is the number of members in the truss). These equations must be solved simultaneously. The truss you will design for this course will have more than 10 members leading to more than 10 simultaneous linear equations. To solve these equations you will want to rely on the help of computer analysis to solve the system of equations. Here you will need to dig up your EK127 knowledge to use Matlab to design and analyze your truss design. Matlab excels at handling and solving multiple equations simultaneously, and offers a good graphical base for visualizing your truss design. The use of Matlab for this project will help refresh your EK127 skills and is good practice for future courses, since Matlab is a valuable tool for many types of analysis. Matlab may be found on the computers in the ME CAD lab (room 302, 110 Cummington St), the Ingalls Engineering Center, or online via your personal computer through the Engineering IT grid (access instruction are posted on the course website). See the attached document that describes the analysis in further detail. Modeling Verification: To ensure that your Matlab program is correct, you will need to verify the results from your Matlab program against a truss analysis software package called WinTruss. This program was developed at the University of Arkansas by Matt Sutton under the direction of Prof. I.C. Jong and is being used with their permission. The program runs under Windows95 or later and can be downloaded from http://comp.uark.edu/~icjong/. If you do not have a PC or do not want to install this program on your own computer, you can use the computers in the ME CAD lab located in Room 302 of the ENG building. It is important to note that because you did not write this program, you must be critical of the results. To test the program's accuracy you will use WinTruss to solve a given truss problem and check the solution against the solution that you obtain by hand. This problem will be assigned on the main class website. Modeling details: WinTruss and Matlab allow you to design your truss, simplifying the process of changing the several variables that go into truss design: member length, member-to-member angle, overall truss height, etc. There is a drawback to these approaches however: they deviate from your future physical truss with regards to how the joints are modeled. In each joint of your physical truss, the three straw ends will not be in contact with each other, meaning that the distance from the center of the joint to the adjacent joint center will be slightly longer than the straw that connects the two joints (see Fig. 1). WinTruss and Matlab do not take this into account, and instead assume that the ends of each member touch. This difference means that the member lengths in your theoretical design will be longer than those of your physical design. So whats the big deal? The important implication of this effect is that since buckling strength depends on member length, the buckling ratios between the theoretical and physical designs must be corrected, to properly account for the two different lengths. Your computational analysis will allow evaluation of your truss response to a test load Ftheory (something on the order of 1 N), from which you can determine the weakest member of your truss (ie, the first member most likely to buckle and break when the maximum physical load Fexp is exceeded). Since member length is a key factor of buckling strength, this ratio will allow you to predict the buckling load that will cause your physical truss to break at the weakest member. However, since the computational

EK 301 Truss Project

analysis is based on the joint-to-joint length lJ-J and not the actual straw end-to-end length lstraw, the actual buckling strength Fexp must be determined via the following relationship:

Ftheory Fexp = . lstraw lJ J

4. Straw Testing Description

The straw properties will be tested using a simple lever/hinge mechanism (straw tester, see Fig. 2). The tester applies an axial load force to the straw to determine buckling strength. Testing will start with a minimum mass (500 g), and you will add incremental weights until buckling occurs. The straw must carry each additional load increment without moving (i.e., a change in

Figure 2. Straw testing apparatus showing side (left) and front (right) views. position or curvature) for at least 60 sec. Note that the weight that you add is not equal to the load experienced by the straw. You must analyze the tester to determine the relationship between the added weight and the straw load. The mass of the straw tester arm apparatus is engraved on the arm. The arm apparatus also features a line indicating its center of gravity. Be sure to measure the distance from the center of the arms pin to its center of gravity. Each team will test at least 3 straw lengths spanning the range from 8 cm +/-0.1 cm to 15 cm +/0.1 cm. You are free to choose the lengths as you see fit. Better results in truss analysis will be achieved if lengths throughout the range of 8 to 15 cm are chosen and thus you are encouraged to choose values different than your classmates. At least 5 tests must be run for each of the 3 straw lengths (for a minimum of 15 tests; conduct more if you wish!). Straws must be doubled-pinned with the outer pins 5 mm from the ends of the straw and the inner pins 5 mm from the outer pins (see Fig. 1). It is very important that the pinning be consistent for each straw during testing and the final construction of the actual truss. To reduce uncertainty and possibility of premature buckling, take care to ensure that: 1. all pins (at both ends) are aligned perpendicular to the straw axis and parallel to each other; 2. the straws are oriented vertically in the tester; 3. the straws are supported by the pins sitting squarely in the slots, not by the straw ends; 4. the distance between the outer and inner pins is exactly 5 mm, and the outer pins are exactly 5 mm from the straw ends; 5. the hinged lever arm is always horizontal and perpendicular to the straws in all directions; 6. only straight straws are used!

EK 301 Truss Project

The use of the pinning jigs to improve regularly is highly recommended. Discard a straw after testing. Do not reuse buckled straws. The recordings you make should include the mass (in grams) that was supported one increment before buckling (so go slowly and increment in small amounts no greater than 20 g when buckling is imminent), and the corresponding actual load applied to the straw (in Newtons) obtained from your static equilibrium analysis of the tester. The results should be arranged in descending magnitude for the individual straws tested, along with their average value (clearly marked as such), for each straw length tested. These results must be included in your progress report and presented in clear tables. They must also be reported to the TF. Your straws must be cut prior to arriving for the testing. A pair of scissors will be sufficient for cutting. As stated above you will be performing at least 15 tests so you will need at least 15 straws prepared. It is suggested that you also prepare three sacrificial straws, one for each length you intend to test. By testing this sacrificial straw first you can get a quick estimate of where buckling will occur, allowing you to know when to start using small increments of weight. Note that in the analysis (described below), you will need the data from at least three other lengths as measured by a different group. Before leaving the testing lab, be sure to collect the data from your colleagues. Sign up for a testing time. A sheet will be posted on the door of B01 and will be first-come, firstserve. All members of a team must be present during testing. IMPORTANT: Showing up late for testing, not having all team members present, and/or not being prepared for testing, e.g. not having cut your straws ahead of time will result in a significant grade reduction. IN LAB: 1. You must draw a FBD of your straw in the testing apparatus BEFORE you leave the lab. The TF must sign off on your FBD before you leave, and this FBD needs to be included in the Straw Test Report. The TF will make sure that you drew a FBD but they will not necessarily have time to check to make sure it is correct, so revise your FBD if necessary. Make sure to double-check your FBD to ensure that it accurately describes the testing scenario and applied loads to the straw and testing apparatus. This will help guide your future rigid body static equilibrium analysis. Consider the rigid body static equilibrium analysis of the straw tester before you are in the lab to decide what additional information is needed. 2. Record the mass that each straw length last experienced BEFORE buckling. Do NOT use the load that caused your straw to buckle this will cause errors in your analysis.

EK 301 Truss Project

5. Straw Testing Analysis

Purpose/Overview: The goal of straw testing is to obtain the best estimate of the buckling strength W for a given length l of straw. It is of course impossible to test all possible lengths of straw. Therefore, the best estimate of buckling strength will be obtained from testing a finite number of lengths, and then fitting a curve (a functional relationship between the strength and the length) to that data to obtain a functional relationship between buckling strength and straw length. Since each group is to test 3 lengths, one such curve fit might be achieved by fitting a curve to those 3 (mean) points on a graph of buckling strength versus straw length. These 3 experimentally-obtained points will be uncertain for a variety of reasons. In order to decrease this uncertainty, one can increase the number of different lengths tested, as well as the number of tests per straw length. This larger data set would allow you to obtain a better idea of the functional relationship between buckling strength and length. In your straw testing report, discuss which measurement (increasing number of tests per length, or increasing number of lengths tested) will result in a more certain estimate of buckling load versus length. Luckily, you have many friends who are also taking EK301. We will create a large sample set by pooling data from the entire class, allowing a functional fit to be determined more accurately. The project description instructs you to choose which lengths to test, so it is likely that the data from the entire class will include buckling strength data for many lengths between 8 and 15 cm. Fitting a curve to the data Two steps will be used to determine a relationship between buckling strength and straw length. In your analysis, you will use a simplified analysis based on the entire class data set. The TF will use the same data set to apply a more complex fit based on a theoretical model. In your analysis, use an empirical fit to determine the relationship between buckling strength and straw length. While this method is the most straight-forward to apply, it is not based on a physical theory that relates buckling strength and straw length. This method relies on the belief that a physical relationship does exist (at least, for this scenario!), and thus, the data will reveal this fit. One method to display this relationship is to use a polynomial function W(l) = a0 + a1l + a2l2 + a3l3 + + amlm, where m must be smaller than the number of unique points N in your data. For the straw project minimum requirements, you must use an empirical fit with m=1 (a linear fit). Such a fit is a reasonable choice given only 3 data points, and can be done by hand relatively accurately. The goal of a curve fit is to minimize the cumulative difference of the function value at a specific length and the data at that length. The method you will use is to plot (by hand) the data on a graph of buckling strength W (y-axis) versus straw length l (x-axis). Then (by hand) draw a line on the same plot so as to minimize the total difference between the value of the predicted W and the actual data points. See Fig. 3 for an example. Once done, you can estimate the uncertainty (or error) of your fit, which will also be the error in buckling strength for an arbitrary length. The uncertainty of the fit may be compared with the estimated uncertainty in each of the actual measured W at specific lengths. The measured W will be the mean of N (=5 or more) measurements at that length. One estimate of the random error associated with the measurement is the sample standard deviation, described below.

EK 301 Truss Project

Please note that while computer calculations can be of great assistance in curve fitting and uncertainty analysis, for the purposes of this project all calculations must be done by hand. The TFs will also perform a fit analysis to the class data, using a function determined by a theoretical model. In the case of a straw, a treatment of the straw as a long, thin, and massless rod yields the following relationship for the buckling strength W as a function of the straw length l: W(l) = p2EI / l2 Here E is a material property known as Figure 3. (Example of Acceptable Plot) Youngs modulus, I is the moment of Maximum expansion radius vs temperature for a single bubble sonoluminescence experiment inertia, and l is the length. The moment at 23.1 kHz. of inertia and the length are easily determined from the straw geometry but E is not easily found. It can therefore serve as an adjustable parameter to find the best fit. The TFs will accomplish this by plotting the curve (from the equation above) for different values of I until a best fit is found (where best is defined in a suitable sense such as minimum squared error). An additional approach for determining the relationship could be achieved by using a function motivated by theory but adjusted by data, called a semi-empirical fit. The equation relating the buckling strength to the straw length given above is theoretically justified. However, the straws may not be kind enough to obey our theoretical derivation (perhaps due to material imperfections, experimental error, etc). A better fit may be achieved by selecting a function motivated by the theory but can be adjusted based on the measured data. For example, recognizing that the theory predicts a buckling strength inversely proportional to some power of the length, we could define

W (l) = Al
where A and are adjustable parameters chosen to best fit the data. Procedure for fitting analyzing your data and 1. Calculate the sample mean of the buckling load for each straw length according to

1 N Average (mean) = W j = W i , N i
where N is the number of measurements for a given length. 2. Calculate the sample standard deviation for each mean according to

(W
i

Sj =

N 1

3. Plot your sample means for each of the straw lengths you measured on a linear graph of buckling weight (y-axis) versus straw length (x-axis). This plot should be done by hand using the graph paper available on the website. Be sure to include appropriate axis labels, a legend,

EK 301 Truss Project

a figure number, and a descriptive caption. Furthermore, be sure to minimize the data range for the weights and lengths. In other words, do not draw a vertical axis spanning 200 N if all of the averages for your weight fall within a 20 N range. The smaller the range, the more accurate your fits for the graph will be. Fig. 3 shows an example of an acceptable plot. 4. Draw VERTICAL error bars symmetrically about each data point. The error bar should extend above and below the data point by an amount equal to twice the sample standard deviation for that data point. This range corresponds to ~95% of randomly distributed data falling within the limits defined by the error bars (known as 95% confidence intervals). 5. Fit a line to the data. Draw the line that visually minimizes the sum of the vertical distances between the points and the line. Determine the equation of this line by finding the slope and intercept. Report these values. Note that this line represents the best estimate of the buckling strength of any length of straw, given the data that you collected. 6. Estimate the error of the fit by determining the average vertical distance from your data points to the line. This error will have units of Newtons. In your report, discuss whether the error of the fit is small or large relative to the error bars. Discuss in your report whether it is more appropriate to use the error of the fit or the sample deviation of any single measurement when determining the failure load of your truss? 7. Plot at least three more data points at different lengths than the ones you measured (from another groups data). Plot these data points using a different symbol. Determine a new best-fit line using all six data points. In your report, discuss how well your fit describes their data and any reasons for the discrepancies you may find. Discuss also the benefits of using all of the class data to determine a fit.

EK 301 Truss Project

6. Preliminary and Final Design Reports: Design and Analysis

In this project you are to design a simple plane truss consisting of only straws and pins that satisfies the specifications given above. You can assume that the gusset plates are small enough to treat the joints as pin connections. Of course, this will only be valid if the axes of the straws connected at each plate are concurrent. Also note that the lengths of the truss membersused for the theoretical truss analysisare the distances between the points of concurrency (or joint-tojoint length, see Fig. 1). Keep in mind that the magnitude of the applied force that will cause buckling depends on the actual length of the straws. Each design that you consider should be fully analyzed (that is, compute the load on each member and report whether the member is in tension or compression) using a Matlab script that you will write. Your analysis (for both the Preliminary and Final Design Reports) should include the following: (i) Prediction of the force in each member for a given vertical load applied at the joint given in the specifications. This prediction should be completed using your Matlab program. (ii) Determination of which member will buckle first. This should be calculated based on the class average best fit nonlinear relationship between buckling load and straw length, obtained from the course website. For theoretical calculations of the failure member, use the theoretical joint-to-joint length. However, keep in mind that the actual buckling load depends upon the actual straw length and not the theoretical joint-to-joint length of the member. (See Figure 1 for the description of the actual and theoretical straw lengths.) Report the member, its length, its predicted buckling strength, and the uncertainty of your predicted buckling strength. These last two results should be determined using the class average fit. (iii) Specification of the maximum load that the actual, physical truss can support. The maximum load determination should incorporate an estimate of its uncertainty. One such estimate is obtained from the error of the fit from the class average straw strength testing. Even though the functional relationship is nonlinear, the error of the fit is calculated the same method you used for the linear fit and from it you can calculate a percentage error in the predicted buckling strength of any arbitrary length. In step (ii), you identified the member that is predicted to buckle, as well as its buckling strength and the uncertainty in that value. From this, calculate the percentage uncertainty in that members buckling strength. Then take this percentage uncertainty and multiply it by your predicted maximum load to obtain an estimate of the uncertainty in your maximum load prediction. Show this equation in your Preliminary Design report. The accuracy of your prediction (when compared to the failure load at truss testing day) will be a large component of your grade. In both reports, include a discussion of this uncertainty: What other sources of uncertainty are there? Which do you feel are the most important and why? (iv) Calculation of cost and theoretical load and load-to-cost ratio. The cost of the truss is given by Cost = $10(J) + $1(L) where J = number of joints and L = total length of all truss members (in cm). The theoretical load and the theoretical cost are both based on the joint-to-joint length (not the actual length). This formula, although artificial, incorporates some real considerations for engineering design. For example, the number of joints is weighted heavily, partly because joints are expensive to fabricate, but also because it is a reflection of the number of shorter straws that must be used. Shorter members may be desirable for strength reasons, but they require custom lengths, which generally will cost more than standard lengths. The total length of all truss members is important because it represents the amount of material that would be used in a real truss and thus the capital cost of the truss. NOTE: You do not need to pay anything to obtain the supplies; the cost number is simply used for evaluation purposes.

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The load-to-cost ratio is simply the ratio of the maximum load (as determined in step (iii)) and the cost. It is suggested use of an automated means of calculating the cost and load-to-cost ratio using Excel, Matlab, or similar programs. This will allow for easy comparison of different designs. To encourage design optimization, the cost, load, and load/cost ratio will be graded relative to your section, so work hard to design the best truss within the project parameters! NOTE: To determine the truss load that will cause failure, you can idealize your truss as a linear system. The linearity means that if the compression force in a member must be multiplied by a certain factor to reach its buckling load, then the load on the entire truss would be multiplied by the same factor. You may analyze your truss for an initial load of 1 N and then check to see which member has the largest ratio of compression force to buckling load. The member with the largest ratio is the member that will buckle first, and this ratio can be used directly to compute the maximum theoretical load for the truss. Use the relationship described at the end of Section 3 for this step. Computing the ratios as well as computing the truss cost can be done manually or automatically (using Microsoft Excel or Matlab, for example).

7. Construction and Testing

The testing apparatus is shown in Fig. 4. The truss will be placed on the horizontal surface of a frame, elevated ~18 inches off the ground. A pin is inserted at the joints at each end of the truss. One of these pins is secured to the testing apparatus, creating a pin joint support. The other rests on a smooth surface, creating a rocker support. Adjustable vertically oriented support rods are provided to provide out-of-plane support to the truss (not shown in Fig. 4). Each pair of support rods is attached to the testing apparatus and fits over one joint of the truss in order to prevent outof-plane motion of that joint. At the point of load, a loop of string will be attached to the gusset plates on both sides of the joint, and weights will be hung on this string. This configuration will ensure that the load is applied only in the plane of the truss (i.e., vertical plane). A testing apparatus will be available for inspection during straw testing.
47 cm Gusset plates Pinned support Truss

Smooth surface

26 cm

Platform Weight

Figure 4. Testing apparatus

NOTE: The distance between the ground and the pin support is only 10 cm, so you MUST trim the foam gusset plate at the pin joint as close to the joint as possible. If the gusset plate extends too far below the pin, the pin will not rest properly on the support and your testing will be delayed.

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The truss will be placed in the testing apparatus and loaded in increments until the truss fails. The truss must support the minimum 400 g load for 1 minute to be considered successful. The maximum load will be the load carried prior to collapse, not the load at collapse. NOTE: The actual performance of your truss depends on the accuracy of your construction technique and the quality of your materials as well as your theoretical design. Be sure to consider this in building your truss.

8. Reports
For all reports, proper format and proper English usage are required. All reports must be clear and user friendly. Each deliverable should be interpreted as one per design group. Be sure to include your section number on the title page, along with your team and member names. General reporting guidelines: - Dont write in 1st person tense - Include all experimental data that you collect. Dont forget to label graphs, including units! - All equations used must be shown and fully explained (ie, what each variable stands for) - Be consistent with plot names and numbers throughout the text and cite all references - For this project, all reports should be at least 2 pages long, with only 1 report per group - Type out all equations. Most word processors have equation-formatting capability. It makes for a more professional looking report. The only thing that might be handwritten is an appendix or schematic. - Proofread! Particularly to make sure that the report is comprehensive when multiple authors are involved, with consistent formatting to the entire document. A comprehensive report should include the following sections and content: Cover Page: Report title, group name, author names, date, section, Professors name Table of contents: Describe the report sections with corresponding page numbers. Abstract: The abstract should be a brief summary that describes the purpose of the report. No more than 6-10 sentences. Intro: Explain the purpose of the report (i.e., the purpose of performing the lab/testing). Discuss what you intended to learn from this experiment/test. How do you plan on using what you learn? Procedure: What did you do to gather your data? This is where you should describe any experimental equipment/instruments in detail. This applies to both experimental data and simulation data. Data: Present the data that you collected in tabular form. Dont forget units! Include a brief description that orients the reader to the source of the data. Analysis: Describe the analysis that you performed on the data. Equations used in the calculations should be presented with a definition of each symbol. Show an example calculation for each unique calculation, such as the sum of moments, standard deviation, mean buckling load calcs, best line fit, etc. Reference a FIGURE such as your Free Body Diagram. Refer the reader towards your results section (reference a TABLE) where your iterations of your example calcs are tabulated. Results: Present your results in tabular or graphical form that is easy for the reader to interpret. Label and reference each Table or graph.

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Discussion: Answer any questions that may have been asked in the lab/project manual. Discuss your results. Do they make physical sense? Do they help you accomplish the goals that you set out in your introduction? Are there any sources of error in your data? Conclusion: What did you learn? How are you going to use the results? Did you learn what you set out to learn? What might you suggest doing differently next time? Appendices: Attach all hand calculations, extra data tables and any other relevant information that didn't fit into the report but should be included. This may include Matlab code, WinTruss designs that you considered but didnt use, basically anything that might aid someone looking to duplicate your findings but is too detailed to include in the main body of the report. Reference the appendix at some relevant point in the report.

9. Specific Deliverables
1. Progress report 1: STRAW TEST LAB REPORT Due Date: 11/1, 11/2 This report focuses on the results of the straw buckling experiment and the corresponding analysis and data reduction. Straw test report format: 1. Introduction: describes the goal of the experiments, method of testing, and experimental apparatus (including the number of the tester used) 2. Analysis: Describe the method of analysis and show the FBD of the experiment that you drew in lab, attached as a separate figure. Conduct a static equilibrium analysis of the testing machine, based on the FBD. 3. Results: Present a table of the data your collected. This table should include: The total mass (in grams) added to the tester before buckling (not the failure mass) The size of the increment that cased buckling (this should be small) The corresponding actual load applied to the straw (in Newtons) obtained from your static equilibrium analysis, arranged in descending magnitude for the individual straws The average and standard deviation values of the load data for each straw length The Results section should also include the plot discussed above (mean, standard deviation). 4. Discussion: Discuss the table contents (data and results), particularly how your fitting method, error analysis, and results will impact your design. Answer any questions asked in this handout in the Straw Testing and Analysis sections. Provide a short commentary on any points of interest such as: methods you developed to cut and pin the straws, things you learned about the pinning process that you will use when you build your truss, etc. 2. Progress report 2: PRELIMINARY DESIGN REPORT Due Date: 11/16, 11/17

This report focuses on the computer analysis and on your presentation of two preliminary truss designs. The report should follow the same format as the Straw test report, incorporating the following aspects relevant to your design. The report should begin with a short description of the rationale for using a computer program to analyze a truss. Next, the report must demonstrate that you are able to use Matlab to correctly analyze a truss. To do this, work the assigned problem given on the web site in three ways: 1. Find the solution by hand (you do not have to type this up, but it should be written and presented neatly).

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2. Find the solution using Matlab. Include a print-out of the final result and a print-out of the Matlab code used to solve for the loads. 3. Find the solution using WinTruss. Include a print-out of the final result. For full credit, the results from all three methods must agree. If they do not agree, it is your responsibility to determine why and fix the problem. In the report you must present two preliminary designs for your truss. Both designs should be fully analyzed using your Matlab code (a separate WinTruss analysis is not required). Include diagrams of the trusses with member and joint labels consistent with the software outputs. The maximum theoretical load, truss cost, and load/cost ratio for each design should be reported, along with the critical member, its length and buckling strength. Include the error analysis as described in the design section above. Keep in mind that both the load and the cost should be based on the joint-to-joint length. Give your conclusion as to which is the better design and describe how your analysis has led you to this conclusion. 3. FINAL DESIGN REPORT Due Date: 4 pm on 12/9

Keep in mind that the purpose of the report is to convince us, through evidence, that you have done not just a correct job on your project, but a super job. The report must be well organized, clear, and concise. Break up the text into subsections with appropriate section titles or headings. Put tables and graphics in the appropriate sections. Final report format: 1. A cover page (listing team number, all team members & ID numbers, course section, date) 2. Introduction 3. Design drawing of your final design 4. Output from the Matlab program (a separate WinTruss analysis is not required) 5. Table of results (see below) 6. Analysis of the results 7. Discussion 8. Conclusions 9. Appendix A: The minutes of your team meeting discussing the ethical implications of the Hartford arena roof collapse. 10. Appendix B: All MATLAB programs used for the final design. Keep in mind that all tables and figures used in the report should be titled and labeled. They should also be referred to and discussed within the main text. Final report contents: The following items must be included in your final report: a. Final design drawing, including member identification number, member length (joint-to-joint, as well as actual straw length) and angles of all members. You may want to use the plotting function in Matlab to help generate this figure. b. A table listing for each truss member: (1) Member number (consistent with your design drawing) (2) Joint-to-joint theoretical member length

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(3) Buckling strength (and uncertainty) of the member based on the theoretical joint-tojoint length and the class average buckling strength fit. (4) Magnitude of the force in the member calculated for the theoretical maximum truss load, and (+) for tension and (-) for compression. (5) Actual straw length (6) Buckling strength (and uncertainty) of the member based on the actual straw length, and the class average buckling strength fit. Note that this should be done only for members in compression. (7) Adjusted estimate of buckling strength in the member. This estimate should be based on your engineering experience and intuition and should take into account the quality of your construction, your intuition on the quality of your materials relative to those used to generate the buckling strength curves, your past experience (perhaps a previous life as a bridge designer?), and any other data that you may be given. (8) Force in the member calculated for the predicted actual maximum truss load for the constructed truss. The nomenclature used for identifying the members in the table should allow easy identification of the member in the drawing. The critical member, the one that will buckle first, must be highlighted. c. Complete theoretical analysis of the final truss design for the theoretical maximum load based on the joint-to-joint lengths. Highlight the member that will buckle first. The theoretical maximum load must be based on the class average best fit of the average buckling strengths. You must also include an uncertainty in the maximum load. d. Calculation of final truss cost, including breakdown of cost into total member length cost and total joint cost, and the final load/cost ratio. Note: the cost must be evaluated using the jointto-joint lengths of the members. e. A discussion of your adjusted estimate for the buckling loads and your final value for the maximum load. f. Discussion of the rationale for your design, including a description of how you optimized your design. Include a discussion of your optimization technique, i.e. show alternative early truss designs and the corresponding computed results, discuss how you decided to make the subsequent changes, and how the design evolved. Be sure to include at least 3 valid design alternatives (ie, these must be simple truss designs!) you considered and include the design drawings and the results of computer analysis for each design; two of these designs may be the formalized design based on the two designs you reported in your preliminary design report. Also discuss the basis for your prediction of the actual maximum load your constructed truss could hold. g. The Matlab script that you used to design your truss, along with a printout of the output that was generated from running the script. h. Meeting minutes of your discussion on the Hartford roof collapse with special attention paid to the use of computer programs. In this meeting also discuss an appropriate safety factor to be used for your truss if it were to be used in a case where human life is at risk. What actual load would you claim for it in this case? Consider variability in materials and construction and any other factors that you deem relevant. Be sure to keep in mind: Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties, Fundamental Canon No. 1 from the Code of Ethics of Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, 1997. The minutes from your professional ethics team discussion should follow these guidelines:

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1) The date, time, and place of the meeting should be recorded along with the names of the participants. The (acting) chair of the meeting and recorder (minute taker) should be identified. 2) The planned agenda should be attached. 3) The important points should be summarized (along with who suggested each). 4) The conclusions should be recorded and any action items with the responsible person listed. 5) The date, time, and place of the next meeting should be given, if scheduled, or the disposition of the group made explicit, e.g., by when a follow-up meeting is to be planned or that no further meetings of this group are needed (anticipated). Finally, email your Matlab script (one per group) to the GTF by the Final Report deadline so that your program and its output can be verified. 4. Testing Date: Saturday, 12/10

This is the fun(nest?) part! You will test your truss by loading it until failure. The design requirements (overall length, minimum length of straws, joint at required location for applying the load) will be verified, and the overall quality of the build will be evaluated. The truss will then be loaded into the testing apparatus. You will begin by adding the minimum weight. After this weight has been successfully supported, you may add additional weight in whatever increments you wish. Each weight must be supported for 60 sec. Failure is defined as either buckling by a member or a sag of more than 6 cm below the end joint line. Keep in mind that the buckling load is given by the last successfully supported load, not the one that actually causes failure. Your grade will be determined in part by how close your actual failure load comes to your predicted load. A prize will be awarded to the truss with the maximum actual failure load.

10. Grading
The designed truss must meet the minimum specifications as described above. Failure to meet these specifications will result in a maximum grade of C. A numerical grade with a maximum of 100 points will be assigned based on the following components: 1. Straw testing and report 1: 20% 2. Preliminary design project report: 25% 3. Calculated theoretical load, cost, and load/cost ratio: 15%. No trusses with costs greater than $315 will be accepted. 4. Accuracy of maximum load prediction: 15%. Note that the actual load will be compared to your adjusted estimate. 5. Final report: (25%)