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Making a structure that is durable and resists against compression and tension can be a very hard task. To successfully create one you need you know a lot about what works for making strong structures such as what shapes are strongest, what types of bases are best and any other techniques that would help the strength of your object. When I was doing research I found out that triangles and hexagons are solid geometric shapes. In nature bees use hexagons to build their hive. They need a good, sturdy hive that will hold up in bad weather so they can keep collecting pollen, making honey and laying eggs. This is the case with many other animals in nature such as the spider and the turtle. Some species produce web that is stronger than a strand of steel that is the same length and turtles have 60 bones in there shell and sharp, overlapping scales that strengthen the shell. Since my group and I had to use 10 manila folders to create the strongest structure we could I researched the properties of cardboard and what makes cardboard boxes stronger. I discovered that when corrugation is added to cardboard the strength of the cardboard is greatly increased and it adds to resistance against compression. To test the strength of our structure we will be placing weights on top of it and the placement of these weights will create potentially damaging shocks. I found out that cushioning of the object will help reduce shock damage. So our final project is a triangle, which was the 3-dimensional shape that we thought to be the strongest under tension and compression. It is corrugated and has a good base. There are also smaller triangles in the middle of the structure to add strength. Hopefully it holds up well when we put weights on it.
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Interview information To find out more about structures and what makes a strong structure I interviewed a local, self-employed strength engineer. I found out a lot of useful information which helped us to make our structure the strongest we could. He told me information like what the strongest shapes are and what types of bases to use. These suggestions helped our structure significantly and ultimately helped it hold more weight then it would’ve. |
Project Reflections Our final project held 315 pounds. Some positive parts or our project where we used a triangle, which is a very sturdy shape, as our main shape. We also put smaller triangle supports in the middle to add strength to our structure. Another thing we did that helped our structure was we corrugated it so help against compression. Some negatives of our project were the base was uneven. There was also one side which wasn’t as supported as the others. I think that it could’ve held more weight if we would’ve done a couple of things differently. When we made our project we accidentally made the bottom uneven so it was unstable and tilted when we put on the first weight. We also overlooked putting a small triangle in one of the corners so one corner was less stable than the others. That was also the side that our structure leaned to so it fell sooner since the weak side was supporting it. Another thing we would’ve done differently would be the placement of the weights. We were a little sloppy when we put them on out structure and that caused it to tilt earlier which caused it to fall earlier. Even though we made a couple of mistakes I think our structure held up well and we did a good job making it. |
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