Date of Award

6-1-2013

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Santa Clara University

Department

Civil Engineering

First Advisor

Reynau Serrette

Abstract

On April 20, 2013, the Santa Clara University Steel Bridge Team entered in the American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) National Student Steel Bridge Competition. As part of their senior design, the four member team designed and constructed a steel bridge to compete in the annual competition. Engineering senior design projects require thoughtful planning, execution, and documentation throughout the process. The 2013 team approach was to be proactive and aggressive in all aspects of the project. The 2013 Steel Bridge spanned 16.5 ft and had a 3.5 ft cantilever end. The overall dimensions of the bridge for its height and width was 3 ft and 3 ft respectively. The 2013 Steel Bridge Team set design and performance goals for the steel bridge competition. The target build time was 20 minutes, the target weight was 200 lb, the design deflection was 1 inch, and the target placement for display was top 5. The bridge's performance for the competition exceeded all design goals with a build time of 14.75 minutes, bridge weight of 164.8 lb, aggregate deflection of 0.698 inches, and 3 all the design requirements, but also having exceeded goals, the team was very satisfied with the performance of the bridge. The team has moved Santa Clara University dramatically forward in the ASCE Steel Bridge Competition and hopes following teams can continue the legacy.

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