STRESSED OUT STRUCTURES

INDEX


 Introduction

 

Purpose


Hypothesis

 

Materials

 

PART ONE

Gateway Structures

 

PART TWO

3D Geometric Structures: Which is Strongest?

 

PART THREE

Testing Buildings: Which Design is Strongest?

 

PART FOUR

Stronger Buildings:

Supports

 

PART FIVE

Stronger Buildings:  Buttresses and Struts

 

PART SIX

Earthquake

Simulation: Columns

 

PROBLEMS WITH

MY EXPERIMENT

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY


 

PART THREE

Testing Buildings: Which Design is Strongest?

PROCEDURE

Plasticine balls and bamboo skewers were prepared as before. First, two buildings were made: a cube with a pyramid top and rectangular prism with a pyramid top.

To test the strength of each of the little buildings, sand bags were put at the top of the pyramid roof until the model broke. The weight of the bags used was added up and recorded in a chart.

A cube with a triangular prism on top and a rectangular prism with a triangular prism on top made two other little buildings. Their strength was tested as before but sand bags were put along the centre of one of the bamboo skewers instead of at the top of a pyramid roof.

For each test, three trials were done.

RESULTS

 
TABLE THREE - BUILDINGS FROM 3-D FIGURES: Weight to Break (g)
Trial # cube with pyramid rectangular prism with triangular prism cube with triangular prism rectangular prism with triangular prism
1 400 200 400 450
2 200 200 400 350
3 200 200 300 300
average 267 200 367 367

CONCLUSIONS

It was expected that that the buildings with the pyramid roof would be the strongest, but it took over 100g more weight to collapse the buildings with the triangular prism roof than those with the pyramid roof.

With the pyramid, the weight was spread out only in four directions. For the buildings with the triangular prism roof, the weight was spread out in six directions. This means there is less weight on each weak corner so it takes more weight to break the building.

Distribution of Weight: Cube + Triangular Prism

Distribution of Weight: Cube + Pyramid Top

To Part Two

To Top

To Part Four

1. Cube Building with Pyramid Top

 

222. Rectangular Prism Building with Pyramid Top

 

3. Cube Building with Triangular Prism Top

 

4. Rectangular Prism Building with Triangular Prism Top