First year structural design project
During the course of their first year, students work in pairs to design, build and test to destruction a lightweight truss with a span of about 1 m.
The completed structure is 'costed' by the undergraduates and then the structures are tested to destruction. Before the test each group has to explain the ideas behind their design and predict how the structure will break under load. Cost is important, so lightweight structures 'win' over heavier, more expensive ones.
Click on a link below to see video clips from a final day competition.
Prizes are given for the best overall performance in this exercise.