Cardboard Bridge

Overview

This is an older project from my senior year of high school, where my teammates and I were tasked with creating a bridge made exclusively out of cardboard and hot glue. This was for my engineering class, and we were all arranged into competing teams. The winning team would be the one that could withstand the most weight, using the gym's weights and teachers to test.

Design & Process

We researched many different truss bridges and performed trigonometry calculations to optimize the truss structure. I designed the underbody with an array of double-triangle internal cross-sections, and then we designed the top section to provide additional support to resist the buckling caused by pedestrians walking across the bridge.

Outcome

After burning through countless hot glue rods and a good amount of assembly, our bridge went on to win 1st place in the competition. It took a combined weight of two teachers and gym weights, 425+ pounds total, before the bridge buckled.