competition summary
The UMR Steel Bridge Team designs, fabricates, and competes with a 1/10th scale model steel bridge. The Team is a year-long commitment and students do all of the required work for the competitions in their free time.
The AISC/ASCE Student Steel Bridge Competition Rules Committee issues the rules for the following year’s competition in late August. These rules are modified yearly and serve as a guideline for the bridge design and aide in competition procedure. Designing the bridge takes up the majority of the fall semester. Meetings are held to discuss the new rules and brainstorm different design options.
After the design is complete, the materials are ordered for the bridge. The materials are usually received inearly December and fabrication begins. Fabrication is done entirely by the team members in their free time. Mid-March is the desired fabrication completion date. This allows time for the team to prepare for the regional competition.
Before the regional competition in late April, the team runs a load test to determine what, if any, changes should be made to improve the performance of the bridge. The construction sequence is also practiced to prepare for the regional competition.
At the competition, the bridges are judged on the construction time, the aggregate deflection, and the weight of the bridge. The bridge is loaded with a dead load and a lateral load to test the bridges mechanical performance. To advance to the National Competition the team must place within the top three at the Regional competition.
The 2003-2004 school year was a respectable one. The UMR Steel Bridge Team placed 3rd of 11 teams at the Regional competition. At the National competition UMR placed 11 th of 46 teams (the competition began the year with around 200 teams nation wide). The team has had much success in its history, going to the National Competition 11 times out of the teams 14-year existence. The team is always looking for new members with fresh ideas.