Christopher Toth and Donald Cartwright completed the 90-foot model of a suspension bridge on May 4 and kept it on display outdoors on the Cleveland campus for nearly a week. But strong wind and rain last weekend caused the bridge to collapse partially, then entirely this week, just a few days before Sunday's graduation ceremony.

The 21-year-old students said they built the model bridge simply because they felt inspired by their education - nothing was assigned and no grade was involved.

"People congratulated us and assumed it was for a school project," Cartwright said. "They'd tell us, 'You guys are going to get an A, for sure.' Then we'd tell them it's just something we're doing for fun."

Then came a lesson anyway: Nature can be harsh.

The outcome might have been different if they had used steel and concrete, Cartwright said with a chuckle.

Using K'NEX plastic construction pieces Toth had collected since childhood, the bridge developed in sections that took six weeks of labor inside Toth's dorm room. Cartwright then helped him assemble the colorful structure outside of a campus building where they both had many of their classes.

The model included a bridge deck about knee high and two support towers 50 feet apart and about five feet high. Thin rope represented what would be steel cable in a real bridge.

Toth said he wanted to use the engineering knowledge he's acquired at Case Western to figure out how the forces would be distributed in a suspension bridge. They hope a quick rebuild can happen before they graduate.

Faculty members have been pleasantly surprised, said Dario Gasparini, Case professor of civil engineering.

"For Chris and Don to get the geometry of it right took some effort and skill," he said. "What they got out of it was a sense of what it takes to design a large-scale project, and it can show the effects of winds."

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Comments
posted at 5/16/2009 7:16:09 PM (9625)
LIMIT2HIGH said:

They should get a big red F for failure

posted at 5/16/2009 8:51:35 PM (9627)
Bart said:

@ LIMIT2HIGH, nothing was assigned and no grade was involved. I would give them an A for not being lazy.

posted at 5/18/2009 12:44:44 PM (9667)
 Wayne In Akron said:

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Toth said he wanted to use the engineering knowledge he's acquired at Case Western to figure out how the forces would be distributed in a suspension bridge.
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Let's hope that his future employer is located in an area where there is no rain or wind.

Otherwise, they better increase their catastrophic liability insurance coverage.

posted at 5/18/2009 1:48:26 PM (9676)
Bart said:

They also stated they were doing it for fun. Cut them some slack until you can build a better bridge.

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