CABLE STAYED BRIDGE PROBLEM STATEMENT

Introduction
Technology in construction comes with devising
innovative new ways of construction and whilst the
changing future of construction is largely unknown.
This time AAKAAR brings upon you the problem
acquired from bridges having nonlinear decks
supported by cables. These kinds of bridges are
often used to construct large and complex highway
interchanges into densely populated areas to avoid
traffic congestion and to increase the aesthetics of
the structure. However, due to the curvature effect,
the dynamic behavior of such bridges is more
complicated than straight bridges, thus inherently
creating challenges for engineers to deal with the
increased bending moment and the arrival of the
torsional moment due to horizontal curvature.

Task
Design a ​Cable-Stayed Bridge forming a closed loop-like structure using decks at the same horizontal
level with two pylons supports opposite to each other using popsicle sticks, cotton strings and fevicol as
adhesive (without using any strengthening coating) that can sustain the maximum possible load with
minimum deflection, satisfying all understated constraints. Your structure should be somewhat similar
to the shown above.
 The top view of your structure should be similar to the shown above.

Dimension and Material Specifications

Bridge in General:
● The Cable-Stayed suspension bridge must be within length 810mm from one extreme end of the
footing​ to other.
● The Maximum width of the bridge deck should be 90mm with a tolerance of +/- 5 mm (Piers excluded).
● The bridge must have only two piers and the span (center to center distance between piers) must be
600 mm with a tolerance of +/- 10 mm.
 Bridge Pylon:

● The footing can be any shape such that it fits in a square of dimension 210 mm*210 mm. (Any number
of sticks can be used for the footing up to a height, not more than 30 mm)
● The maximum thickness of each column of pylon should not be more than 12mm i.e. width of 1
popsicle stick.
● The columns of pylon can be connected using a truss structure with a minimum spacing of 100 mm
between joints. (For cross bracings, the minimum spacing should be 130 mm).
● Overlap criteria for truss individuals- There should not be an overlap of more than 2 Popsicle sticks to
make a truss (excluding connections at joints) i.e. the maximum thickness of overlap (not at joint)
should not be more than 5 mm i.e. thickness of 2 popsicle sticks and the maximum width is 12 mm i.e.
width of one popsicle stick.
● The maximum height of the point of connection of cables to deck should be 250mm on the pylon above
the deck level.
Bridge Deck:

● The two symmetrical decks should have a minimum spacing of 220 mm and maximum spacing of 300
mm between inner edges of decks at the central part of the deck.
● The decks should not be completely straight decks i.e. a close curve should be made using two decks.
● The deck support between the top chord and the base chord must be a truss (not a beam) whose
members are made of Popsicle sticks. The bridge deck should be supported on only two longitudinal
trusses.
● The spacing between cross bracings (if provided in truss) should not be less than 60 mm.
● The separation between the highest point of the top chord and the bottom of the base chord of the deck
must be in between 40mm and 50mm. If the depth of deck is more than this given dimension a penalty
of P= 5 percent of total score will be deducted. The maximum width of both the top and base chords
should be 12mm (i.e.1 popsicle stick width).
● Overlap criteria for truss individuals- There should not be an overlap of more than 2 Popsicle sticks to
make a truss (excluding connections at joints) i.e. the maximum thickness of overlap (not at joint)
should not be more than 5 mm i.e. thickness of 2 popsicle sticks and the maximum width is 12 mm i.e.
width of one popsicle stick.
● Joint criteria for Truss Members - Joints should resemble a pin connection i.e. all end members should
meet exactly at the joint (a connection of approximately 15 mm diameter) and not more than 8 Popsicle
sticks should be overlapped at joints.
● Vertical supports can be provided to decks connecting decks to the footing with a maximum width of 12
mm i.e. width of one popsicle stick.
 Cable:
● Cotton threads are to be used as cables. The maximum diameter of the cable should be strictly less
than 1 mm.
● The cable can be attached to pylon (supporting structure) by tying it around the pylon member or by
making a hole in the popsicle sticks carefully while building the pylon for assistance in tying. The cable
can be attached to the top chord or the truss members again either by tying around the member or by
making holes in the popsicle sticks.
● The maximum cables coming from one side of pylon support to the deck should be 9 i.e. a total of 18
cables connecting from the deck to each of the pylons.
● A straight length of 100 mm at the center of each deck must not have any cables attached to support
the testing plate for loading.
● Cables should be tied from top of the pylon support to the deck at maximum 250 mm above the top
surface of the deck.

Material Constraints
● Popsicle sticks (maximum length 120 mm, width 12 mm and thickness 2 mm) and
Fevicol MR White glue must be used to construct the bridge. The Popsicle sticks can be
cut or trimmed into any shape or size.
● White colored Cotton threads should be used for cables
● Adhesives can't be connected on the free surface of a part made of Popsicle sticks to
enhance strength.
● The team will be disqualified if found using any other material other than those
mentioned.

Testing Criteria
● The dimensions of the structure would be measured and the weight of the bridge would be noted.
● All construction and material requirements will be checked prior to testing. Bridges failing to meet these
requirements and constraints will be disqualified or penalized accordingly.
● Loading will be done using a loading plate supported by both decks at the center of the bridge. A chain
would be wound up around the center of the plate to apply the load.

Definition of failure:
The structure is considered failed when any of the following happens:
1. Any part of the structure fails while loading.
2. The loading machine registers the maximum load and then load starts decreasing.
3. Deflection of either deck exceeds 30 mm
 Judging Criteria
The judging of the structure is based on these criteria:
1. Dead mass of the bridge (M) in kg
2. The load carried by the structure before it fails (L).
3. Average vertical deflection (D) of both decks at the center during the failure in mm.

Marking Schemes:
1. The value of S1 is determined by the ratio of load carried by the structure before failure and dead
weight of the bridge
S1 = L/M
2. The value of S2 is determined according to the formula below,
​ 2 = (D1+D2)/2
S
3. For every dimension outside the tolerance limits, either a penalty of 5% is there or the team would be
disqualified in extreme cases. Team AAKAAR’s decisions would be final.

Final Scoring:
Final competition results will be calculated based on the following formula,
​ ​Final Score = S1*(30/S2)*(1-P/100)
Where P is the total points of the penalty incurred by the team.
In case of a tie, the team with the higher S1 will receive the higher rank. In the unlikely event, the teams
are still tied, the team with lower S2 will receive the higher rank.

Rules
● Bring from home competition so certificates will be awarded to every qualified
Participant.
● The student should form teams comprising of maximum 4 members and minimum 2
members. Students from different colleges can also form a single team.
● The top view of the structure should be a closed loop-like structure using two curved decks and joining
them to the pylon support.
● Once the structure is measured, you are not permitted to change your structure.
● In case that any of these requirements are not met, point deductions (as mentioned) or disqualification
might be forced at the sole discretion of the organizers.
● No certificate will be provided to disqualified teams.
● Team AAKAAR's choice will be last and authoritative on all.
● The organizers hold all rights to change any or all of the above rules as they deem fit.
● Queries related to Problem Statement will be entertained only by mail​. Mail id for any query is
mentioned below.
● Any query related to this competition should be asked by ​Team Leader only.
Contact Information
For any queries regarding this competition, you can mail us at the email id provided below otherwise
register a query on Query Portal on the website.
We will try our best to revert back as soon as possible. Please avoid contacting AAKAAR team
members directly without following the first step. Queries already mentioned in comments won’t be
entertained again.

Email Id: ​aakaar.competitions@gmail.com

(Subject: Query regarding BridgeIt competition: Team Leader Name_AAKAAR ID)

Vaibhav Kumar Singh Priyanka Lakku

(9284992836) (9987991659)

P.S.: You are advised to start the construction of the bridge soon after registration as it might be time
taking

ALL THE BEST!!!

TEAM COMPETITIONS, AAKAAR 2019