Paper Bridge World Record
For part of the physics curriculum at Plano West, the students had to
build bridges out of nothing but paper, tape, and glue. This bridge held
1,071 lbs (485.79 Kg) after initially breaking the hook that held the weights at
800 lbs the day before.
Details of the bridge:
There are 6 compression members, each made of 7 sheets of paper;
One V-shaped tension structure made of 20 sheets paper, layered and glued so that it would remain tight and flat;
The base is made of 20 sheets paper, including the roadway;
The loading zone and corner enforcements made of cut rolled members of 4 sheets thick;
The paper nails used to pin all the joints total to about 1.5 sheets;
One pack of J-B Weld glue (for all joints), used about 60%;
A four-pack of super glue (for paper nails and final touches);
One quart of wallpaper glue, used about 20% of it;
In total, it amounted to about 90 sheets of paper, with a final weight of 493 grams.
Details of the bridge:
There are 6 compression members, each made of 7 sheets of paper;
One V-shaped tension structure made of 20 sheets paper, layered and glued so that it would remain tight and flat;
The base is made of 20 sheets paper, including the roadway;
The loading zone and corner enforcements made of cut rolled members of 4 sheets thick;
The paper nails used to pin all the joints total to about 1.5 sheets;
One pack of J-B Weld glue (for all joints), used about 60%;
A four-pack of super glue (for paper nails and final touches);
One quart of wallpaper glue, used about 20% of it;
In total, it amounted to about 90 sheets of paper, with a final weight of 493 grams.
The bridge broke on one of the compression members, but all of the joints are still intact.
The hole in the loading zone is off center a bit, stressing that one compression member more than the others.
It could improve a few hundred pounds if changes were made:
The loading hole is drilled better in the center.
all four side members have 2 more sheets of paper (the two top members remain same) while the V-shaped tension structure & the base could be reduced by 4 sheets paper each.
The hole in the loading zone is off center a bit, stressing that one compression member more than the others.
It could improve a few hundred pounds if changes were made:
The loading hole is drilled better in the center.
all four side members have 2 more sheets of paper (the two top members remain same) while the V-shaped tension structure & the base could be reduced by 4 sheets paper each.
