Team Grand Solutions Renewal of Urban Infrastructure Bridge Building After­School Module by RJ DeCramer, Caleb Henstein, Alex Myers, Jae Murray, Matthew Peterson, Michael Trittin 1 Learning Objectives The purpose of our module is to educate elementary students about the dangers the world faces when they ignore the condition of urban infrastructure. We intend to show students the importance of renewing infrastructure and how the process will be relevant in their lives, as well as show them how fun the renewal of infrastructure can be. Technical Background Urban Infrastructure is a vital part of any country’s success. Without constant upkeep, it is difficult to stimulate economic and social growth. The United States has unfortunately not dedicated enough resources to urban infrastructure, and as the problem grows larger, our ability to deal with it lessens. In 2013, the United States received a grade of D+ from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in regards to the state of our urban infrastructure [1]. ASCE take into account such categories such as energy, schools, transit, and drinking water. Failure to act on these problems has and will continue to have a definite impact on citizens’ personal income [2][3], and in the long term may result in the collapse of the US economy. The root of the US infrastructure problems may originate from the lack of education students receive regarding the subject in elementary and secondary schools. The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) estimates that only 36% of high school students are ready for college­level courses in science [4]. An even smaller percentage will be going into the field of urban infrastructure. Based on data collected by Wesley Cook of Utah State University, with assistance from the National Bridge Inventory, it was determined that the estimated annual bridge collapse rate in the United States is between 87 and 222, with 128 being the expected number of bridges to fall [5]. We can predict a lot of the reasons for these bridge collapses, such as the speed of the water that the bridge goes over, the number of pedestrians or the amount of traffic that crosses the bridge each day, and the soil or ground structure on which the bridge is built. Things we can’t predict are natural disasters, such as fires, tornadoes, floods, and hurricanes, as well as car and ship crashes into and on the bridge [5]. All of these things could deteriorate the state of the bridge over time. A total of 53% of collapsed bridges annually are discovered after their collapse to have been structurally deficient [5]. At least some sort of loss of life occurs on 4% of these bridge collapses as well [5]. Most collapsed bridges have similarities between the occurrences of their collapse, such as being structurally deficient, or having a load capacity which was lowered below what was seen as the legal limit for some vehicles. Another similarity some of the collapsed bridges had was that they had limited vertical clearance under them, as well as having a roadway underneath them in which trucks or vehicles carrying large capacities would possibly hit the bridge [5]. Audience/Stakeholder Accommodation and Engagement We want our module to not only be educational, but also be something that the students will remain interested in over the course of their lives. We want them excited and inspired to 2 learn more about engineering and the urban infrastructure problem in general. The process of building and improving on bridges is something we believe will create this impact. By making the project interactive, we ensure that the students are not bored by lecturing. Letting them get up close and personal to a simplified version of the process is the best way to guarantee they remember not only the activity, but the project as well. Any kind of lecture we provide showing and teaching them about the problem will be paired with an interactive learning portion where they will be designing or implementing their improvements to the bridges they have created. Demonstration Procedure We plan to illustrate the problem of urban infrastructure by developing a module which encourages students to interact with the building process and get creative with improving the infrastructure of our nation’s bridges. Our module will show students how the issue of urban infrastructure is relevant to their lives, and what they can do to pave the way of future generations as they engineer solutions to the urban infrastructure problem. In order to accomplish our goals, we will be challenging students to take part in the process of building, designing, and improving on bridges made out of a variety of materials. The first step will be to introduce students to the challenge and give them a worksheet where they will draw/write their designs, among many other things throughout the activity. This entire worksheet consists of pages 5 through 8 in this document. We want the students to begin brainstorming solutions to the problem as soon as possible, in order to both get them excited and focused about the project as well as inform them about urban infrastructure at large. This worksheet is provided on page 5, and is meant to take about 10 minutes in order to create ideas. Some additional rules for the building activity are located on page 6, and should also be provided to the students. A material list is provided with the worksheet so students are aware of what they can use to build and revitalize their bridges. This list is provided on page 7, and should be given to the students at the beginning of the activity. Materials should be shown to students before designing begins, so they know what sort of materials they will get to use. Once the students have finished designing, reveal to them that unfortunately, the world doesn’t operate on unlimited resources. The students will be provided with a budget and will have to purchase resources in order to build their bridges. This may force students to reconsider their initial designs and now focus on how they would best build their bridge while being efficient with their money. The aspect of a budget adds a real life element to the process, and helps illustrate the problem as to why more money cannot simply be thrown at the issue in order to solve the problem. After allowing the students to rethink their ideas for a short time, let them get to work. Provide a material station where the students can purchase materials based on their budget in order to build their bridges. The student’s end goal should be to make the bridge as strong as possible in order to withstand a jug of water placed on top of it once the building phase is complete. This building phase should take around 20­25 minutes, although more or less time may be included so that all of the students have bridges to test. Once the building phase is completed, the bridges will be tested. To test the bridges, pull together two tables so that they are about a foot apart. Place the bridge between the two tables, 3 and have someone hold the bridge down on both sides. This ensures that the bridge does not slip off of the table while being tested. Fill the water jug up with water and place it on the bridge to test it. Be sure to steady the jug with your hands while it rests on the bridge, so that it doesn’t fall off on its own. After each bridge has been tested at a certain weight, add water to the jug and repeat the process. Continue this method until the jug is full or the bridges are broken. After breaking each bridge, the students will be given another budget. This budget will be equal to the first budget and is used to repair, revitalize, and strengthen their bridges. This rebuilding phase should be given 10­15 minutes before testing again. After testing once more, have the students fill out the worksheet on page 8 of this document, reflecting on the activity and what they would do differently next time. Materials and Budget Item Price Jumbo Popsicle Sticks (300 count) $4.40 Mini Popsicle Sticks (150 count) $1.97 Toothpicks (250 count) $2.00 Scotch Tape (4 Pack) $5.00 Duct Tape $3.37 Aluminum Foil (90 sq ft) $2.97 Water Jug $2.96 Kids Scissors (12 pack) $7.64 Construction Paper (50 sheets) $2.00 Total: $32.31 (All prices found in­store at Walmart or at Walmart.com) 4 Bridge Building Activity Fill this out at the beginning of the activity. Think about some of the bridges you’ve seen in pictures or when driving. What structural properties do those bridges have in common? Brainstorm some ideas of what makes a bridge strong. Sketch your ideas below. 5 Activity Rules Your team is going to be building a bridge out of the materials listed in the table below. You will be given a $200 dollar “budget” which you will be able to spend on these items. Make sure to choose carefully! If you run out of materials before your bridge is done, it will not be able to hold any weight! A few notes: ­ Your bridge must be made out of the materials listed on the next page. ­ The ends of the bridge will be held in place by the instructor at the station, and the bridge will be suspended between two tables. This is to ensure that the bridge does not slide off when being tested. ­ We will be testing the strength of your bridge by placing a jug of water on top of the bridge, which will be increasingly filled with water until the bridge either breaks, or the jug is full. ­ Your bridge must be at least 12” long, the length of this sheet of paper. If it is the same length or shorter, we will not be able to hold the bridge up (length of these instructions) ­ The width of the bridge must be at a minimum approximately the length of your pinky finger (to make the bridge more realistic like actual bridges). This measurement will not be strictly enforced, but very thin bridges that are the width of one popsicle stick, for example, won’t be considered acceptable for testing. ­ Materials can be purchased at any time during the building phase, so long as part of the budget remains. Likewise, if materials are purchased but are unused, they may be returned for money back to use on something else. 6 You have a $200 dollar budget. Choose wisely! Hint: We suggest buying at least 7­8 large popsicle sticks, although you may want more! Item Price Purchase Amount (Number of Each Material) Checkout 2nd Set of Checkout Price Purchases Price (For (For the the Rebuildin
Rebuildin
g Stage) g Stage) Large Popsicle Sticks 3 for $20 Small Popsicle Sticks 4 for $10 Aluminium Foil 2” x 18” for $50 Toothpicks 10 for $10 Scotch Tape 1” for $10 MAX of 8 inches Only comes in 1” segments Duct Tape 1” for $25 Construction Paper ½ sheet for $50 7 Your Total: Your Total: Complete this section at the end of the activity. Which bridge building strategies worked the best? Why? If your team was to build a bridge again, what changes to your design would you make? 8 References [1] 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. (2016). [Online]. Available: http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/ [2] 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure ­ Economic Impact. (2016). [Online]. Available: http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/economic­impact/ [3] ASCE. (2011). Failure to Act ­ The Economic of Current Investment Trends in Surface Transportation Infrastructure. [Online]. Available: http://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/Issues_and_Advocacy/Our_Initiatives/Infrastructure/Content
_Pieces/failure­to­act­transportation­report.pdf [4] National Math and Science Initiative. (2016). STEM Education Statistics. [Online]. Available: https://www.nms.org/AboutNMSI/TheSTEMCrisis/STEMEducationStatistics.aspx [5] Wesley Cook. (2014, May). Bridge Failure Rates, Consequences, and Predictive Trends. [Online]. Available: ​
http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3187&context=etd [6] Current College Readiness. (2016). Percentage of 2013 U.S. high school graduates ready for college­level courses. [Online]. Available: https://www.nms.org/AboutNMSI/TheSTEMCrisis/STEMEducationStatistics.aspx [7] Infrastructure Grades for 2013. [Image]. Reston, Virginia. American Society of Civil Engineers, 2016. [8] The Mounting Cumulative Cost of Deficient and Deteriorating Surface Infrastructure Imposed on Americans. [Image]. Reston, Virginia. American Society of Civil Engineers, 2011. [9] M. Yashinsky, Timber Trestle Bridge. [Image]. CA: 2016. [10] M. Yashinsky, Continuous Steel I Girder Bridge. [Image]. CA: 2015. [11] M. Yashinsky, Steel Pratt Truss Bridge. [Image Album]. CA: 2015. 9 Appendix A Image I: This image depicts student readiness for STEM college­level courses [6] Image II: This image depicts the grades which the United States received in various infrastructure categories [7] 10 11 Table I: This table depicts the impact which urban infrastructure­related issues will have on Americans’ personal finances [8] 12 Image III: This picture shows a bridge made during our initial testing phase. We found that the significant usage of tape and foil made this nearly unbreakable. 13 Image IV: This picture shows a bridge made during our initial testing phase. We found that the significant usage of tape and foil made this nearly unbreakable. 14 Image V: A depiction of a bridge used as a visual aid for students [9] 15 Image VI: A depiction of a bridge used as a visual aid for students [10] 16 Image VII: A depiction of a bridge used as a visual aid for students [11] 17 Image VIII: A depiction of a bridge used as a visual aid for students [11] 18