Pedestrian Bridge Design
10× the required load capacity. One of the lightest bridges in the class.
Class:
ENGS 33: Solid Mechanics
OVERVIEW
Designed, analyzed, and constructed a scale model pedestrian bridge meeting AASHTO and IBC structural requirements. The final design carried 10.01 kN — ten times the minimum requirement — while deflecting just 1.05 mm at midspan and weighing only 527 g, placing it among the lightest in the class.
The key insight driving the result: widening critical top members is more structurally efficient than adding new ones. That single decision — replacing more material with better-placed material — is what enabled the high load-to-weight ratio.
MY ROLE.
Produced preliminary conceptual sketches and CAD drawings exploring truss configurations across strength, weight efficiency, and aesthetics
Conducted hand calculations and SolidWorks FEA under three load cases: distributed pedestrian load (0.156 kN/m), central point load (1 kN), and railing point load (0.1 kN)
Identified unsafe top members under load and proposed widening them rather than adding new members — the decision that drove the final design's efficiency
Iterated FEA simulations with teammates to reduce peak stress concentrations across the structure
Fabricated the final bridge from laser-cut birchwood (3 mm and 6 mm) assembled with wood glue and clamps
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SolidWorks CAD • Finite Element Analysis (FEA) • Structural Analysis • Iterative Prototyping
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SolidWorks CAD • Finite Element Analysis (FEA) • Structural Analysis • Iterative Prototyping
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SolidWorks CAD • Finite Element Analysis (FEA) • Structural Analysis • Iterative Prototyping
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SolidWorks CAD • Finite Element Analysis (FEA) • Structural Analysis • Iterative Prototyping
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SolidWorks CAD • Finite Element Analysis (FEA) • Structural Analysis • Iterative Prototyping
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